By: Zach Wendling
Nebraska Examiner Press Release
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s state auditor is cautioning the secretary of state that he might need some guardrails for a nonprofit he created to help with his international trade missions on behalf of the state.
The new audit, released Wednesday by State Auditor Mike Foley, investigates the Nebraska Secretary of State Foundation, which Secretary of State Bob Evnen created in June 2022. Evnen serves as Nebraska’s “chief protocol officer,” the state’s “goodwill ambassador” to help promote Nebraska with other countries.
The report largely questions whether the secretary of state can share public resources with a private, nongovernmental entity, which isn’t subject to public records or open meetings laws.
“Without such segregation, there is an increased risk for questionable activities, including possible conflicts of interest, that could undermine the public trust or give rise to legal concerns,” the report states.
‘Pinching every penny’
The audit notes partially blurred lines with invoices from the foundation sharing letterhead with the Secretary of State’s Office. Those documents were sent and negotiated by state employees via their state emails during normal business hours, according to documents Foley’s staff reviewed.
At least once, in December 2022, the foundation personally reimbursed Evnen $3,855.16 for a dinner with the ambassador from Kuwait at Omaha’s Mahogany Prime Steakhouse.
Foley, who is in his 10th year as auditor, told the Nebraska Examiner that government business must be done in public, and given the public nature of the trade missions, his office is recommending that Evnen coordinate with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, Attorney General’s Office or Legislature “so that everything’s on the up and up and out in the open.”
“As constitutional officers, we have to be even more vigilant than the typical state employee in making sure that we’re good stewards of public funds and pinching every penny and so forth,” said Foley, a former state senator and former lieutenant governor.
“Can I now start the ‘State Auditor’s Foundation’ and start soliciting money from folks and having them guide my auditing work?” he asked. “I don’t think so. I don’t think the public wants that.”
In a statement to the Examiner, Evnen said he appreciated the professionalism of Foley’s office. He said his office has clarified some information and has given serious consideration to other recommendations.
“International trade missions are very beneficial to our state,” Evnen said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner. “We strive to comply with state acquisition requirements as they relate to international trade missions. We will continue to do so.”
Timeline of trade missions
Foley said former Secretary of State John Gale welcomed international visitors and offered gifts “but he wasn’t a big player on the international scene” as Evnen has been.
Between Jan. 1, 2022, and Sept. 28, 2024, Evnen’s office took the following trips:
- Feb. 8-18, 2022 — Dubai and Jordan in the Middle East and North African region.
- June 26-July 2, 2022 — Bulgaria, as a follow-up mission.
- Oct. 31-Nov. 4, 2022 — U.S. Department of Agriculture mission to East Africa, with stops in Nairobi, Kenya and Tanzania.
- Feb. 12-22, 2024 — Kenya, as a follow-up mission to the country.
- Sept. 21-28, 2024 — Taiwan.
The office also planned an Oct. 13-27, 2023, trip to Israel and Jordan, which was canceled after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists.
Before the new foundation was formed, the secretary of state had occasionally used the NebraskaLand Foundation, which was established in 1962 as a nonprofit corporation to promote Nebraska, with the governor as the honorary chairperson. But on June 6, 2022, a new foundation was created, with five board members, to assist Evnen specifically with his chief protocol officer role.
The new foundation started with about $9,400 in excess funds used on the Dubai-Jordan mission, though it’s unclear how much was state funds.
The audit notes that four agencies donated to the NebraskaLand Foundation for the mission so it is likely that at least a portion was public monies: the Nebraska Corn Board, Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board, Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Nebraska Dry Bean Commission.
‘It really isn’t monopoly money’
The report outlines other questionable uses of state or foundation funds, including:
- A $500 check from the Nebraska Corn Board for food in February, which ended up being used to purchase different items.
- Differences in who paid registration fees for the Kenya trip earlier this year. Two Corn Board members did not pay while four staff from the University of Nebraska did.
Also for the Kenya trip, the auditor’s office questioned leaving hotel rooms vacant for two days while many attendees attended a “personal safari.” The office concluded that airline tickets for that trip cost almost $16,000 more than if the group had traveled coach instead of business.
Evnen’s office responded that the hotel costs couldn’t have been saved during the safari and that the flights were booked months in advance with a consultant. His office said nearly all expenses for the Kenya trip were reimbursed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also covered fees for the Corn Board members.
Evnen’s staff said they are working on formal written procedures for international trade missions, including making better estimates for registration fees and ensuring that purchases are reasonable and necessary.
Both Evnen and Foley said the trade missions are important, but the report questioned whether the direct hand in mission trips was congruent with the “spirit of open and transparent government, a vital pillar of Nebraska’s core civic values.”
Foley said the point about being reimbursed from federal funds is an argument frequently made during audits. But both sources are taxpayer funded, he pointed out.
“It really isn’t monopoly money,” Foley said. “Real people pay that.”
