The state Chamber of Commerce already has spent
close to $300,000 on ads urging lawmakers to crack down on spending by Attorney
General Darrell McGraw, and it pledges to spend more until state officials take
action.
The Chamber, which has about 5,000 members across
the state, began buying television, radio and newspaper ads in February, halfway
through this year's 60-day legislative session, calling on lawmakers to put more
limits on how McGraw's office hires outside attorneys and distributes money the
state is awarded through consumer protection lawsuits and settlements.
"Our intent is to keep asking questions and
to keep saying that the Attorney General's office needs more scrutiny until the
issue gets some attention," Chamber President
Roberts and foes began criticizing McGraw a few
months ago, stepping up their scrutiny in February when McGraw gave a
high-profile handout of $500,000 in state funds to the
The money was derived from a $10 million
settlement McGraw's office won from a pharmaceutical company accused of
dishonestly marketing the drug OxyContin. More than $3 million of that money
went to pay attorneys McGraw hired to help with the case, and the rest is being
divvied up at McGraw's discretion among community groups and projects around the
state.
Lawmakers already have called for the process to
change, but a bill on the issue failed during the last hours of this year's
legislative session. Legislators have said they want more oversight in how
McGraw's office distributes money collected from such lawsuits and settlements,
but have disagreed on a uniform system of controls that would affect McGraw and
other state offices.
Right now, McGraw and his staff decide who gets
the funds taken in from such lawsuits. Some money goes directly to consumers who
have been involved, and the rest is handed out to groups McGraw selects on the
basis that they might work with issues or people affected by the lawsuits.
Some of the money from settlements goes back to
other state agencies that have played a role in a lawsuit or were negatively
affected by a company or a product.
Roberts said those agencies don't see enough of
the money, and all awards should be put back into the state's general revenue
fund so more groups in the state get a chance to see a chunk of the cash.
He said business owners involved with the chamber
are upset with the way McGraw has been doing business and with the way his
office hires attorneys to work on consumer protection lawsuits.
"This situation gives rise to the appearance
of backroom deals for McGraw's friends and campaign contributors," Roberts
said.
McGraw's office has denied any problems with the
way it processes cases and distributes funds. McGraw and his representatives say
the criticism against them is politically motivated and done on behalf of
businesses that don't want any scrutiny from the attorney general's office.
"The allegations they're making are
false," said deputy attorney general Fran Hughes, the spokeswoman for
McGraw's office. "We believe people should consider the source of this
information. These are some of the same companies that we have had to sue, and
they're trying to shift the burden from them paying for the state's attorneys to
the taxpayers paying for attorneys."
Hughes said information about outside counsel
hired by the office is available to the public. McGraw's office has repeatedly
said that pursuing consumer complaints and related lawsuits requires the help of
experienced, often pricey attorneys in addition to office lawyers already on the
state's payroll.
"The attorneys don't get paid if we don't
win a case," Hughes said. "There isn't any court order or arrangement
we have with any outside counsel that isn't public record and isn't open."
Roberts said the chamber plans to continue
running advertising and lobbying for legislative change for at least the next
few weeks, and will file expense reports with the state in the coming days.