The Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit last week of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) that found no "significant instances of noncompliance" during the tenure of fired commissioner Kent Davis.
Davis filed a lawsuit in June in response to his termination by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2024. The lawsuit, in part, states that Ivey's actions in terminating Davis were unconstitutional, constituted retaliation for Davis's ethics complaint against a member of Ivey's cabinet, and were defamatory.
Attorneys for Ivey asked to dismiss the lawsuit in August, saying Davis "repeatedly undermined State functions."
Ivey maintained that ADVA mishandled American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. A State Board of Veterans Affairs committee approved a report at a meeting on Oct. 9, 2024, stating Davis and ADVA did nothing wrong with the funds.
However, according to the audit of the department from 2020 to 2024 released last week, "Nonconsumable personal property in the custody of the Department was compared with the property records maintained by the Property Inventory Control Division of the State Auditor's Office, as required by the Code of Alabama 1975, Section 36-16-9. No discrepancies were noted. Tests performed during the examination period did not disclose any significant instances of noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations."
Davis served as ADVA commissioner from 2019 to 2024.
Davis told 1819 News in a recent interview about the audit, "We always prided ourselves on stewardship and meticulous nature."
"No discrepancies and glowing language about good stewardship of funds kind of shoots down the governor's defamatory comments about me and the department," Davis said. "There's not many agencies that get a 'no discrepancies' report. There are plenty that there's some findings, sometimes major findings. I haven't looked at the other departments this round. I'm sure you could find some other departments that had some interesting discrepancies."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
