Office of Governor William P. Clements, Jr. April 4, 1979 For Immediate Release: Governor Bill Clements issued the following statement in connection with his signing today of S.B. 132 that authorizes an emergency appropriation of $907,000 for the Attorney General's Office: "I sign this bill only to enable the new attorney general to properly carry on the business and duties of his office, not as an endorsement of past inadequate management practices or excessive spending within the office of the previous attorney general that led to this appropriation. "I feel duty bound to state that the need for this additional appropriation of nearly $1 million is no reflection on the work or ability of Attorney General Mark White; rather it is a reflection of inadequate management practices of the previous holder of that office, as documented by the State Auditor in his report, dated March 16, 1979, of the last fiscal year ending August 31, 1978. "The Auditor's report cites sloppy bookkeeping and internal accounting practices as falling short of proper management techniques. "Spending by the previous attorney general, in the four months before he left office, exceeded the rate authorized by the appropriations bill for certain programs, leading to the need for the emergency funding. Because of that faster rate of spending. funding for certain programs would have expired before the end of the current fiscal year without the emergency appropriation. "I sign this bill with some reluctance, because the taxpayers of Texas are the victims of this poor management, and I hope it serves the purpose of stressing to those of us in State government that we must strive to ensure that the people of Texas are getting their money's worth out of government." iNNIIII
