& SENATOR DAVID W. HANN Senate District 42 Assistant Minority Leader 127 State Office Building 100 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, J. Blvd, St Paul, MN 55155.1206 Phone: (551) 296-1740 Fax: (651) 2960441 Senate Email: sen david hannd@senate mn State of Minnesota April 2, 2009 Mr. Jim Nobles Legislative Auditor State of Minnesota Room 140 Centennial Building 658 Cedar Street St. Paul, MN 55155 Re: Remodeling Expenditures by the Attorney General Dear Mr. Nobles: Tam asking you to undertake an investigation into certain expenditures by the Minnesota Attorney General in remodeling the office space located in the Capitol ‘According to information that has been made public in the last several days, the Attorney General’s office spent $15,000 for two doors at the Capitol office and has made nearly $400,000 in repairs and alterations since 2006 to the office at the Capitol and in downtown St. Paul. The two doors apparently were special-ordered, soundproofed doors 1-3/8 inches thick and reinforced with sand. The Attomey General has since stated that these doors were needed to address concems raised by a security assessment. This information raises a number of questions which I would ask your office to pursue. In the course of this investigation, other questions may be raised by legislators in connection with this issue or your office may find other questions that it feels it needs to develop. 1. Was there in fact a security assessment that was done for the Attomey Generals’ office? a. Ifo, who performed this assessment and prepared the report? b. Ifo, what funds were used to pay for this assessment? ¢. If so, who received a copy of this assessment? COMMITTEES: Education, Ranking Minority Member, Agriculture and Veterans Budget and Policy Division, 12 Education Budget Division; Envionment, Energy and Natural Resources Budget Division; Health, Housing and Family Secunty; Legislative Audit Commission SERVING: Eden Prairie and Minnetonka,2. If a security assessment was performed, did it conclude that these sand- reinforced doors were needed in the Attomey Generals’ office? 3. If'so, and if the basis for this conclusion was a concern for security, why is it that the doors that were actually installed were described on the work order as acoust doors with the sand-reinforcement being added for purposes of sound-proofing the office? 4, Is there a connection that these two soundproofing doors were ordered within weeks after reports of office turmoil related to activities of some attorneys in the office to organize union representation? 5. Ifa security assessment was undertaken and did show concerns about security in the State Capitol Building, are there reasons unique to the Attorney General's office that such security concerns do not extend to other constitutional officers or other elected officials located in the State Capitol? 6. If there are such security concems and they are not isolated or unique to the Attomey General’s offi a. What other public officials should receive a copy of this assessment so as to make them aware of these security concerns? ’b, What other steps should be undertaken, beyond providing the Attorney General with two sound-proofed doors, to meet the found security concerns? 7. Should the Commissioner of Public Safety, as the office with jurisdiction over the Capitol Security officers and security generally in the Capitol complex, receive a copy of this security assessment? 8. What was the source of the funds for these repairs or improvements to the Attorney General’s office: was it the operating budget of the Attorney General’s office or was it funds of the Department of Administration for use in the maintenance of state buildings, specifically Capitol-area buildings?9, Minnesota Statues (2008) Section 16B.24, subdivision 2 provides that the Department of Administration “shall supervise and control the making of repairs to all state buildings and structures” with certain exceptions that do not apply here. Related to the question above regarding the source of funds, but also separate, is the question of whether this supervision and control by the Department occurred in this case. [As I stated above, there may be other questions raised in this matter by other legislators or your own office in the course of your investigation. ind conclusions. Took forward to your responses Sincerely, David W. Hann MN State Senator District 42 Ce: Governor Tim Pawlenty Commissioner Michael Campion, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Dana Badgerow, Department of Administration