Who paid for Jeff Hoover’s sexual harassment settlement? Not taxpayers, LRC says.

No taxpayer money was used to settle a sexual harassment complaint against former House Speaker Jeff Hoover and three other Republican lawmakers, according to the Legislative Research Commission.

In response to a Nov. 2 request by the Herald-Leader for “any record of public money used to settle a sexual harassment claim against House Speaker Jeff Hoover,” LRC General Counsel Greg Woosley responded in a letter dated Nov. 14 that “the Legislative Research Commission does not have any records responsive to your request.”

In response to another records request submitted by the newspaper, Woosley said the LRC does not have a copy of any settlement reached by Hoover and the other lawmakers.

Shortly after the Herald-Leader published this story online Thursday afternoon, LRC Director David Byerman made his first statement about the scandal.

“No taxpayer dollars have been used to pay any settlement claim in this matter, or in any such matter in my two years as director of the Legislative Research Commission,” Byerman said. “Controls are in place that require proper authorization before any disbursements are made from any legislative account. Disbursements to settle legal claims can only be made when authorized by the Speaker and President on their joint authority, pending ratification by the full Legislative Research Commission in an open meeting. No such authorization or ratification has occurred in this matter.”

Hoover, R-Jamestown, has admitted he secretly settled a sexual harassment claim made against him by a staff member for the House Republican Caucus, but he and other lawmakers have not revealed details of the settlement, including how much was paid and the source of that money. Hoover denied any wrongdoing and said there is no culture of sexual harassment within the state legislature.

On Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Jim Wayne of Louisville filed a complaint with the Legislative Ethics Commission asking them, in part, to investigate “the funding source for any sexual harassment settlement entered into by lawmakers.”

Wayne’s complaint came 10 days after Hoover resigned as speaker of the House. The other lawmakers — Rep. Brian Linder of Dry Ridge, Rep. Michael Meredith of Oakland, and Rep. Jim DeCesare of Bowling Green — have been removed from their positions as committee chairmen, but none of the four have heeded Gov. Matt Bevin’s call to resign from the statehouse.

House Republican Chief of Staff Ginger Wills was also named in a demand letter sent by the accuser for allegedly creating a hostile work environment, according to communications director Daisy Olivo, who has seen the letter. House Republican leaders have not publicly announced any staffing changes since Hoover resigned.

House Speaker Pro Tempore David Osborne, R-Prospect, and the other remaining House GOP leaders have hired the Louisville law firm Middleton Reutlinger to advise them on personnel issues and human resources matters and to launch the first phase of an investigation into the sexual harassment complaints.

“House GOP Leadership doesn’t have knowledge of the monetary source for any sexual harassment complaint settlement,” Olivo said Thursday.

Osborne has said he expects to get a preliminary investigative report from the law firm around Nov. 20.

“At that point, we will review the findings and make further decisions about how to proceed,” the House GOP leadership team said in a joint statement last week. “We may — as some have suggested — decide to turn the matter over to the Legislative Ethics Commission, as they have unfettered subpoena power. We may also decide that our outside firm can complete the independent review.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Who paid for Jeff Hoover’s sexual harassment settlement? Not taxpayers, LRC says.."