Investigation finds possible state funds misuse for $90,000 trip by Miller, other lawmakers

Mar. 2—Former state Sen. Butch Miller has come under scrutiny after a six-page investigative report released by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy found that $90,194 of taxpayer money had been used to finance a trip to Europe without proper authorization.

Miller, of Gainesville, and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan led a delegation of 12 other lawmakers to Germany and England in November for purposes of "economic development," just weeks before the two men left office.

The investigative report, which specified that Senate rules don't permit trips overseas, ultimately determined that "expenses for this trip should not have been authorized."

"... one of the more disheartening aspects of this matter is that the Study Committee's European trip was led by the outgoing President and President Pro Tempore (Miller) of the Senate during the final weeks of their terms of office, well after it was clear that neither would be returning to office in 2023," the report states. "... it is clear to us that their presence on the Study Committee's European trip had little, if any, connection to those duties and did not clearly serve to advance any known educational, legislative or economic development purposes."

Details in the report make clear that travel and reimbursement policies "place limits" on expenses for out-of-state travel, adding that such reimbursements often are "charged to an individual senator's legislative expense account in an amount of up to $3,500 annually."

Instead, according to the report, funds for the trip were "drawn from the Senate's administrative budget," insinuating this was done to bypass current policies in place.

"It is not clear to us why the payments and reimbursements were structured or sought in this manner, but we have concerns that the allocation of the expenses to the Senate administrative budget may have been done in order to avoid the restriction on approval of reimbursements for international travel," the report states. "... it is our belief that the expenses for this trip should not have been authorized."

The report went on to state that the "ratification of the expenses for the trip was not presented to the Senate Committee on Administrative Affairs at any point in 2022," adding that the "policy regarding out-of-state travel expenses for senators and staff warrants reconsideration and reform in light" of the recent investigation.

"The memorandum and the work of our offices over the past weeks were motivated by a desire to ensure that, under our watch, use of taxpayer funds by the Senate and the Office of Lieutenant Governor will be managed responsibly," a conclusion of the report states.

Jones, whose office conducted the investigation, defeated Miller in the 2022 Republican primary before he was elected as Georgia's lieutenant governor in November's general election.

Miller could not be reached for comment.