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Del. Kirill Reznik (D-Montgomery) Friday to Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) and State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III asking that they open an investigation relating to the recently released audit concerning the state鈥檚 relationship with the Korean COVID-19 test kit company, LabGenomics.
鈥淭he report produced by the Office of Legislative Audits (OLA) demonstrates not only a lack of oversight and transparency, but a strong indication that our State鈥檚 procurement laws and regulations were violated,鈥� Reznik wrote.
The audit released in April revealed that the .
And while Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced the acquisition of the test kits to great fanfare, it was later revealed that the first order of tests was incomplete.
Most of those tests were returned in June 2020, and a second order arrived soon after at an additional cost of more than $2.5 million.
Hogan strenuously defended the test purchase during a news conference Friday, saying Reznik has been 鈥渓ying鈥� about the procurement and that his desire for an investigation was 鈥渏ust absurd.鈥�
Reznik took to Twitter, suggesting Hogan hadn鈥檛 read the Office of Legislative Audits鈥� report.
鈥淎pparently 鈥業鈥檓 lying鈥� that the OLA report found impropriety and a lack of documentation,鈥� he tweeted Friday evening. 鈥淢aybe he should read it.鈥�
The governor also called the purchase the state鈥檚 鈥渂iggest and greatest accomplishment during the entire fight on COVID-19.鈥�
鈥淭he procurement was great,鈥� Hogan said. 鈥淓very single one of those 500,000 tests was utilized. Not a single false reading. All of the stories are false. We鈥檝e repeatedly given everybody the facts. And it鈥檚 just partisan nonsense.鈥�
The auditors concluded that there was no written contract with LabGenomics for the purchase of the test kits, nor was there clear documentation of which state employee authorized the procurement.
The audit also probed whether two state employees were fired after they raised concerns related to the COVID tests: a former director of student health services at Towson University, who said that incorrect false-positive tests results created the illusion of an 鈥渙utbreak鈥� on campus, and Dana L. Dembrow, the state health department鈥檚 procurement chief, who said he was after asking questions about the test purchase.
In his letter, Reznik noted that members of the Board of Public Works 鈥� Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) and State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp (D) 鈥� have also about whether the administration is following procurement laws.
Since the start of the pandemic, the administration has failed to report 46 鈥渆mergency鈥� procurements to the spending panel within a 45-day statutory limit.
鈥淚n some cases, BPW is still waiting for reporting after the procurement itself ended and, likely, final payment was made,鈥� Reznik wrote.
Reznik said that he understands the intent behind the emergency procurement was 鈥渢o help Marylanders in unprecedented times.鈥�
鈥淗owever, even in unprecedented times; especially in unprecedented time[s], laws must be followed to maintain the trust and support of the public. In this case, regardless of intent, it appears that laws may have been broken in the process,鈥� Reznik wrote.
鈥淎t a minimum, it appears that the Hogan Administration, through the Chief Procurement Officer, Secretary of General Services, and other cabinet officials, is playing fast and loose with the rules for expediency,鈥� he wrote.
