A performance audit of the Legislative Research Commission has blamed poor staff morale on outdated management practices, a lack of communication and decision-making that isn't transparent.
Governor Steve Beshear says a draft report shows a need for reforms.
"Some of the policies and procedures are outdated and need to be modernized," Beshear told WKU Public Radio. "Pay equity is an issue, promotions. Getting all those things into a more modern platform would make sense for them and for the public."
The long-anticipated performance audit conducted by the National Council of State Legislatures gives scant attention to the issue that led to the review—workplace sexual harassment.
The Legislative Research Commission provides staff and support to Kentucky state legislators. The agency came under scrutiny in 2013 after three Statehouse staffers accused then-state Representative John Arnold of sexual harassment, and claimed that the LRC had done little to protect them.
But the report says little about the accusations of sexual harassment in the LRC and the General Assembly, though it did provide a review of the LRC’s sexual harassment training practices. It also recommended that harassment training for LRC staff be dovetailed with training for legislators at the beginning of each session.
Though he denied the sexual harassment accusation, Arnold resigned in 2013 and was later fined by the state legislative ethics commission. LRC executive director Robert Sherman also retired amid the controversy.
