The Auditor's Office and the Pension Boards
Formal board roles, proxy participation, scheduling, presentation, correspondence, and public promotion in the Arkansas Israel Bonds story.
The Auditor of State’s office occupied formal positions inside the pension decision chain. Arkansas law gives the Auditor an ATRS board role, and the office participated in both ATRS and APERS through designees or proxies.
Formal roles
The Auditor is an ex-officio ATRS trustee. ATRS records identify Chief Deputy Auditor Jason Brady as Dennis Milligan’s designee in Board settings.
At APERS, signed minutes identify Brady as the Auditor’s proxy. In that role, he presented the Israel Bonds proposal and moved to authorize a $25M–$50M range on May 15, 2025. The motion carried.
These were formal governance roles. The pension systems and their advisers carried responsibility for investment analysis and asset management.
Scheduling and outreach
Auditor-office records show staff helping coordinate an April 14–15 itinerary for Israel Bonds representatives. The itinerary scheduled eight distinct stops across pension, executive, legislative, Treasury, and cabinet offices or settings.
DFA records confirm a meeting involving Jim Hudson and Andy Babbitt. Seller messages recount encounters with APERS Executive Director Amy Fecher and members of the Treasury team. The itinerary documents the wider outreach plan.
Correspondence and promotion
The office’s records also show Brady drafting correspondence, preparing material for a State Financial Officers Foundation appearance, sharing pension-related messages inside the office, and participating in public promotion after the pension actions.
Together, these records place the Auditor’s office in scheduling, board participation, internal coordination, and public promotion around the strategy.
Why the roles matter
When elected officials, proxies, sellers, staff, and advisers all take part in the same story, a written financial case gives trustees and members a common point of reference. The Integrity Act would create that record while preserving open access, advocacy, and trustee authority.
Read the APERS signed minutes → See the interactive route map →