Now state-car use scrutinized

Another state lawmaker is under scrutiny for using a government vehicle to drive to the Capitol at the same time he was getting a legislative mileage reimbursement.

On Friday, House Speaker Marty Stephens suggested it might be time to make it clear that lawmakers should be receiving the reimbursement only if they use their own personal vehicles.

"The truth is, honest mistakes can be made in these kinds of situations," Stephens said.

The latest instance involves Rep. Ty McCartney, D-Salt Lake City, a former state Corrections Department employee now working for Salt Lake County. As a state Youth Corrections officer, he was assigned a sedan similar to those driven by police throughout the valley.

McCartney initially told the Deseret Morning News he drove only his own car to the Capitol during the Legislature. But he later acknowledged he went home for lunch during the session about a dozen times and returned in his state car.

Why make the switch? "Because I didn't have to pay for gas" in his state car, McCartney said. He said he was not aware of any prohibition against using the state car that way. "We're able to drive the vehicle around, whether it's to the gym, to the store, the Capitol," McCartney said.

Not so, according to the state agencies involved. While McCartney worked for the Corrections Department, he was assigned to Youth Corrections under the Human Services Department, where he was given the use of a state car and gas card.

Jack Ford, spokesman for the Corrections Department, said that because McCartney took a leave of absence during the legislative session, he should not have been using his state car for any reason. "It should have been sitting in his driveway," Ford said.

Records from the Human Services Department indicate that McCartney used less than a tank of gas during the 45-day legislative session in 2004 and filled his gas tank three times during the 2003 session and twice during the 2002 session, at a cost of about $78.

Ford said the records were being examined but likely would not lead to any action taken by the Corrections Department. "It may be something motor pool wants to look at. He's no longer our employee," Ford said.

McCartney said he received the legislative reimbursement for one round trip daily during the session in his own car. "I made a round trip in my personal vehicle, I'm entitled to a round trip," he said. "I want to make sure it's absolutely clear I didn't get reimbursed twice."