It's coming up on two months that the Auditor's Office and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services have been at odds over the database known as iTwist. Both sides agree the state Ombudsman needs access to it to do his job — no issue there.
The conflict was sparked by the General Assembly's decision to move the Ombudsman from CHFS to the Auditor's Office, setting up a dispute over interpretations of laws surrounding access. Auditor Ball argues the Ombudsman needs full access and the cases are piling up.
"We continue to get complaints every day from the public, and it needs to be resolved very, very quickly," she told lawmakers late last month.
But the Beshear administration maintains that the Cabinet is prevented from granting access to the newly-moved Ombudsman because of other laws previously passed by the legislature.
"I support them having the access ," Gov. Beshear recent told the press. "But we have a written statute that is on the books that says we can't provide certain access."
Ball and the Ombudsman have said it should be possible to get an agreement in place, but the administration is placing "unworkable restraints" on them. Beshear spokesperson Crystal Staley said the governor's office has tried to work with the auditor to grant the maximum access allowed under existing law, but Ball's office has refused.
Now, it'll be up to the courts to decide.
