Morales tops all state officials with nearly $33K in travel expenses

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales tops all statewide officials in travel expenses, according to the latest fiscal reports.




The State Budget Committee released the travel expense reports on Wednesday in compliance with a new state law, which mandates a yearly expense report on all trips taken by state officials within an official capacity. The officials are required to disclose whether state funding was used to cover the cost of the trip.




The new state law was passed in the wake of controversy surrounding Morales's trip to India during the middle of state budget deliberations earlier this year. Many questioned Morales's use of public funds for out-of-state trips, though Morales later claimed he reimbursed the expenses from the India trip with personal funds.




While the India trip is not included on the newly released travel expense report, 20 other out-of-state trips are. One trip to Puerto Rico in July 2024 cost taxpayers $4,240. This was Morales's most expensive trip, outpacing a $4,088 expensed trip to Washington, D.C. in October 2024 that included a meeting with the Hungarian Embassy. Morales would later go on an out-of-state trip to Hungary in May, claiming on social media posts that the trip was personal and paid for by a conservative group.




The yearly travel expense report for Morales totaled roughly $23,000 in taxpayer funds for out-of-state trips over the past year, with an additional approximately $10,000 coming from in-state travel.




Not even Gov. Mike Braun racked up this large a travel expense report, despite documenting 144 trips in the last year. Most of Braun's expenses were listed as costing taxpayers under $50, with the largest outlier being a helicopter flight to Trine University in Angola to deliver a commencement speech, which was expensed at $4,200.




In total, Braun's expenses didn't even top $8,000, according to the fiscal reports.

Other state officials' travel costs

Morales's nearly $33,000 in travel expenses far exceeded the second-highest travel expense report, which belongs to State Comptroller Elise Nieshalla and was just shy of $12,000.




A majority of Nieshalla's trips were in-state to county auditors. Out-of-state trips included attending conferences in North Carolina, Alaska, and Colorado.




Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith documented more than 100 trips in the past year. Most were listed as "speaking event" or "attend event" for the purpose of travel. The total cost to taxpayers for Beckwith's travel was nearly $4,300.




Attorney General Todd Rokita provided no details for the purpose of his travel besides "official business" on every single entry for his 100 trips over the last year. Rokita's largest expense was a $2,237 trip to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 25, 2024. A second trip to Washington in May was expensed at $1,419.




Rokita's total travel expenses for the past year were around $4,700.




State Treasurer Dan Elliott compiled the third-largest expense report. Elliott's 50+ trips cost taxpayers approximately $9,300. Most of the state treasurer's trips are listed simply as "meeting," "public event" or "media/speaking event."




Secretary of Education Katie Jenner racked up nearly $7,200 in travel expenses over the last year. Her trips included participating in a panel at South by Southwest in Texas, which cost $1,376, and being a keynote speaker at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego at a cost of $1,456.




Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter only traveled three times at the state's expense, including a $4,240 trip to Boston for the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.




Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski had just shy of $5,000 in travel expenses.




Secretary of Commerce David Adams tallied roughly $2,300 in travel expenses over the last year. the majority of the total stemmed from a trip to Montreal, Canada, in March for a "business attraction meeting for Bombardier based in Montreal." This trip cost $1,288.

Expense reports for Trump's inauguration

Several Indiana officials expensed trips to Washington, D.C. for President Donald Trump's inauguration in January. Filed under "official business," Rokita expensed $210 for the trip while State Treasurer Dan Elliot charged Hoosier taxpayers $1,470 to attend the presidential inauguration.




Braun's inauguration trip to Washington, D.C. was expensed at only $20. Secretary of Business Affairs Mike Speedy also attended and listed the inauguration on his travel report, but Speedy's travel expense report displayed no costs for any of his 20+ trips.





via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/morales-tops-all-state-officials-with-nearly-33k-in-travel-expenses/