Groups off state’s direct-donation list
State employees can no longer direct a portion of their paychecks to Planned Parenthood or the Clinton Foundation, after a state panel decided to remove the groups from the state’s charitable giving program.
Gov. Ducey, who chairs the State Employee Charitable Campaign, said the decision was motivated by recent controversies surrounding the two non-profits.
“The governor supports this decision by the committee,” Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato wrote in an email to The
Arizona Republic. “The state has to be responsible and thoughtful about programs that are approved as part of a taxpayer-run entity, and these two organizations have been embroiled in controversy.”
The decision came to light following a report by the Phoe
nix New Times.
According to the campaign’s website, state employees have raised more than $25 million for more than 400 charities.
In 2014, 2,200 employees donated about $577,000. Planned Parenthood received $7,410 from 48 state employees, the Governor’s Office said. It was unclear how much was donated to the Clinton Foundation.
Scarpinato said the foundation was removed from the approved-charities list because it is “mired in controversies.” The foundation’s activities have been scrutinized throughout Hillary Clinton’s run for president, including whether donors gave to the foundation to curry favor with Clinton and former president Clinton, as well as questions over its bookkeeping practices.
Jodi Liggett, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Arizo- na, said the group learned of the decision from employees who could no longer find the organization on the charitable giving list. She said the move was “the definition of a cheap political shot.”
“We just feel really bad for the state employees who are our donors,” Liggett said. “It’s clearly political. What does Gov. Ducey have available to him? There’s no state funding for family planning or other services that he can cut off from Planned Parenthood. ... So what does he have left?”