Rep. Mary McAllister claims that a House bill would not have only benefited her nonprofit.
In a May 29 letter to constituents, the Fayetteville Democrat said that a 2005 bill she sponsored would have provided $500,000 in state funding to "4 sickle cell centers across North Carolina."
However, both versions of the bill on the legislature's Web site show the appropriation going to Operation Sickle Cell.
As executive director of the Fayetteville nonprofit, McAllister receives a $115,000 annual salary.
In the letter, McAllister also addresses her recent failure to disclose that she was on the board of a church-based foundation, saying it was "an oversight," and her request for a delay in her State Board of Elections hearings.
"I want to assure you that we are working diligently to resolve questions regarding the activities of my campaign committee," she writes.
A comparison of the letter and the bill after the jump.
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From a May 29, 2007, letter by Rep. Mary McAllister to constituents:
In 2005, I introduced legislation for the State to provide $500,000 in funding to the 4 sickle cell centers across North Carolina. Contraty to what was reported in The Fayetteville Observer on May 27, 2007, Operation Sickle Cell was not targeted to receive $500,000 in funding. Rather, Operation Sickle Cell was one of the 4 separate sickle cell centers across North Carolina targeted to share the funding called for in the legislation. The other 3 centers are not affiliated with Operation Sickle Cell. The legislation, which was not passed, was introduced prior to enactment of the new ethics laws.
From the text of House Bill 2479, filed by Rep. McAllister in 2006:
There is appropriated from the General Fund to Operation Sickle Cell, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year. These funds shall be used for case management services for sickle cell patients in Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, and Robeson counties.
