OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Latest on a budget shortfall at the Oklahoma State Department of Health (all times local):
4 p.m.
A former top financial officer at the Oklahoma State Department of Health says the agency was "a financial time bomb" before authorities discovered a $30 million budget shortfall.
Former Chief Operating Officer Deborah Nichols testified Tuesday before an Oklahoma House investigative committee about the financial turmoil that has resulted in the resignations of Health Commissioner Terry Cline and others.
Nichols says the agency was overstaffed and couldn't pay its bills on time when the shortfall was discovered in June. Nichols says she recommended that authorities seek supplemental state funding in July, but no action was taken.
Nichols says many issues led to the agency's financial problems including a lack of accepted auditing and accounting processes.
Earlier Tuesday Attorney General Mike Hunter said the FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is joining his investigation into the health department.
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