The newspaper acknowledged that there is no law or guideline that prohibited the deal, but a spokesman for Governor Deal, who appointed Payne, acknowledged to the AJC that the agreement does give the appearance of a conflict of interest.
At issue is office space the Department of Revenue agreed to lease from Payne in Gainesville. The agreement would pay Payne $140,000 annually for 10 years.
The State Properties Commission finds office space for state agencies and negotiates with building owners.
Payne issued a statement Friday afternoon to the media:
"In light of a State of Georgia property lease for office space owned by myself, I have decided to resign from the State Properties Commission to end any further concerns over a perceived conflict of interest.
"I would like to point out, however, that I was never directly involved with any negotiations for the state lease, as it was all handled professionally through real estate agents representing the two parties. Furthermore, the negotiations began before my appointment to the State Properties Commission while ending in a very favorable contract for the state.
"Nevertheless, I would like to apologize to Governor Deal and the State Properties Commission for any embarrassment that this unfortunate misunderstanding may have caused."
According to the Governor's Office, Deal considered canceling the lease with Payne, but the state would then have to pay Payne a $229,000 early termination fee. So the lease remains in effect at the negotiated rate.
"Gov. Deal has given this situation a close review," spokesman Brian Robinson said. "The record clearly shows that the state located this property and began negotiations on it before Dr. Payne was appointed to the Properties Commission and this transaction never at any time came before the board for a vote."
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/5/248790