Another investigation is being launched into Attorney General Tom Horne’s office.  The Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission decided Thursday it will look into allegations that Horne and his employees did re-election campaign work at his office.

The commission voted unanimously to investigate Horne based on allegations made by Sarah Beattie, one of his former employees.  She claimed she did campaign work for Horne while at the AG’s office. 

But during the hearing, Horne’s attorney Sandra Slaton testified that Beattie submitted state time cards that show she worked a full week.

“Was she lying on her time cards or was she lying when she made this complaint?" Slaton asked.

Clean Elections Commission Director Tom Collins said the panel needs to do some digging to find out if Horne broke the law because elected officials can’t do campaign work on state time.  And he said it will decide if Horne did anything wrong.

"There’s a range of penalties that principally deal with fines for violations although depending on the nature of the violation there are more severe sanctions that exist” Collins said.

He’s not sure how long the investigation will take but he said it will probably last a few months before a final ruling is made.