Beebe resigned in September 2011 among nationwide conference realignment that particularly challenged the Big 12.

WSJ: A Big 12 Buyout for Dan Beebe

About 30 firms have paid for such arbitration, says in-house lawyer Anette Beebe.

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The company said that Beebe, who joined Suntech in 2008 and is based in San Francisco, had resigned for personal reasons.

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The payments, which appeared in conference tax documents recently made public, also included part of Beebe's salary for the 2011-12 fiscal year and retention bonuses, Beebe said.

WSJ: A Big 12 Buyout for Dan Beebe

"You understand when you take these jobs that they pay well and you have contracts, and if they want a change in leadership that's the right of the membership, " Beebe said.

WSJ: A Big 12 Buyout for Dan Beebe

Beebe's spokesman Matt DeCample said those costs would come in "establishing and distributing a new ID card as required by the law, " adding the state would be prohibited from charging for the new voter identification cards under the proposed legislation.

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Democrat Mike Beebe will be the next state leader, winning over Republican Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman and undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security.

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