House passes administrative rules reform measure; OCPA, AFP-OK praise

House Passes REINS Act

Second House priority bill passes House title-on in first three weeks of session

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 20th) – The Oklahoma House of Representatives today passed House Bill 2728, a measure designed to enhance transparency and legislative oversight in the state’s administrative rulemaking process.

House Bill 2728, authored by Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, creates the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025, modeled after similar federal legislation. The bill ensures that state agency regulations receive greater legislative review before taking effect.

Small: REINing in the government Goliath

REINing in the government Goliath

By Jonathan Small

Oklahoma state government’s reach may seem insignificant compared to the gargantuan size of the federal government, but Oklahoma government still has tendrils reaching all segments of our economy.

That’s why it is important for Oklahoma lawmakers to restrain government regulation at the state level even as President Trump does the same thing at the federal level.

State House committee approves bill to reform administrative rulemaking

You want to address how government impacts citizens? Take a look at administrative rulemaking - where bureaucracy interprets legislation in the real world.

House Committee Advances Bill to Reform Administrative Rulemaking

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb 4th) – The Oklahoma House Administrative Rules Committee has approved legislation aimed at reforming the state’s administrative rulemaking process—the system through which state agencies implement laws by drafting and proposing regulations.

House Bill 2728, authored by Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, would establish the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2025, modeled after similar federal legislation introduced in Congress last year. Kendrix described the REINS Act as a crucial first step toward increasing transparency and oversight in what he referred to as an attempt by the unelected bureaucracy to create an unconstitutional "fourth branch of government."

Small: Proposals could cut red tape in Oklahoma

Proposals could cut red tape in Oklahoma

By Jonathan Small

Despite being a conservative electorate, Oklahomans still face more state regulations than citizens in most other states. The accumulation of those rules impedes economic growth and job creation.

Fortunately, legislative leaders are preparing to tackle this problem.

At a recent meeting jointly led by state Rep. Gerrid Kendrix and state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, who each chair their respective chamber’s administrative rules committee, lawmakers reviewed initiatives that have pared down regulations elsewhere.

Small: Medicaid-expansion critics proven right

Medicaid-expansion critics proven right

By Jonathan Small

Prior to the 2020 statewide vote on Medicaid expansion, we at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs warned that projected costs were unrealistic, lowball estimates and spending would quickly surge, forcing lawmakers to divert millions from other uses, such as education or public safety.

Officials with the Foundation for Government Accountability and Americans for Prosperity also made that argument with reams of data.

Expansion supporters dismissed those critiques. In June 2020, Medicaid expansion was authorized by statewide vote, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

But now there’s no denying critics knew what we were talking about.

Bergstrom files bills to create a pathway to zero income tax, enhance administrative rules oversight

Bergstrom files bill to create a pathway to zero income tax

OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 7th) - On Wednesday, Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, filed Senate Bill 1228, a measure that would outline a pathway to eliminate the Oklahoma state income tax. This significant proposal aims to alleviate the burden on hardworking Oklahomans and spur economic growth by fostering job creation within small businesses.

OCPA column: State’s licensure boards declared a “time bomb”

State’s licensure boards declared a “time bomb”

By Jonathan Small

State licensure boards are an important, although often overlooked, component of job opportunity and economic growth. The boards control access to professions. If operated appropriately, they provide consumer protection while allowing the most qualified people possible to enter a profession, which increases competition and keeps prices down for consumers.

But there’s reason to worry Oklahoma’s licensure boards have inherent flaws that not only stymie healthy industry competition, but also could be found illegal. One legislator compared the state’s licensure system to “sitting on a time bomb.”

Administrative spending soars at largest Oklahoma school districts

ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING SOARS AT LARGEST OKLAHOMA SCHOOL DISTRICTS

by Ray Carter, Center for Independent Journalism

Oklahoma schools devote a larger share of funding to non-instructional uses than their counterparts in several surrounding states and a dramatic surge in administrative spending in some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts suggests that situation is poised to get worse, based on data in a recent report by a state watchdog agency.

In a report reviewing Oklahoma’s K-12 public-school funding, officials with the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) found that administrative spending in Oklahoma schools is growing at a faster pace than instructional spending.

LOFT found that, between 2010 and 2021, Oklahoma public schools’ administrative expenditures increased by 40 percent while spending on instruction grew at a slower rate of 35 percent.

Small: Time for Joy Hofmeister's job review

Time for a politician’s job review

By Jonathan Small

Just like workers in the private sector undergo routine job reviews, it’s important citizens take time to review the records of officeholders.

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister is now beginning her eighth and final year in that office, so it’s worth considering what results she has generated. It’s a record few citizens would give a passing grade.

Since student learning is the most basic metric for a state head of schools, we should begin there. And what state tests show is steep decline. Statewide in all districts and grades, fewer students are performing at grade level or better. Many are doing much, much worse. Those scoring “below basic,” the category for children more than a year behind in a subject, comprised 40 percent of all students statewide in 2021. Just 30 percent were in that category in spring 2019.

That decline can’t be blamed on funding. During Hofmeister’s tenure, state school spending has increased 25 percent, rising from about $2.4 billion in her first year in office to roughly $3 billion this year. Schools districts actually carried over $1 billion this year, an increase of more than 50 percent in savings compared to five years prior.

Report: Oklahoma ranks first in region for teacher pay

OKLAHOMA RANKS FIRST IN REGION FOR TEACHER PAY

by Ray Carter, Center for Independent Journalism

Oklahoma’s teacher shortage has long been blamed on low teacher pay, but a new report from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) shows that excuse no longer holds water.

“After applying adjustments for both tax burdens and cost of living, Oklahoma’s average teacher salary ranks number one in the immediate region and is the only state within the surrounding region to be ranked higher than the national average,” Brad Ward, program evaluator for LOFT, told legislators serving on the LOFT oversight committee.

For its latest report, LOFT officials compared teacher pay in Oklahoma to all other states, taking into account cost-of-living differences and tax burden to determine the real buying power of Oklahoma teachers. LOFT officials also accounted for the value of teacher benefits in each state, including retirement, state-funded health benefits, and Social Security benefits.

Ward said LOFT found Oklahoma “to have the most complete offering of benefits within the region.”

“Oklahoma’s compensation levels are highly competitive both regionally and nationally,” Ward said. “After adjusting for tax burden and cost-of-living differences, the average Oklahoma teacher salary ranks highest in the immediate seven-state region, fourth-highest in the broader region as defined by the Southern Regional Education Board, and 21st-highest in the nation.”

At a district level, cost-of-living differences mean some Oklahoma teachers in rural areas have significant purchasing power.

“In 2019, the average salary in Okemah was $50,587, but after adjustments the real buying power increased by 17 percent to $59,385,” Ward said.

While Texas is often touted as outbidding Oklahoma for teachers, LOFT found only 20 percent of school districts in Texas pay higher effective salaries than the average pay in Oklahoma.

More broadly, LOFT’s analysis of 2,470 school districts’ average salaries within the surrounding seven-state region showed that only 31 percent offer higher average teacher pay than Oklahoma.

In response, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister downplayed the importance of teacher pay.

“When we look at cost alone and compare that with other states, even with cost-of-living adjustments, it can be one-dimensional,” Hofmeister said. “Because we are not examining what the teachers are asked to do in this state compared to other states.”

She said Oklahoma has a “more severe teacher shortage than in other states” and suggested Oklahoma teachers are asked to take on tasks teachers elsewhere are not, including driving bus routes and cleaning classrooms.

Typically, schools provide additional compensation for driving a bus. That additional pay would not be counted as teacher compensation in LOFT’s analysis.

LOFT’s analysis indicated factors other than pay play a major role in Oklahoma’s teacher shortage.

Mike Jackson, executive director of LOFT, noted that teacher shortages “are not uniform across teaching areas” with the greatest shortages in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses.

LOFT found Oklahoma colleges of education are attracting significantly fewer students than they did a decade ago and are not only producing too few teachers to address STEM needs but also producing too many candidates for other positions.

“LOFT found that Oklahoma’s education pipeline is not producing enough graduates, and those graduating are misaligned to the teacher-labor market,” Jackson said.

LOFT found state colleges of education are failing to produce enough graduates to replace retiring teachers, leading to shortages.

“Oklahoma’s public teacher-preparation programs have not kept pace with the number of teachers retiring each year,” Jackson said. “Over the past 10 years, 29,574 Oklahoma teachers have retired, but Oklahoma’s public institutions have produced enough graduates to fill only 46 percent of those vacancies in the same time period.”

During that period, Jackson said enrollment in teacher-education programs declined by 48 percent. And increasing teacher pay has had no notable impact on reducing teacher attrition in Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, 21 percent of teachers leave after their first year in the profession and 53 percent leave public schools after five years.

“In reviewing annual teacher-attrition data, LOFT found that despite the average Oklahoma teacher salary increasing over time, the annual teacher-attrition rate continues to rise,” Jackson said.

LOFT suggested the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) could compile teacher labor-market data to inform colleges of education and prospective students on areas of need.

But Hofmeister dismissed that idea.

“OSDE is neither the employer nor are we the producer of the teacher supply, and OSDE is also not the state’s workforce development agency and is leery of mission expansion to include tasks such as analyzing workforce trends and occupational data,” Hofmeister said.

That prompted some pushback from lawmakers.

“For the edification of all of us who believe that a high-quality free public-education system is the silver bullet to economic prosperity for our state, whose responsibility is it for the teacher workforce?” asked Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa.

“That would fall under commerce and workforce development,” Hofmeister responded.

While Oklahoma’s average teacher pay ranks highest in the region, LOFT officials found that the state’s mandatory minimum salary schedule for teachers is flawed and may contribute to workforce attrition over time.

“Oklahoma’s compensation structure is heavily weighted on the front end with an emphasis on raising starting salaries but provides limited income adjustments at the mid- and late-career points,” said Kaitlyn Jasper, program evaluator for LOFT.

While Oklahoma’s salary schedule increases pay for teachers who obtain additional college degrees, the pay increase does not offset the cost of obtaining the degree. As a result, while a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree can work towards obtaining a doctorate, there is little real payoff.

“LOFT calculates that for a first-year teacher pursuing this path, it would take 14 years of scheduled salary increases to offset the average cost of these degrees,” Jasper said.

She also noted most states have transitioned away from teacher-salary schedules and Oklahoma is one of only 14 states to still set minimum salary schedules with progression steps. In contrast, Colorado and Texas have been shifting to “market-based approaches,” Jasper said.

While the average teacher pay in most Texas schools is lower than the average pay in Oklahoma, the embrace of performance pay has resulted in some individual Texas districts paying far more than Oklahoma.

“From a district-level perspective, Dallas may be Oklahoma’s greatest regional competition,” Jasper said. “Dallas Public Schools shifted from a traditional salary structure to a salary structure that pays teachers according to their performance in the classroom. Teachers may move up pay levels based on effectiveness. For example, an experienced master teacher can make up to $114,000.”

The LOFT report noted that state law requires the State Board of Education to develop a minimum of five different model incentive pay plans to be distributed to local school boards. But the report said LOFT officials “found no evidence” that OSDE had fulfilled that statute.

[Originally posted by the Center for Independent Journalism]

Humphrey: House Dems' false accusations must stop

OPINION: False Accusations Must Stop

By State Rep. Justin Humphrey

It is time for Americans to respond and stop allowing hostile antagonists to assert false political statements.

House Democratic leadership and others have asserted claims of a COVID-19 state cover-up, alleging the governor withheld and misrepresented information given to him by the White House Taskforce. Democrat partisans go on to deceptively declare Oklahomans have lost their voice because Republicans have conceded power to Gov. Stitt.

Claims that Republicans have failed to hold the governor accountable and that this alleged failure falls on the laps of all Republicans are absolutely incorrect.

Let’s recap several vital issues addressed by Republican legislators in 2020. Numerous Republicans openly opposed the governor’s stand on tribal issues. Republicans strongly disagreed with the governor’s budget and Republicans led the veto override of the governor’s budget veto in a historic fashion.

I am proud to work with the governor on issues where we agree, but it is undeniable that we have held the governor accountable.

1889 Institute: Sell Unneeded State Assets to Shore up State Pensions

Sell Unneeded State Assets to Shore up State Pensions

By Benjamin Lepak

Oklahoma’s government owns a lot of property. This includes land and buildings, but it also includes valuable assets like the state-owned electric power company, the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA). GRDA reports nearly $1.8 billion in assets on its most recent balance sheet, with a “net position” of more than $622 million. Or the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), which has a $1.2 billion endowment producing roughly $50 million annual investment income.

We would be better off if some of these assets were liquidated. Physical assets could be sold or leased to private entities where they would be more economically productive, pay taxes, and relieve the state of maintenance expenses.

The proceeds could be directed to long-term funding challenges like unfunded pensions and infrastructure. The needs are not small. Oklahoma faces $7.9 billion in unfunded pension obligations, totaling approximately the entire rest of the state budget.

Democratic members of Legislative Office for Fiscal Transparency protest lack of transparency in hiring of executive director

Statement on Hiring of Executive Director for LOFT

OKLAHOMA CITY – The following statement was issued by the Democratic members of the Legislative Oversight for Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), Sen. Julia Kirt, Sen. Michael Brooks, Rep. Cyndi Munson, and Rep. Meloyde Blancett:

“We are disappointed by the process used to hire the new director of the Legislative Office for Fiscal Transparency (LOFT). The objective of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency was to provide openness and transparency.  This vote today to hire a director and the process by which this was brought forth was nothing close to transparent, which begs the question of how effective LOFT will  be if this is the way we conduct our actions.

There should have been a more transparent process for hiring the director of a new taxpayer-funded office launched to focus on transparency. The candidate selected was not one of the original applicants for the position. As members of the LOFT Oversight Committee, we were previously told we would have input in the vetting of candidates for the director position and on who was selected after the interview process. That is not what happened. Moving forward, the work of LOFT and the LOFT Oversight committee must be conducted with more openness, public participation and accountability."

Mike Jackson leaves State Chamber to head up Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency

LOFT hires executive director

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency Oversight Committee on Friday selected Mike Jackson of Oklahoma City as executive director of the office.

The hire was recommended by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat.

“The Legislature is incredibly focused on ensuring transparency and accountability in the expenditure of taxpayer dollars and LOFT will greatly aid in our efforts,” said Speaker McCall, R-Atoka. “As a former legislator, Mike Jackson understands how our government works – and sometimes doesn’t work – and knows the right questions to ask as we track the expenditure of taxpayer dollars and institute metrics to measure the effectiveness of state programs and services.”

Jackson served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2004 to 2014 and most recently served as executive vice president of government and political affairs at the State Chamber of Oklahoma. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University.

House committee passes bill to bring transparency on state lawsuits

O’Donnell Passes Bill  to Bring Greater Transparency on State Lawsuits

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R-Catoosa) yesterday saw advancement of a bill that would bring greater transparency to the process by which the state hires and pays for outside attorneys or legal agencies to represent its interests.

House Bill 3390 would require the state to make available to the public a list of attorneys and firms furnishing legal services along with a schedule of fees paid. The bill also caps the fees the state would pay to $1,000 per hour or a scale from 2% to 15% depending on the amount recovered from $20 million to less than $10 million with the state payment not to exceed $10 million. Any case that is believed to cost more than $1 million will need to be first submitted to the Legislative Oversight Committee overseeing the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT).

The bill passed in the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 15-0.

“The goal of this measure is to bring transparency to state lawsuits,” O’Donnell said. “A more transparent bidding process is good for everybody in the state.”

HB 3390 also specifies that past or present relationships between legal counsel and the state be disclosed when contracts are proposed and that the reasons for hiring outside counsel be explained to the public. The bill further requires that before entering into a contract for legal representation with private attorneys or firms, an official of the executive branch must receive proposals for three qualified private attorneys or firms with the contract being based on the most economical and the service judged to be in the best interest of the state.

O’Donnell said the bill is still a work in progress and may see further amendments before it is brought to the House floor.

McCall, Wallace comment on first meeting of LOFT Oversight Committee

STATEMENT: Speaker McCall on First Meeting of LOFT Oversight Committee

OKLAHOMA CITY – “When I was elected as Speaker back in 2016, it was clear the agency budget hearing process was not as efficient and transparent as it should be, and that lawmakers did not have enough time to fully vet budget requests or analyze how effectively agency programs were serving Oklahomans. Since that time, we have strived to make the entire budgeting process more efficient and accountable to the Legislature, which is charged with stewarding the taxpayer dollars we use to run government. LOFT is another important piece of that multifaceted approach – along with recent efforts to rebalance state boards and commissions and efforts to audit state agencies on an annual rolling basis – aimed at instilling accountability, transparency and efficiency into our government. Not only will LOFT track appropriated dollars and analyze agency programs, but it will also provide lawmakers information prior to agency budget request hearings that will allow us to make better informed decisions. I am very appreciative of Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat and his willingness to address this issue in a way that will make our process much more productive.”

Wallace Comments on First LOFT Meeting

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Appropriations and Budget Chair State Rep. Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston) today commented on the first meeting of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) Oversight Committee. Wallace was appointed co-chair of the committee by House Speaker Charles McCall. Sen. Roger Thompson, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is also co-chair.

“We had a very productive first meeting,” Wallace said. “Now that we have all committee members in place, we were able to do a deep dive on the statute and our responsibilities as a committee. We were able to assign members to working groups and start to work on establishing a calendar by which we want to have certain action items accomplished.”

The LOFT office and the committee were established with the passage and signing into law of Senate Bill 1 this year. The overall goal of the office is to increase transparency and accountability of the expenditure of taxpayer dollars by state agencies. The 14-member bipartisan and bicameral committee is charged with overseeing and guiding the operations of the office.

Wallace said one of the working groups established in today’s meeting will examine the requirements of the LOFT executive director, so the committee can begin a search for that individual. A director will need to be in place before the beginning of the legislative session, he said.

A second working group will establish the rules for LOFT, which will have to be approved by the Legislature during the next legislative session. The committee also set the date for its next meeting, Aug. 20.

Wallace said members hope to have proposed rules soon. They plan to utilize preliminary LOFT information beginning next session and even more detailed information every legislative session after that.

“This office is necessary for conducting the business of state government,” Wallace said. “The public deserves to know how their tax payer dollars are spent and the benefits of each program and service they pay for as administered by state agencies. This nonpartisan office will help us better track such spending and the necessity of items detailed in agency budget requests each year. Lawmakers are hopeful we can find any waste and improve the efficiency of state government to benefit our citizens.”

Wallace said elected lawmakers are tasked with appropriating funding to state agencies to manage programs and services for Oklahoma. The sheer number of appropriated state agencies combined with the number of new lawmakers each year because of term limits predicates the need for additional help in tracking the intricacies of agency budgets and their yearly requests for state funding.

He said LOFT staff will be able to regularly:

• gather information related to proposed agency budgets;
• evaluate the extent to which each agency fulfills its statutory responsibilities;
• determine the amount of revenue available to the agency from various sources;
• compare current budget information to prior agency requests; and
• conduct an investigation of any agency as needed to fulfill its responsibilities.
• The office also is authorized to conduct performance evaluations, independent comprehensive performance audits and will provide up-to-date information and analysis on state spending and the performance of state programs and service to the House and Senate to aid in the yearly appropriations process.

Aside from Co-Chairs Wallace and Thompson, other committee members are:

• Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow
• Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City
• Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond
• Rep. Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa
• Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City
• Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa
• Sen. Kim David, R-Porter
• Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee
• Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Springer
• Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Guthrie
• Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City
• Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.

LOFT oversight committee to hold first meeting July 30

LOFT oversight committee to hold first meeting July 30

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) oversight committee will meet for the first time later this month at the Oklahoma Capitol.

LOFT is legislative office created this year in a bill by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat. LOFT will provide the public and policymakers with independent, objective research and data on state spending and program evaluation and performance.

The Speaker and President Pro Tempore appointed a bipartisan group of legislators to serve on the committee that will oversee and guide the work of LOFT. The oversight committee will meet at 3:30 pm Tuesday, July 30, in Room 419-C at the Oklahoma Capitol.

“LOFT will be a game-changer because it will enhance and expand transparency and accountability in state spending by providing independent, objective data on state spending and program performance,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “I’m confident the oversight committee will do a great job guiding LOFT. I’m excited to see the progress made in the coming weeks as LOFT begins to take shape.”

“I am excited for the LOFT Committee to meet and begin the process of getting implemented,” said McCall, R-Atoka. “LOFT is a much-needed resource for the Legislature that, frankly, should have been created long ago. We have members that are ready to roll their sleeves up and solve problems, but it is difficult to do without timely and accurate information about agency spending and programs. LOFT will provide the House and Senate the information and analysis we need to make good, informed decisions on behalf of Oklahoma’s citizens.”

Treat appointed Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah and Senate Appropriations Committee chair, to serve as the co-chair of the oversight committee, while McCall named Representative Kevin Wallace to serve as co-chair.

“LOFT is a tremendous concept that will serve the Legislature and the public by increasing transparency and accountability in the expenditure of our tax dollars. We’ve already been at work behind the scenes and I’m looking forward to our first oversight committee meeting. We’re going to hit the ground running and set LOFT up for great success moving forward,” Thompson said.

“It is the Legislature’s job to ensure agencies are spending taxpayer dollars wisely and without waste, and LOFT will help us do that more effectively,” said House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. “LOFT will ensure that lawmakers from both chambers are working off the same information, and it will get that information to us prior to agency budget requests so we are making decisions based off of what we know rather than just trusting what agency leaders tell us. I believe LOFT will drastically improve our budgeting process and help us work more efficiently for our citizens.”

LOFT Oversight Committee members:

• Kevin Wallace, co-chair
• Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow
• Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City
• Mike Osburn, R-Edmond
• Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa
• Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City
• Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa
• Senator Roger Thompson, co-chair
• Senator Kim David, R-Porter
• Senator Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee
• Senator Frank Simpson, R-Springer
• Senator Chuck Hall, R-Guthrie
• Senator Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City
• Senator Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.

Speaker McCall Names Members to LOFT Oversight Committee

Speaker McCall Names Members to LOFT Oversight Committee

House Budget Chair Kevin Wallace Named Co-Chair 

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Charles McCall today appointed members to the oversight committee for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), a recently created legislative office to evaluate agency budgets and programs for lawmakers.

Speaker McCall named House Appropriations and Budget Chairman Kevin Wallace as co-chair of the LOFT Oversight Committee. In addition, he appointed the following members to the Committee:

• State Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, Co-Vice Chair
• State Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City
• State Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond
• State Rep. Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa
• State Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City
• State Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa

LOFT was created, effective immediately, when Gov. Stitt signed Senate Bill 1 into law. Senate Bill 1, by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, creates LOFT within the existing Legislative Service Bureau (LSB). The LSB is a shared office between the House of Representatives and the Senate that currently has limited functions. LOFT will be similar to the federal Government Accountability Office within Congress.

LOFT will have an oversight committee made up of seven members of the House and seven members of the Senate. All members and the co-chairs of the committee are to be appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, with at least two members from each chamber being members of the minority party.

"Taxpayers expect lawmakers to ensure their dollars are being spent efficiently, without waste and as they were intended," said Speaker McCall, R-Atoka. "LOFT will give the Legislature an office that works for lawmakers, not the state agencies, and give us confidence that the information and analysis it provides our members will be unbiased, timely and accurate. The members I have chosen to serve Oklahomans on the LOFT Oversight Committee have shown the temperament and willingness to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work that digging through agency budgets and complex agency programs requires."

LOFT would employ financial examiners who would routinely audit agency budgets and spending and evaluate the effectiveness of agency programs and services. The office would then provide reports to the House and Senate.

"LOFT has been a priority for House Republicans for several years, and I am glad we finally got this legislation passed and are ready to utilize these new resources to benefit citizens," said Co-Chair Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. "Having worked on the state appropriated budget for three years now, I can tell you it can be difficult at times to get accurate information from the agencies, and there have been times when some agencies have provided different information to the House and Senate. As lawmakers, we have to get useful information quickly in order to make good budgeting decisions on behalf of the Oklahomans that sent us here. LOFT will help us do that."

Senate Bill 1 requires agencies, boards and commissions to turn over to LOFT upon request all records, documents and budgets and make personnel available. LOFT will also have subpoena and investigation authority.

The Legislature appropriated $1.7 million to fund LOFT in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget that just passed.

OCPA column: A notable contrast in legislative priorities

A notable contrast in legislative priorities

By Jonathan Small

The 2019 legislative session passed many good reforms, but its failures provided a glimpse of lawmakers’ priorities that should disturb Oklahomans.

Rather than act, lawmakers chose to sideline two measures that would have addressed some of Oklahoma’s most pressing needs in education and health care.

Lawmakers failed to raise the cap on the successful Equal Opportunity Scholarship program, which uses tax credits to inject millions of private dollars into public schools and private-school scholarships. Independent evaluators have concluded the program actually saves taxpayer money even as it increases student opportunity. Yet lawmakers chose not to expand this successful program, leaving thousands of children with special needs, kids struggling with addiction, and students living with the challenges of poverty unable to attend the schools that can best serve them.

Similarly, lawmakers failed to give voters the chance to direct state tobacco settlement payments to rural health care needs through a constitutional amendment. As rural hospitals close, lawmakers chose to instead leave tobacco dollars in a fund that pays for walking paths and advertisements that tell people to drink water.

But legislators did find the will to double the “Hollywood handout” film rebate, a de facto voucher program that sends millions out of state. Consultants hired by the state Incentive Evaluation Commission concluded the film program does nothing to permanently boost the Oklahoma film industry and does little for the state’s image. They recommended the program be ended.

Instead, lawmakers doubled program payments this year and even voted to allow some filmmakers to get payments from the Oklahoma Quick Action Closing Fund. Apparently, they concluded that the Harvey Weinsteins of the world are more deserving of Oklahoma taxpayer cash than homeless children or elderly rural patients in need of care.

The Legislature did advance some good reforms in other areas, including proposals OCPA has endorsed for many years. Those measures, if implemented correctly, should result in better oversight of government, less waste, and greater freedom for citizens.

Those measures include legislation giving the governor the ability to name the leaders of five major agencies, creation of a Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency to conduct performance evaluations of agencies, boosting state savings by $200 million, and requiring state agencies to report the use of all federal funds in a transparent manner.

Other worthwhile bills that became law provided for Oklahoma Supreme Court redistricting that increased the pool of potential jurists by hundreds in some cases, further criminal justice reforms, free speech protections on college campuses, and lawmakers’ commendable decision to not expand Medicaid and keep their focus on aiding the truly needy.

Put simply, the Legislature did some good this year. But when it was bad, it was really bad.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).

House Passes Bill Creating Legislative Budget Office

House Passes Bill Creating Legislative Budget Office

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives today passed a measure creating a legislative office to evaluate agency budgets and programs for lawmakers.

Senate Bill 1, by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, would create the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) within the existing Legislative Service Bureau (LSB). The LSB is a shared office between the House of Representatives and the Senate that currently has limited functions. LOFT would be similar to the federal Government Accountability Office within Congress.

“The Legislature has an obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent by the agencies appropriately and without waste, and we need the resources to do that effectively,” said Speaker McCall, R-Atoka. “LOFT will be a legislative-level office, not an executive branch office, that ensures lawmakers are getting accurate and timely information from the agencies so we can make better informed decisions for citizens. This office has been a shared priority between House and Senate leadership this session, and I am very pleased that we accomplished this goal before the end of session.”

LOFT would employ financial examiners who would routinely audit agency budgets and spending and evaluate the effectiveness of agency programs and services. The office would then provide reports to the House and Senate. LOFT would have an oversight committee made up of an equal number of bipartisan House and Senate members. All members and the co-chairs of the committee would be appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

“The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency will increase transparency and accountability by providing the public and lawmakers with in-depth information on agency budgets and program performance,” said President Pro Tempore Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “Rather than depending on agencies or third parties that receive state funding, lawmakers will have independent data as they make budgetary decisions and evaluate the effectiveness of individual programs. I appreciate Speaker McCall’s commitment and collaboration on the idea of a legislative budget office and thank him for his work in seeing Senate Bill 1 passed.”

The bill also requires agencies, boards and commissions to turn over to LOFT upon request all records, documents and budgets and make personnel available. LOFT will also have subpoena and investigation authority.

The Legislature appropriated $1.7 million to fund LOFT in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget that just passed.

The bill passed by a vote of 69-18 and now heads to the governor’s desk to await his signature.