State Senate Passes Bill To Increase Transparency

The State Senate passes a bill that backers say would create an agency to increase transparency. Opponents doubt it though. 

The buzz word at the state Capitol these days is “transparency,” and this bill creates the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, or LOFT. But opponents say it’s anything but transparent.

Senate Bill 1 creates a new agency of six to eight people that would analyze agency requests to see if the money agencies want is what they really need.  

“When we make budget decisions in these budget negotiations, often times we’re left to the whims of the agencies, how much information they want to share with us,” said Senator Greg Treat (R) President Pro Tempore.

A good example - The Department of Health manufactured a crisis by hiding $30 million from the legislature. The legislature bailed the agency out and 200 people were laid off before the state learned the department was squirreling the money away in a slush account.

Read Related Story: Former Employees Sue State Health Department

The LOFT agency is designed to combat that, but it comes with a cost.

“$1.6 million in the first year and some change. It is going to be an ongoing cost of $860,000, with a one-time estimate of $830,000 to buy desks and chairs and computers and the sort,” said Senator Treat.

Opponents question, “Why do we need a new level of bureaucracy when we already have a state auditor to do the job?”

“The argument I hear from their office and many other agencies is we would be more effective if we hadn’t been cut. Do you think that this investment into like our state auditor’s office would provide the same results?” Senator J.J. Dossett (D) Owasso asked.

Senator Treat replied, “If we give money to this entity it doesn’t preclude us from giving more resources to be able to do more effective audits.”

The other complaint - The Legislative Office of Transparency won’t be very transparent.

“Since the legislature is exempted from the Open Records Act, would this legislative office of fiscal transparency also be exempted from the Open Records Act?” Senator Julia Kirt (D) Oklahoma City asked.

“Yes, they would not fall under the Open Records Act,” Treat replied.

Backers of the bill say the agency has to keep some secrets about how and where money is spent. It now goes to the House of Representatives.