During the last two weeks, I have written about two unfortunate aspects of this year’s session. First, property tax reform was not allowed to take place and second, stimulus dollars thwarted an excellent opportunity to significantly shrink the size of state government.
That does not change the fact that there is a lot of good news resulting from this year’s legislative work.
Early in the year, legislative leadership in the House and Senate committed to reforming and streamlining government functions in order to eliminate obvious inefficiencies and save taxpayer dollars through the application of new technologies.
Because of their commitment, many of the streamlining concepts were successfully presented and signed into law in the form of House Bill 1032 (Omnibus Modernization) and House Bill 1170 (IT Streamlining).
There were a number of very good concepts in these bills, namely: enhancing transparency (which I plan to write about very soon), attempting to stop agencies from passing on unfair fee increases, and reorganizing purchasing and IT infrastructure in order to save money.
These bills have the potential to save millions of taxpayer dollars that would have otherwise been unnecessarily wasted. The only reason they were successful was because legislative leadership, working in partnership with the governor, stuck to their guns and ensured passage despite some legislative and agency-level opposition.
In doing so, legislative leaders were able to trim off some of the obvious waste of taxpayer dollars.
In my view, this was the logical starting place for shrinking the size of government. If we had not been successful in reducing the obvious inefficiencies, it would have been impossible to take on those reforms which will be more comprehensive and difficult to achieve.
Many of the ideas originated from a study on government modernization commissioned by former Speaker of the House Lance Cargill and current House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Ken Miller in 2007. It has taken two legislative years to win approval of the reform observed during that study.
During the legislative interim, I will be asking the speaker of the House to allow the House committee which I chair to hold several studies so that we can look at the suggestions to be incorporated in a new round of money-saving legislation.
In the meantime, I would very much appreciate your suggestions and observations on saving taxpayer dollars and reducing some of the waste in government. Your observations are vital to having the necessary information to confront and eliminate that waste.
REP. JASON MURPHEY, R-Guthrie, represents House District 31, which encompasses all of Logan County and a portion of northern Edmond. He may be reached via e-mail at jason.murphey@okhouse.gov.
Opinion
Reducing some of the waste in government spending
- Opinion
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OUR VIEW: Feb. 14 vote about ideas
If you read any of the letters to the editor in the past two weeks regarding Tuesday’s District 2 Edmond school board race, then you already know that this election is not about the individual candidates so much as it’s about what type of school board do Edmond residents really want governing their school district?
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What are your presidential 10 Commandments?
As we brace for the upcoming presidential campaign, we should be honest about our responsibility in the process. Before we get pushed, pulled, bribed, frightened, bullied, flattered, fooled or charmed into voting for a candidate, let’s take a mature thoughtful look at what the profile of the president should look like. In order to do that, let’s do an exercise. Sit down with a pencil and paper and draft your proposal for the Ten Commandments to be obeyed by the president. Let me share some of my suggestions.
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What would Reagan do today in Oklahoma?
As we celebrated the 101st anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth on Feb. 6, several of us at Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs started discussing what Reagan might do today. Here are some of the ideas we came up with.
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Consequences of an overregulated nation
Overreaching government regulations are costing jobs and killing our economy. They are a heavy burden on our nation and its citizens — in some cases worse than our nation’s increasingly out-of-control debt.
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LETTER: Supporter: Duncan shows passion for children’s needs
To the Editor:
The families in the Edmond Public School District are fortunate to have Kathleen Duncan as their advocate on the Edmond Board of Education. Duncan has worked tirelessly for the welfare and benefit of the Edmond schools’ students. -
LETTER: Teacher supports Duncan’s re-election
To the Editor:
On Feb. 14 patrons of District 2 have an opportunity to re-elect the current president of the Edmond School Board, Kathleen Duncan. Duncan has served as a board member for 10 years. When people move to the Oklahoma City area, they buy a home here because of the exceptional quality of Edmond Public Schools. This speaks to Duncan’s goal of “Excellence in Education for All Edmond Public School Students.” -
LETTER: Supporter: Duncan understands diverse issues
To the Editor:
Kathleen Duncan understands the diverse issues that effect our schools. She carefully studies the district’s issues and works tirelessly as an advocate for all students. Her votes as a board member have an impact for years to come and she takes that responsibility very seriously. - LETTER: Reader says incumbent's personal agenda in the way
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OUR VIEW: Feb. 14 vote about ideas
