Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/category/government/publicmoney/)
Incoming Gov. Kevin Stitt and lawmakers have proposed a three-pronged look into state agencies’ spending and activities: accountability audits, a new financial transparency office and expansion of the governor’s power to appoint agency heads. How much transparency will it bring?
A coalition of Oklahoma business and civic leaders last week unveiled a sweeping plan to fix the state budget impasse. But will it fly in the Legislature? Two leaders – banking executive David Rainbolt and attorney and former Senate President Glenn Coffee – answer questions about the effort.
An Oklahoma Watch review of campaign records sheds light on a little-known perk: After being elected, legislators can tap campaign donations to pay for meals, trips, memberships and other expenses.
From January to September legislators spent $462,315 in campaign donations on “officeholder expenses”. Some were questionable. This data shows a sampling of lawmaker spending on trips, meals and event tickets.
The cash crisis at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which was years in the making, raises questions about which agencies and state officials could have caught the agency’s reported financial mismanagement.
Lawmakers will likely return to the State Capitol sooner than expected after Gov. Mary Fallin’s shocking veto of most of a budget bill approved by the Legislature only hours earlier. GOP leaders condemned the veto; Fallin’s office hasn’t fired back.
A new budget plan approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday would cut millions of dollars from dozens of state agencies and use one-time savings to bridge the state’s $215 million budget gap. It is expected to be heard in the Senate later this week. Read this agency-by-agency breakdown to see who’s cut how much.
Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, is a rarity in the Legislature: He refuses to accept any gifts or meals from a lobbyist. Two other legislators received less than $100 each from January to June.
Explore our searchable, sortable database showing all reported lobbyist gifts and meals for legislators and other officials.
An Oklahoma Watch review of thousands of gifts and meal purchases in 2017 found it’s impossible to confirm who was bankrolling efforts to influence policymakers for a quarter of the record-setting amount that lobbyists spent on legislators and other state officials last session.
Thursday’s state Supreme Court ruling creates a $214 million shortfall. Lawmakers could consider these four options over the coming days and weeks.
