OKLAHOMA CITY – With Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s recent approval of numerous government modernization initiatives, Oklahomans should expect to pay less for government while gaining additional oversight of government activities.
Each year, taxpayers are already saving $40 million dollars in reduced IT costs as part of the state’s ongoing IT consolidation efforts. House Bill 2062, by state Rep. David Derby, mandates additional compounding savings each year. Derby’s legislation is expected to have a multi-million dollar savings impact. This became possible after State Chief Information Officer Alex Pettit revealed the opportunity for additional savings.
House Speaker T.W. Shannon’s House Bill 1910 emphasizes a comprehensive system for documenting state-owned real property assets, liquidating unneeded assets and meeting the deferred real property infrastructure needs, without issuing debt.
Shannon’s legislation was accompanied by Rep. David Brumbaugh’s House Bill 1990, which assists Department of Central Services officials in managing government-owned real property. Brumbaugh offered a series of modernization proposals, including bills that remove a potentially costly mandate on the centralized fleet operation. It also streamlines county purchasing practices, while simultaneously publishing them through the data.ok.gov Web portal for all to see.
House Government Modernization Committee Chairman Jason Murphey and Vice Chairman Mike Turner sponsored a series of successful consolidation bills upon the request of Gov. Fallin and her cabinet officials. The bills consolidate or eliminate approximately one-tenth of Oklahoma’s boards and commissions. Estimates show hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings as a result.
Turner also won approval for legislation that allows public schools to modernize content delivery to students. The proposal evolved after an Edmond school district official told Turner about the district’s hesitancy to issue new content delivery vehicles without the proper statutory protections for cost recovery.
State Rep. Elise Hall’s House Bill 1414 removes numerous affirmative action statutes from the law books. These costly mandates required agencies to expend resources. However, it became antiquated last November after Oklahomans approved a state question prohibiting these mandates. Likewise, Murphey’s House Bill 1477 endeavors to take the first step in modernizing multiple sections of administrative codes. This renovation is possible due to the recent consolidation of five state agencies into one. The streamlining effort could put all of the rules falling under the purview of the new agency into a single section.
Murphey also won approval for ongoing reforms to central purchasing. As a result, a recent report shows a sharp acceleration in the amount of savings. His legislation provides additional savings for the Department of Corrections. It also takes the first step to breaking down central purchasing’s antiquated vendor registration model, which creates a barrier to potential state vendors.
House Bill 1002, also by Murphey, prevents multiple state employees from being assigned to the same position for long periods of time. The legislation came about after a large state agency assigned hundreds of state employees to already filled positions.
The benefits from this year’s modernization agenda include transparency in addition to cost savings.
Derby’s House Bill 2062 included an important provision to establish an IT security portal so the public can monitor the occurrence of IT security incidents. The proposal was developed after the Modernization Committee accepted testimony at a spring hearing regarding serious security incidents taking place at state agencies, with little or no public purview. These incidents were only discovered because of the ongoing IT consolidation. As the agencies are consolidated the security shortcomings are being exposed and mitigated.
Following a study during the last legislative interim, state Rep. Joe Dorman sponsored the proposal to create a one-stop destination through the ok.gov Web portal. With this, citizens can receive information in an emergency. The emergency one-stop concept was on display following the recent Moore tornado when the state’s IT team quickly deployed the OKStrong.OK.GOV emergency portal.
Several modernization proposals still await action, including an innovative proposal by state Rep. Ken Walker. His legislation cuts costs from the expensive issuance of unnecessary law books. There is also the creation of an open records request one-stop shop by state Rep. Josh Cockroft, and a bill by Murphey, creating an appeals process for those who are deprived of government records.
“It has been another successful year of capturing new ideas for modernization, defeating the special interest defenders of the status-quo and building on past money saving initiatives,” explained Murphey, R-Guthrie. “None of this would have been possible without the continuing support of a strong majority of members of the Legislature and Governor Fallin. The taxpayers have been well-served by these elected officials.”
“Each of these reforms represent another step toward smaller and more transparent government” stated Turner, R-Edmond. “We are just getting started, and our team of modernization-minded Representatives are committed to building on these reforms during next year’s session”
Members of the House Government Modernization Committee will release a comprehensive policy paper later this summer.
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