OFRG Honors Jason Murphey, Leslie Osborn

Oklahomans for Responsible Government has named Rep. Jason Murphey, Guthrie Republican, as its Lawmaker of the Year.

Murphey is the recipient as the primary author in the House of two pieces of OFRG’s policy agenda. Senate Joint Resolution 12 puts to a vote of the people whether statewide elected officials should be limited to just two terms in office. Senate Bill 800 is an important reform to the initiative petition process that requires legal challenges to the wording of citizen initiatives to happen before signatures are collected.

OFRG also announced the creation of a new Taxpayer Advocate Award. It will be given periodically to an individual or group that has made a mark in protecting tax dollars. Rep. Leslie Osborn (R-Tuttle) gets the inaugural Taxpayer Advocate Award for her work in writing House Joint Resolution 1014 and getting it passed so it will be on the ballot in 2010. It asks voters whether a calculation for state spending should be used based on what other states are spending.

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OFRG Critizes Henry's Stimulus Committee

Oklahomans for Responsible Government today criticized Governor Henry for naming a committee to oversee the spending of federal stimulus dollars and a spokesman said the group believes that more bureaucracy is not the answer to making sure stimulus funds are spent correctly.

“The governor’s original plan was to have the State Auditor oversee the process and now there is a formal council with 15 members,” said OFRG Executive Director Brian Downs. “A more troubling aspect of the council is that it is solely made up of cabinet members and agency heads that will be spending the tax money. Taxpayers and the legislature don’t seem to have a voice.”

Back on March 2nd, the governor issued a press release stating that “State Treasurer Scott Meacham has worked closely with a number of public and private sector leaders, including leading state lawmakers, to determine how the stimulus funds may be applied to the state budget.” But now the legislature is absent from the council.

OFRG’s stance has been and continues to be that the legislature has the ultimate responsibility over spending state tax dollars and should have oversight of the federal stimulus as well; especially since some strings attached to the federal money could mean future use of state tax dollars to fill gaps once the stimulus money is gone. “Any stimulus money accepted should be for one-time expenses only, not for expanding government programs,” said Downs.

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OFRG Opposes OEA's Initiative Petition

An official with Oklahomans for Responsible Government said today that the Oklahoma Education Association's (OEA) submission of petition signatures to the Secretary of State brings Oklahoma one step closer to catastrophic cuts in state services, school consolidation, and/or record tax increases.

OFRG joins American Federation of Teachers-Oklahoma, an affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO, who has pointed out the detrimental impact the OEA's initiative will have on the state, "If taxes were not increased to produce enough funds to reach the regional average, state services from Medicaid, roads and bridges, public safety, to state employees would suffer budget cuts. We oppose public employees losing jobs for this petition."

AFT-Oklahoma has voted to oppose the initiative petition. (AFT-Oklahoma website)

Oklahomans for Responsible Government (OFRG) and others want transparency of current dollars first. "Taxpayers should know how their money is currently being spent," said Brian Downs, Executive Director of OFRG. "The state has increased education dollars every year since 2003 and passed a lottery that has failed. Why should Oklahoma taxpayers buy-in to another scheme without review of how current dollars are used?"

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OFRG Urges Term Limits Approval

Oklahomans for Responsible Government (OFRG), the new taxpayer advocacy group that promotes fiscal responsibility, accountability and transparency in state government, today urged the Oklahoma House of Representatives to approve a term limits bill for statewide elected officials.

By a 5-4 vote Monday, the House Rules Committee approved House Joint Resolution 1078 by state Rep. Trebor Worthen (R-Oklahoma City).

Worthen's bill would let Oklahoma voters decide whether to establish term limits for the offices of Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor and Inspector, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, State Treasurer, Labor Commissioner and the members of the Corporation Commission.

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