First DHS Joint Citizens Advisory Panel Meeting Scheduled Today

OKLAHOMA CITY --The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Joint Citizens Advisory Panel will hold its first meeting Wednesday, August 14, at the Credit Union House, 631 East Hill Street in Oklahoma City, beginning at 10 a.m.

House Bill 3137 from 2012 established four citizen advisory panels in the areas of administration, aging issues, children and family issues, and disability issues.

They will serve to provide advice, information, findings and analysis to the Director regarding policies and practices of DHS and their impact on outcomes. The panels will study and make recommendations to the Director regarding the management and operation of DHS, and will also offer recommendations for the implementation of the Pinnacle Plan.

Each advisory panel will meet at least four times a year; the entire Joint Citizens Advisory Panel will meet at least once a year.

The Human Services Commission for the DHS was abolished by the voters of Oklahoma on Nov. 6, 2012 with the passage of State Question State Question 765.

Previously, the Commission had oversight of DHS, but the passage of SQ 765 means that the Director of DHS makes all decisions for the agency and reports directly to the Governor.

The four citizen advisory panels will report to the Director and provide advice and recommendations on Administration issues, Aging issues, Children and Family issues, and Disability issues. Each advisory panel has five members, with one member on each panel appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Pro Tempore, the Minority House Leader and the Minority Senate Leader.

Agenda:

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
JOINT CITIZENS ADVISORY PANEL MEETING
Aug. 14, 2013 10 a.m.
CREDIT UNION HOUSE
631 EAST HILL STREET
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

AGENDA
Call to Order and Roll Call

Welcome and Opening Comments – Ed Lake, Director

10:15 a.m. Legislative Intent of House Bill 3137 –Senator Greg Treat and Representative Jason Nelson

10:30 a.m. Co-Neutrals –Eileen Crummy, Kathleen Noonan, and Kevin Ryan

10:45 a.m. Open Meeting Act and Open Records Act – Jan Preslar, Attorney General’s Office

11:15 a.m. Finance and Administrative Services –Melissa Lange, Finance Division

11:45 a.m. - Lunch

12:15 p.m. Media Relations – Sheree Powell, Director, Communications and Community Relations

12:30 p.m. Services under the oversight and direction of Chief of Staff:
12:30 Diane Haser-Bennett, Director, Human Resource Management
12:40 Connie Schlittler, Director, Planning/Research/Statistics
12:50 Samantha Galloway, Coordinator, Intergovernmental Relations/Policy

1:00 p.m. Legal Services – Richard Freeman, Legal Services Division

1:15 p.m. Community Living and Support Services - Mark Jones, Chief Coordinating Officer, Community Living and Support Services

1:45 p.m. Adult and Family Services – Jim Struby, Director, Adult and Family Services

2:15 p.m. Child Welfare and the Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan – Deborah Smith, Director, Child Welfare Services

Adjournment

Go to http://www.okdhs.org/divisionsoffices/panel/default.htm for additional information and a complete list of scheduled meetings.

Agency Performance and Budget Hearings Scheduled

OKLAHOMA CITY – The House will begin holding performance and budget request hearings for state agencies this week in preparation for the upcoming legislative session, House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chair Scott Martin announced.

The hearings will be held over a two-week period at the state Capitol beginning on Tuesday, January 22.

Rep. Martin said the hearings are an important process for members to review how the agencies performed during the most recent fiscal year. The meetings give the agencies an opportunity to explain to the committee how the prior year’s appropriation was spent, whether new programs were added or old ones discarded and to present their budget request for the next fiscal year.

“I’m glad we were able to reinstitute these critical hearings for the upcoming session,” said Martin, R-Norman. “It’s our duty to provide oversight and evaluate agency budgets, and these hearings will give my House colleagues the chance to really dig deep into agency spending and thoughtfully consider any new request before session begins.

“It’s important to the taxpayers that every penny spent is justified and used wisely. These are taxpayer dollars we will be appropriating, and it’s incumbent on us to be good stewards of them. I’m confident these meetings will be beneficial for the legislature, just as it will be for our state agencies. While the budget is considered and passed during a short four-month timeframe, our vigilance over it never ends. I hope my fellow citizens feel free to attend these public meetings and listen to the proceedings.”

The Performance and Budget hearing schedule is as follows:

• A&B Joint (with Senate) Human Services Subcommittee, Tuesday, January 22 at 8:30 a.m.
• A&B Joint (with Senate) Judiciary Subcommittee, Thursday, January 24 at 9:00 a.m.
• A&B Joint (with Senate) Natural Resources Subcommittee, Thursday, January 24 at 10:30 a.m.
• A&B Public Health Subcommittee, Monday, January 28 at 8:30 a.m.
• A&B Joint (with Senate) Career Technology Subcommittee, Monday, January 28 at 9:30 a.m.
• A&B Joint (with Senate) Higher Education Subcommittee, Monday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m.
• A&B Non-Appropriated Subcommittee, Tuesday, January 29 at 9:00 a.m.
• A&B Joint (with Senate) Common Education Subcommittee, Tuesday, January 29 at 9:30 a.m.
• A&B Transportation Subcommittee, Tuesday, January 29 at 10:30 a.m.
• A&B Public Safety Subcommittee, Wednesday, January 30 at 8:30 a.m.
• A&B General Government Subcommittee, Thursday, January 31 at 9:00 a.m.

All meeting notices with locations and agendas have been posted to the House website.

The 54th Legislature will convene on Monday, February 4.

Budget Hearings for Human Services Agencies Set

Oklahoma Capitol -- The House A&B Subcommittee on Human Services is set to meet on Jan. 22 from 9-5 in Room 511A of the State Capitol for pre-session Budget Performance Hearings. 

This is a joint meeting with the Senate A&B Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. 

During the morning session we will look at DHS as a whole but we have asked the agency to prepare for in-depth discussions of progress on child welfare reform, the closing of the two resource centers and the status of the developmental disabilities waiting list.

The meeting will be streamed live over the internet through the State Senate's website. 

House of Representatives

State of Oklahoma

REVISED

(To reflect change in location and start time)

January 16, 2013

TO:                                         A&B Human Services

            

SUBJECT:                             Performances Reviews

DATE:                                    January 22, 2013

TIME:                                    9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION:                         Oklahoma State Capitol Building

                                                Room 511-A

AGENDA:                  

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.          Department of Human Services

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.          Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.            Office of Juvenile Affairs

                                                

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.            Department of Rehabilitation Services

                                                

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.            Commission on Children and Youth

                                                

                                                Other Business and Adjournment

CHAIR:                                  Representative Jason Nelson

VICE CHAIR:                       Representative Jadine Nollan

MEMBERS:                           Representative Pat Ownbey

                                                Representative Pam Peterson

                                                Representative Anastasia Pittman

                                                Representative Dustin Roberts

                                                Representative Wade Rousselot

Ed Lake accepts OKDHS Director Position, Governor Comments

OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin today applauded the selection of Edward Lake as the new director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS).  The DHS Commission announced Lake’s selection at a board meeting on Wednesday.

“I applaud the selection of Edward Lake as the next director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services,” Fallin said. “With experience at nearly every level of the Tennessee Department of Human Services, Ed understands the challenges of managing an agency that interacts with the public at many levels.  He has proven himself an effective leader who was able to work with the agency and external stakeholder to improve the quality of services delivered to clients. 

“The ongoing reforms at the Department of Human Services, including the implementation of the Pinnacle Plan, will help improve the delivery of child welfare services in Oklahoma.  I’m confident Ed Lake can provide the leadership at DHS to help us ensure the state is providing adequate protection and care to vulnerable Oklahoma children.”

Governor Fallin met in person on Wednesday with Lake.

“As voters consider a state question that would put the governor in charge of selecting the DHS director, I felt it important to meet in person with Ed Lake,” Fallin said. “I came away from that meeting impressed by his quality and character and feel he’s a great choice to lead DHS.”

The governor said if State Question 765 is approved by voters in November, she has no plans to replace Lake as DHS director.

Governor Fallin thanked Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger, who had served as interim director of DHS since March.

“I appreciate Preston Doerflinger’s willingness to take on the challenge of serving as interim-director at DHS,” Fallin said. “Preston has been instrumental in my administration’s effort to deliver on the promise of more efficient and effective state government. During his time as interim-director at DHS, he provided leadership at the agency to implement reforms and improvements to move the agency forward.”

Doerflinger will resume his duties as director of the Office of State Finance.

Ed Lake Bio

Edward Lake, from Hendersonville, Tenn., has experience working at almost every level of the Tennessee DHS from 1973 until retiring in 2011. He served as a child welfare caseworker, a food stamp office supervisor, and as both a county and regional director in social services. He served as deputy commissioner of the agency from 1992 until 1996, as assistant commissioner from 1996 through 2003 when he was again named as deputy commissioner until his retirement in 2011. 

Responsible for the day-to-day operations of TDHS, Lake managed the department’s more than 5,000 employees in all 95 counties of the state. The state agency administered programs including Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Programs (SNAP); Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); Medicaid; adult protective services; child care licensing; vocational rehabilitation, disability determination services; child support; appeals and hearings; as well as several federal community services programs.

Lake has extensive experience with organizational change and oversaw comprehensive restructuring of the agency. He worked to improve client services and build external support of the department’s efforts by working closely with advisory groups of advocates, legal aid staff, and other key external stakeholder groups.

During Lake’s tenure at TDHS, he was among key contributors to the development of the agency’s child welfare caseworker training academy and received a community service agency award for improving the department’s and the community’s child abuse services following a nationally publicized child abuse death. He also provided leadership for the design and implementation of sweeping child care licensing reforms in state statute and policy, including a statewide rated child care licensing system.

Lake led the department’s implementation of the first TANF program and chaired the Governor’s Task Force on Families First (TANF program) to develop comprehensive changes to the program. He provided leadership during the state’s emergency responses to Hurricane Katrina and developed an innovative method for providing immediate financial assistance to relocating victims through the use of “pre-loaded” electronic benefits cards.

Lake holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from East Tennessee University and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Gov. Mary Fallin Visits NORCE Facility

OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin today made an unannounced visit to the Northern Oklahoma Resources Center of Enid (NORCE) to get a firsthand account of the operation and care delivered at the facility. Last week, the governor made a similar visit to the Southern Oklahoma Resources Center (SORC) in Pauls Valley.

During the visits, the governor spoke with administrators, staff and clients, toured the property, got an update on the condition of the facilities and was given a briefing on the types and quality of services provided to clients. Later this year, the Department of Human Services Commission is expected to consider a proposal to determine the future of both facilities.

“For the clients of NORCE and SORC and their families, it’s important we work to provide them the best care possible,” Fallin said. “Visiting these facilities in person gives me a greater understanding and firsthand knowledge about their operation. As we move forward and address the challenges ahead, it’s important we take our time to gather information so that we can proceed with a plan that benefits the clients at these facilities and their families.”

Shannon: State Must Prepare for Federal Budget Cuts

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. T.W. Shannon said last week he will be conducting a legislative study to examine contingency plans for scenarios in which state agencies lose federal funding due to potential federal budget cuts.

“We can no longer wait for the federal government to lead,” said Shannon, R-Lawton. “We have to be ready to self-sustain core services and deal with potential cuts. State agencies are addicted to federal spending. We need to tailor agency spending to ensure core government services remain unaffected. If we are to have major reform in this country, it will have to come from the states.”

Shannon’s goal will be to require every state agency to develop a contingency plan for when cuts occur, he said.

“When the federal government is spending in such an unsustainable way, it is likely that our funding will cease to exist at current levels,” said Shannon. “The federal government is now borrowing $1 of every $2 it spends. Our national deficit reached $16 trillion this year. It is inevitable that states will experience drastic cuts at some future date. The spending level is not sustainable.”

Shannon said he will release more details of the study, which will take place in October, at a future date.

DHS Commission Votes to Settle Class Action Lawsuit

Reform Effort Shifts Gears

Oklahoma City—The Human Services Commission of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services held a special meeting December 20, 2011 at 5:30 PM to consider a settlement proposal in the DG vs. Yarbrough class action lawsuit.  Commission members approved a motion by a vote of 6 to 3 to authorize Chairman Brad Yarbrough to sign a settlement if approved by the Contingency Review Board. 

“While the terms of the settlement remain confidential, I can say that the terms are unique in this kind of litigation,” said Howard Hendrick, Director of OKDHS.  “Both sides were willing to entertain a new approach to resolving class action civil rights claims involving child welfare systems.  The strength of our defense and the excellent work our child welfare workers do every day changed the conversation about how these kinds of cases should be resolved.  The future improvements, the details of which must yet be developed, are outlined in a framework that both sides hope will satisfy our shared desire to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families.”

The Contingency Review Board consists of the Governor, Speaker of the House, and the Senate Pro Tem.  The board is expected to meet on Wednesday, December 28 to review the settlement proposal.

The commission first met in executive session for more than five hours before returning to open session to vote on the proposed settlement.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt intervened in the lawsuit shortly after taking office earlier this year. Intense work by Pruitt and his staff along with DHS commissioners taking a more active role in the litigation in recent months led to the proposed settlement. 

The settlement is good news because the state is avoiding a potential takeover of our foster care system by the federal courts. It's good news for children in foster care because the agreement is focused on improving safety for children in state custody.

A working group created by Speaker Kris Steele in September continues meeting around the state with DHS stakeholders exploring ways to improve the entire child welfare system. 

The speaker has positioned the House of Representatives well by beginning work on significant structural reforms well before last night's vote by the commission. The working group plans to present a report containing findings and recommendations before the start of the 2012 legislative session. 

UPDATED ADVISORY: Speaker DHS announcement WEDNESDAY

WHO: House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, House members who are reviewing the state Department of Human Services, DHS leaders, incoming DHS Commission Chairman Brad Yarbrough, and an Oklahoma Public Employees Association representative.

WHAT: Press conference to discuss strategies the House will use to improve DHS.

WHEN: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19

WHERE: Governor's Blue Room, 2nd Floor Broadcast Press Room, Room 432-B, State Capitol

Speaker Steele and other House members will unveil the House’s strategy to produce better outcomes for those who come into contact with DHS, particularly children in state custody. The representatives will unveil an aggressive, four-pronged strategy to improve DHS through significant reforms to governance structure, agency structure, personnel policy and resource allocation. Steele will outline plans to work with DHS officials, commissioners and others in effort to improve the agency and increase accountability.


STATEMENT: Speaker comments on Ahonesty Hicks

According to a report by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, 17-month-old Ahonesty Hicks died May 3 from abuse. In the weeks preceding Ahonesty’s death, DHS officials decided against removing Ahonesty from her mother’s custody despite knowing her mother had recently tested positive for PCP and been involved in a domestic dispute with her boyfriend. Ahonesty’s mother’s boyfriend has been charged with Ahonesty’s murder.

“Ahonesty’s tragic and untimely death is another indication of the need to reform the policy, infrastructure and delivery of services at DHS. These outcomes must end. The House has been and will remain fully engaged in working with DHS officials at every level of the agency to identify better methods to protect our children and all our vulnerable citizens.” – House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee

Speaker comments on DHS report on Serenity Deal

House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, today issued the following statement on a Department of Human Services report on the agency’s role in the death of a five-year-old Oklahoma girl, Serenity Deal:

“Five weeks after the statutory deadline to report on its involvement in Serenity’s case, DHS has produced essentially the same information contained in the report already issued by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. I am not convinced the DHS report tells the full story.

Several questions remain, namely, what was the nature of the disagreement between Lincoln and Pottawatomie County case workers about whether Serenity should have been placed with her father? Why didn’t the courts have all the information needed to make informed decisions in Serenity’s case? I hoped this report would answer those questions and more. The report is instead mostly a chronological recounting of the bureaucratic and legal maze Serenity went through before her death. It confirms the heartbreaking fact that Serenity was put in a risky environment, but offers little explanation or analysis as to why.

The challenge before the Legislature is to make sure we address any systematic failures that might have occurred. The Legislature’s intent is not to point fingers or cast blame. We simply need information so we can identify the problem and try to fix it. We will continue gathering that information as we work to better protect our children and most vulnerable citizens.”

BACKGROUND: Serenity Deal, 5, was beaten to death June 4. Serenity was in DHS custody and had been placed in her father’s care as part of a trial reunification despite documented evidence that Serenity had been repeatedly injured while in his care in the past. Serenity’s father has been charged with her murder. An Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth report and news reports indicate there were major disagreements among DHS officials in Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties about whether Serenity should have been placed in her father’s custody.

OCPA Website Empowers Oklahomans To Hold Government Accountable

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs recently unveiled a new transparency website AccountAbilityOK.com. The site allows anyone to search, in a very user-friendly format, financial data for state government. The data for the website comes from the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, but the site uses innovative business-intelligence software called QlikView which allows for fast navigation through the data.


Jonathan Small, Fiscal Policy Director for OCPA, points out in a statement:

"In years past, scrutiny of Oklahoma government spending largely has been reserved for a few powerful legislators, staffers, and the occasional lucky journalist who stumbles upon a confidential tip. AccountAbilityOK.com changes all that. As the name implies, it gives citizens the ability to search the accounts—and thus empowers citizens to bring accountability to government."

I have included this new website in my State Government Links on this blog. I continue to encourage my constituents and all Oklahomans to take advantage of sites like this and to share your thoughts and findings with your legislators. I appreciate OCPA's work on fiscal responsibility and transparency in State government. 

Auditor & Inspector Gary Jones: “rapid progress” in closing audit backlog

By Patrick B. McGuigan at www.CapitolBeatOK.com (Published: 22-Jun-2011

Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones
was surprised, he says, at how far behind the office was on required audits of county governments when he took the helm on January 10.

“As policy, those audits are supposed to be done every year, and must, by statute, be done every other year. When I took office and worked with the staff to identify challenges, it became clear that some counties had not been audited since 2005,” he said in an interview Wednesday (June 22).

It was a challenge, he admits, “to figure out how to approach the backlog, do the audits right, yet get caught up. There are 77 counties, and the simplest way to put it is that we have to do at least two years of work in one year.”

The pace of work is summarized, he said, by comparing three months of productivity this year with that of 2010. The agency completed 78 audit reports in the first three months of 2010; it had finished 112 audits the same time period this year.

Jones is most concerned about special investigative audits -- which come at the request of the attorney general and local District Attorneys -- must be given priority. The long-anticipated investigatory look at the Broken Arrow public school system was finished this month. That audit was first requested in April 2009.

“I thought that kind of time gap was the exception, but learned it was the norm,” Jones told CapitolBeatOK.

Attorney General and State Auditor Release Investigative Audit of Broken Arrow Public Schools

Audit reveals possible criminal violations

Attorney General Scott Pruitt

Attorney General Scott Pruitt and State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones today released an investigatory audit of Broken Arrow Public Schools. The audit, which was requested by the Attorney General’s Office in late 2010, outlines several allegations of competitive bidding act violations and malfeasance by public officials.

The audit is the second review of Broken Arrow Public Schools by the state auditor and was requested by the Attorney General’s Office after an initial audit was deemed unsatisfactory.

The investigative audit covers multiple areas of interest between July 1, 2006 and March 31, 2009. Following a thorough review, the Attorney General’s Office found possible criminal violations in at least two areas – open records and special favoritism for vendors. The AG’s Office will continue a criminal investigation in these areas, and pursue those criminally responsible, if warranted.

The 84-page audit is the result of months of work by investigative auditors from the state auditor’s office.

“We’ve been working diligently to complete this audit since taking office on Jan. 10,” Jones said. “A report of this type seeks to answer numerous questions. Auditors identify possible violations of policy or statute, and offer recommendations to assist the public entity in improving its internal practices to better safeguard public assets. I am confident in our findings.”

An investigatory audit or “18f” is requested of the state auditor by the attorney general to assist the attorney general in an investigation. Unlike regular or other financial audits,
18f audits are part of the investigation and litigation files of the Attorney General’s Office and are kept confidential to preserve the integrity of the investigation until it’s complete or criminal charges are filed.

In the audit of Broken Arrow Public Schools, two objectives have been temporarily redacted. Once the AG’s office has completed its independent criminal investigation into these specific matters and a conclusion has been reached, those portions of the investigatory audit will be made public.

“In the interest of transparency and for the sake of those who were falsely accused, we felt it important to release the vast majority of the audit prior to our completed investigation,” Pruitt said. “My office will continue to review allegations of wrongdoing in the remainder of the audit and seek prosecution of individuals who are criminally responsible.”

The audit was estimated to cost the district about $40,000. Broken Arrow Public Schools was billed and has paid $39,868.17 as of Jan. 10 when Auditor Jones took office. A decision was made by the State Auditor’s Office to stop all additional billing as of that date and complete the report with no additional costs to the school district.

Link to audit: http://db.tt/rLRsLDS

State House buries effort to weaken government transparency provisions

By Patrick B. McGuigan, www.capitolbeatok.com

Legislative allies of advocates for openness government operations turned back an attempt to weaken Oklahoma’s transparency provisions.

House Bill 1559, by Republican state Rep. Fred Jordan of Jenks, was buried this week when the state House rejected the conference committee report (CCR) 64-35. (Two members did not vote.)

Mark Thomas of the Oklahoma Press Association (OPA) said Jordan told him he was “through with the bill and would not be bringing it back up this session.” The bill would have expanded attorney-client privilege provisions for public bodies and, Thomas told CapitolBeatOK, would have devolved decisions over privilege decisions to attorneys rather than judges.

Thomas and other observers credited state Rep. Harold Wright, a Weatherford Republican, for passionate debate against the measure as “bad public policy.” Thomas was unstinting in his praise of Rep. Wright, telling members of the OPA, “As a former mayor, member of the news media [radio station owner] and as an elected representative, Rep. Wright clearly understood the impact of this legislation.”

When debate on the proposal began, state Rep. Don Armes of Faxon was presiding officer in the chair at the front of the House chamber – and thereby addressed throughout the joust as “Mr. Speaker.”

Just before questions and debate on the bill commenced, Rep. Armes said to Jordan, the sponsor, “A lot of people want to whack this piñata.”

As more than a dozen legislators lined up to pose questions, most of them clearly indicating opposition, Rep. Jordan good naturedly played along with the dynamic, saying to some questioners, “OK, representative, now you’ve got the stick.”

Many points against the bill were made seriously, including the comments of state Rep. Jason Nelson, an Oklahoma City Republican, that he was not inclined to give the Tulsa Public School administration more ability to claim attorney-client privilege. Nelson noted he had been seeking information from the district for months and was still not satisfied with the system’s responsiveness.

State Rep. Mike Reynolds, in floor discussion with Jordan, said that when debate began he was 95% against the proposal, but as it progressed, he was more inclined to be 95% in favor. As Reynolds finished that comment, an unknown speaker, his voice amplified on the House floor was overheard to mutter, “It’s going down.”

Others participating in debate and questioning included Republican Reps. Mike Ritze of Broken Arrow, John Bennett of Sallisaw, Randy Grau of Edmond, Pat Owenby of Ardmore, Aaron Stiles of Norman, and Mark McCullough of Sapulpa; and House Democratic Leader Scott Inman of Del City.

Most of the group that spoke up on the floor broke against the bill, voting may, but Reps. Stiles and Grau backed it. Despite his “95 percent” comments, Rep. Reynolds voted with the majority against the bill.

Thomas told CapitolBeatOK, “This legislation caused much confusion because the entire section of that statute is poorly worded. Supporters of the legislation have promised to try and simplify and clarify the entire section of law in future legislative sessions.”

He continued, “This vote makes it clear the House of Representatives does not want to expand attorney-client privilege for public bodies unless there is clear and convincing reasons to do so, and they do not want to pass a law where the practical application and implications of this bill are not clearly understood. We commend the House for taking this stand on behalf of the taxpayers.”

The bill was favored by the Oklahoma Municipal League and the Tulsa Public Schools, an alliance that presented a daunting challenge to prevent erosion of access to public records.

In a discussion with CapitolBeatOK, Thomas had previously explained, “Current law limits their privilege to pending litigation and investigations when the court has ruled they can keep those communications confidential.”

In the end, that legal status quo remained in place as a result of the House vote on Tuesday (May 17). Because the vote was actually on the conference report and not “fourth reading” (final passage), Rep. Jordan could bring the measure back in the 2012 legislative session, but he indicated to Thomas and others that is unlikely.

House Approves Government Financial Service Reforms

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved legislation designed to transform inefficient state agency financial services systems.

Senate Bill 541, by state Rep. Jason Murphey, (R-Guthrie) and state Sen. Anthony Sykes (R- Moore), was proposed following a report by the Hackett Group, which demonstrated massive inefficiencies in the way state agencies conducts financial services.

The report compared Oklahoma agencies’ financial services processes to those of other public and private sector peer organizations of like complexity. The report demonstrated the inefficiencies by stating that it costs Oklahoma taxpayers $20.05 to process one accounts payable invoice while comparable peer groups pay $3.58 for each similar service.

“It is incredible and unacceptable that Oklahoma taxpayers are paying nearly six times the cost of what comparable groups are spending for that same process,” Murphey declared. “This legislation is designed to fix that.”

The study also stated that Oklahoma state government has a significantly higher number of full time employees employed to conduct these operations than peer organizations. Oklahoma processes 2,039 accounts payable occurrences for each employee while peer groups are able to account for 15,693 of these same processes with each employee.

The House approved Senate Bill 541 by a vote of 61-34. The legislation now returns to the Senate for additional consideration.

Location:Oklahoma State Capitol

Grau Praises New Medical Examiner Appointment

Rep. Randy Grau
R-Edmond

State Rep. Randy Grau today praised the appointment of Dr. Eric Pfeifer as Oklahoma’s new chief medical examiner.

“Dr. Pfeifer’s qualifications are impeccable and make clear that the Office of Medical Examiner is undertaking the steps necessary to re-establish a reputation for experience and professionalism at the agency,” said Grau, R-Edmond. “I applaud Dr. Pfeifer’s hiring and expect he will be instrumental in giving the ME’s office a fresh start in Edmond.”

Pfeifer previously worked at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and as the Olmsted County coroner in Minnesota.

Grau and state Sen. Clark Jolley (R-Edmond) have authored legislation, Senate Bill 671, to reform the Office of the Medical Examiner.

The legislation renames the agency’s governing board as the Board of Forensic Pathology, allowing for new board members to be named and authorizing the hiring of the new executive director.

“Our legislation will be crucial in giving the ME’s office a new start by giving it a new name, new board, and a new administrative structure,” Grau said. “I believe it is time to give this agency the tools it needs to serve the citizens of Oklahoma.”

Oklahomans Can Now Gather State Data in One Location at Data.OK.gov

ANALYZE DATA FROM OKLAHOMA’S ECONOMY, PUBLIC HEALTH, TRANSPORTATION, ENVIRONMENT AND MORE



OKLAHOMA CITY – February 10, 2011 – The Office of State Finance and OK.gov, Oklahoma’s official website, have collaboratively launched an interactive, centralized data center for the State of Oklahoma at http://Data.OK.gov. The new online data center provides Oklahomans with an unprecedented level of openness in Oklahoma’s state government.

“For state data to be truly open, we must provide our citizens with a platform that allows them to digest, evaluate, and consume data in a user-friendly format, “ said Governor Mary Fallin. “Data.OK.gov will provide the level of openness and interactivity with government data that our citizens deserve.”

Data.OK.gov is part of the “Oklahoma Information Services Act,” which will consolidate information, saving the user from having to travel to multiple websites. The website’s mission is to provide accessible information about the economy, public health, transportation, environment, and more, on one website.

Data.OK.gov enables the public and media to utilize the state’s Open Records data in a variety of ways, including:

• View and download raw statistics
• Conduct research and analysis of data sets
• Build applications for use on websites
•Embed charts, maps, and other data on websites and blogs
•Share data on Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Digg, and through email

Alex Pettit, State Chief Information Officer, said, “By publishing the information in different formats, Oklahomans have more freedom in how they lookup information. Our primary goal is to provide an efficient and effective way to gather Oklahoma based data. This centralized source of information will save time for its users and money for the state.”

The State of Oklahoma invites public feedback and dataset recommendations. To submit comments or ideas for new datasets visit http://Data.OK.gov and select the “Suggest” button at the bottom of the screen.

For other Oklahoma open government resources, please visit the following websites:

http://OpenBooks.OK.gov
http://Recovery.OK.gov

The state’s new online data center is a product of a partnership between the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, Socrata, a leading provider of open data services for federal, state and local governments, and OK.gov, Oklahoma’s official website.

Location:NW 58th St,Oklahoma City,United States

2010 in review: A look at transparency and agency oversight

In the area of government modernization and agency oversight, legislators passed bills requiring transparency in agency operation.

HB 2319 adds language which states that if a legislatively created task force or similar advisory body does not meet at least once or issue a final report within three years of the date in which the law that created it became effective, that task force will cease to have any authority and be terminated.This applies to all legislatively created task forces and advisory bodies regardless of when they were created.

HB 2698 creates the Oklahoma Government Website Information Act. This bill requires public bodies to make available on their website on or before January 1, 2011, any administrative rules the public body uses to operate, proposed administrative rules, statutes affecting the public body and the way it operates, and statutes the public may find useful when interacting with the public body.

HB 3422 requires the Office of State Finance (OSF) to update the state’s Open Books website with Open Books 2.0 by January 1, 2011. Open Books 2.0 will be a more expansive, searchable online database that lists individual expenditures, regardless of amount, separate from aggregated amounts. Within 18 months of Open Books 2.0 being online, OSF must create an online archive for each fiscal year beginning with FY-2011 and that archive must be accessible and searchable to online users.

HB 3422 also requires the Oklahoma Tax Commissionto prepare and maintain a list of all taxpayers who have claimed any tax credit authorized by any provisions of state law and related to a tax administered by the Tax Commission. This includes the identity of all taxpayers or organizations having any part in the chain of custody or claim to the credit at any time during the credit’s existence from the initial time the credit is earned through the time that the credit is claimed on a tax return. It requires the Office of State Finance to make this list available on the internet. The list must include the name of each taxpayer who claimed a credit, the amount of such credit, and the specific statutory provision under which the credit was claimed. The list must be updated least monthly.

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