Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Town Hall Meeting Update
This week I will be hosting the third of four Town Hall meetings which are scheduled in House District 31 during this year's legislative interim. At each of these Town Hall meetings, it has been my goal to bring together state and local officials to provide updates to area residents. At almost every meeting, I have invited at least one area State Senator and one local County Commissioner to provide a broad base of access to both state and local issues.
I very much appreciate the officials who have attended these events and am also grateful to the citizens who have participated. What I especially appreciate about this turn out is that it provides the opportunity for elected officials to hear first hand from citizens how they feel about issues. Especially in light of recent events, citizens have not been at all shy about making their voices heard.
Our first meeting took place in August, was held in south Logan County/Edmond, and was attended by about 140 individuals. Speaking at the meeting were State Senator Clark Jolly, State Senator Randy Brogden and County Commissioner Mark Sharpton. Aparticular focus of the meeting was the states' rights issue and many participants were especially anxious about what they see as the destructive, excessive spending habits and bad policies developed by the federal government. They want state government to stand up and assert its rights under the 10th amendment to shelter the public from these federal polices.
The second meeting occurred in Guthrie and was attended by about 40 participants. Michael Carnuccio from Oklahomans for Government Reform (OFRG) was present to talk about OFRG's recent effort to study transparency issues in Oklahoma school districts. State Senator Halligan sent his regrets as he had a schedule conflict on that evening. The Senator looks forward to meeting with Logan County residents at future Town Hall meetings. A special "thank you" to County Commissioner Mark Sharpton who agreed to fill in and speak at a Town Hall meeting for a second time this year.
This third meeting will take place this week (Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. at Woodcrest Fire Station) and is being attended by newly elected County Commissioner Mike Pearson and Stuart Jolly, Director of the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans for Prosperity. This will be Pearson's first appearance at a town hall meeting since taking office. Jolly will update the attendees on the ongoing federal health policy debate.
The final Town Hall meeting is set to take place at the Crescent Community Center December 7 at 7:00 p.m. Speakers will include state Senator Patrick Anderson and new Logan County Sheriff Jim Bauman. County Commissioner Monty Piercy may also be in attendance in order to answer road-related questions.
If you are available to attend one of the remaining meetings, I would certainly appreciate and look forward to your presence.
I very much appreciate the officials who have attended these events and am also grateful to the citizens who have participated. What I especially appreciate about this turn out is that it provides the opportunity for elected officials to hear first hand from citizens how they feel about issues. Especially in light of recent events, citizens have not been at all shy about making their voices heard.
Our first meeting took place in August, was held in south Logan County/Edmond, and was attended by about 140 individuals. Speaking at the meeting were State Senator Clark Jolly, State Senator Randy Brogden and County Commissioner Mark Sharpton. Aparticular focus of the meeting was the states' rights issue and many participants were especially anxious about what they see as the destructive, excessive spending habits and bad policies developed by the federal government. They want state government to stand up and assert its rights under the 10th amendment to shelter the public from these federal polices.
The second meeting occurred in Guthrie and was attended by about 40 participants. Michael Carnuccio from Oklahomans for Government Reform (OFRG) was present to talk about OFRG's recent effort to study transparency issues in Oklahoma school districts. State Senator Halligan sent his regrets as he had a schedule conflict on that evening. The Senator looks forward to meeting with Logan County residents at future Town Hall meetings. A special "thank you" to County Commissioner Mark Sharpton who agreed to fill in and speak at a Town Hall meeting for a second time this year.
This third meeting will take place this week (Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. at Woodcrest Fire Station) and is being attended by newly elected County Commissioner Mike Pearson and Stuart Jolly, Director of the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans for Prosperity. This will be Pearson's first appearance at a town hall meeting since taking office. Jolly will update the attendees on the ongoing federal health policy debate.
The final Town Hall meeting is set to take place at the Crescent Community Center December 7 at 7:00 p.m. Speakers will include state Senator Patrick Anderson and new Logan County Sheriff Jim Bauman. County Commissioner Monty Piercy may also be in attendance in order to answer road-related questions.
If you are available to attend one of the remaining meetings, I would certainly appreciate and look forward to your presence.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Developing the Oklahoma Innovation, Efficiency and Accountability Act of 2010
In today's quickly changing world, private businesses are taking advantage of innovative programs such as allowing for employee telecommuting. Because of the ever growing reach of broadband Internet access, many job functions can be performed through the Internet.
One example of this new functionality is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that allows for state of the art telephone functions to be performed online. Another important reason for the rise of telecommuting is the recent expansion of cloud computing (shared computing via the Internet). Because of high speed Internet access, individual workers are not limited to the capabilities of his/her own computer, but can work in a collaborative manner with other employees who are located miles away through the use of shared capabilities afforded by cloud computing. An example of this functionality is the ability of employees to co-edit documents in real time.
As the state government real property infrastructure deteriorates, the state government cannot continue indebting the taxpayers by issuing bonds and debt to build new office structures. It is also cost prohibitive to keep paying rent and utility bills when those expenditures could be avoided with an effective telework program. A recent study by one state agency demonstrated the possible savings of thousands of dollars if just 23 employees participated in a telework pilot program.
This type of program would both necessitate and provide for the opportunity to enact a series of quality control benchmarks to ensure that the quality of work performed via telecommuting does not deteriorate. These benchmarks could include the incorporation of a series of performance auditing indicators which could be used to develop a illustrative cost focused financial reporting system similar to the one envisioned in a recent Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) report.
The OCPA report detailed the benefits to the taxpayers that would be afforded by the production of illustrative financial accounting documents. These documents could be used to compare a service offered by the government to those being offered in the private sector. This could create an important process that forces the government to justify its engagement in any number of activities that could possibly be better performed by the private sector. The performance data set could be posted on the ok.gov web site allowing Oklahomans to review the work load processed by the government including the ability to drill down to view the work load processed by each individual employee.
The telecommuting program will also serve as a tool for stopping the migration from rural communities into the city. No long will rural residents need to commute to the city in order to provide a service through state government. A similar program in Arizona, where the state recently reached 19.74 percent telework participation rate in Maricopa County, found that not only was the program helpful in travel demand management, it also increased participating state employees’ productivity and improved job attitude because there was a better work environment.
Because cloud computing based technologies are quickly developing and emerging, it is vital for legislative leaders to try to allow for a statutory scheme that encourages state employees to take advantage of these new technologies as soon as possible. All too often, government entities are slow to respond to technological changes and private market best practices. This slow adaptation is expensive in that it unnecessarily wastes millions of taxpayer dollars. I believe it is our job as legislators to be informed of these best practices and it is a moral imperative that we guard taxpayer dollars by applying these innovations as soon as possible.
One example of this new functionality is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that allows for state of the art telephone functions to be performed online. Another important reason for the rise of telecommuting is the recent expansion of cloud computing (shared computing via the Internet). Because of high speed Internet access, individual workers are not limited to the capabilities of his/her own computer, but can work in a collaborative manner with other employees who are located miles away through the use of shared capabilities afforded by cloud computing. An example of this functionality is the ability of employees to co-edit documents in real time.
As the state government real property infrastructure deteriorates, the state government cannot continue indebting the taxpayers by issuing bonds and debt to build new office structures. It is also cost prohibitive to keep paying rent and utility bills when those expenditures could be avoided with an effective telework program. A recent study by one state agency demonstrated the possible savings of thousands of dollars if just 23 employees participated in a telework pilot program.
This type of program would both necessitate and provide for the opportunity to enact a series of quality control benchmarks to ensure that the quality of work performed via telecommuting does not deteriorate. These benchmarks could include the incorporation of a series of performance auditing indicators which could be used to develop a illustrative cost focused financial reporting system similar to the one envisioned in a recent Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) report.
The OCPA report detailed the benefits to the taxpayers that would be afforded by the production of illustrative financial accounting documents. These documents could be used to compare a service offered by the government to those being offered in the private sector. This could create an important process that forces the government to justify its engagement in any number of activities that could possibly be better performed by the private sector. The performance data set could be posted on the ok.gov web site allowing Oklahomans to review the work load processed by the government including the ability to drill down to view the work load processed by each individual employee.
The telecommuting program will also serve as a tool for stopping the migration from rural communities into the city. No long will rural residents need to commute to the city in order to provide a service through state government. A similar program in Arizona, where the state recently reached 19.74 percent telework participation rate in Maricopa County, found that not only was the program helpful in travel demand management, it also increased participating state employees’ productivity and improved job attitude because there was a better work environment.
Because cloud computing based technologies are quickly developing and emerging, it is vital for legislative leaders to try to allow for a statutory scheme that encourages state employees to take advantage of these new technologies as soon as possible. All too often, government entities are slow to respond to technological changes and private market best practices. This slow adaptation is expensive in that it unnecessarily wastes millions of taxpayer dollars. I believe it is our job as legislators to be informed of these best practices and it is a moral imperative that we guard taxpayer dollars by applying these innovations as soon as possible.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Getting Your Input About Government Modernization 2.0
During the past few months it has been my responsibility to help develop the next series of Government Modernization legislation. As part of this process, I have met with a number of agency leaders to receive their input and have worked to ascertain best practices from the private industry and other government entities. The goal of these efforts has been to develop the proposals that will result in the quick elimination of waste and provide savings to Oklahoma taxpayers.
Over the next few weeks, I would like to use the forum provided by this column to role out these ideas and to receive your feedback. Some of the proposals may be rather aggressive and somewhat unorthodox in their approach to seeking savings. Your input will assist in continuing to develop the proposals to maturation.
As an example, one ideas I will write about and one of the key ingredients of the next round of Modernization legislation should be to promote efficiencies and savings through the promotion of shared services between state agencies. This will lead to the breaking down of bureaucratic barriers which unnecessarily waste so many taxpayer dollars each year.
Last year, House Bill 1032 made accessing services more convenient for those using state services either as individuals or as vendors and could lead to millions in savings. Now, this same focus should be provided to allow this same type of convenience to state agencies. By viewing state agencies as customers and allowing them to take advantage of shared services it will make it easier for agencies to deal with budget reductions by offering them more convenience and freeing them up to focus on their core mission.
Another idea I will write about and what I hope will be a key component of the Modernization legislation should be a very aggressive effort to allow state officials to incorporate best practices in utilizing new technological advancements. You have no doubt noticed how that over the past few years many of the items and services which previously cost a significant amount of money are now much more affordable. From long distance phone service to the cost of consumer electronics, the cost for using technology is much lower than it was just a few years ago. The same market forces which have made it much less expensive to use technology also enable government entities to provide a better, more efficient, less costly service to the taxpayers.
It is our moral imperative as Legislators to make sure government takes advantage of these more efficient processes and savings by educating ourselves on the new capabilities afforded by technology and by building a statutory system which allows for the use of these technologies as quickly as possible.
Over the next few weeks, I look forward to sharing some specific ideas with you and would appreciate your feedback.
Over the next few weeks, I would like to use the forum provided by this column to role out these ideas and to receive your feedback. Some of the proposals may be rather aggressive and somewhat unorthodox in their approach to seeking savings. Your input will assist in continuing to develop the proposals to maturation.
As an example, one ideas I will write about and one of the key ingredients of the next round of Modernization legislation should be to promote efficiencies and savings through the promotion of shared services between state agencies. This will lead to the breaking down of bureaucratic barriers which unnecessarily waste so many taxpayer dollars each year.
Last year, House Bill 1032 made accessing services more convenient for those using state services either as individuals or as vendors and could lead to millions in savings. Now, this same focus should be provided to allow this same type of convenience to state agencies. By viewing state agencies as customers and allowing them to take advantage of shared services it will make it easier for agencies to deal with budget reductions by offering them more convenience and freeing them up to focus on their core mission.
Another idea I will write about and what I hope will be a key component of the Modernization legislation should be a very aggressive effort to allow state officials to incorporate best practices in utilizing new technological advancements. You have no doubt noticed how that over the past few years many of the items and services which previously cost a significant amount of money are now much more affordable. From long distance phone service to the cost of consumer electronics, the cost for using technology is much lower than it was just a few years ago. The same market forces which have made it much less expensive to use technology also enable government entities to provide a better, more efficient, less costly service to the taxpayers.
It is our moral imperative as Legislators to make sure government takes advantage of these more efficient processes and savings by educating ourselves on the new capabilities afforded by technology and by building a statutory system which allows for the use of these technologies as quickly as possible.
Over the next few weeks, I look forward to sharing some specific ideas with you and would appreciate your feedback.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
One of the Worst Examples of Wasteful Spending
Once in a while, I run across a law that makes my head hurt. A perfect example of one of these laws is Senate Bill 1347 which was signed into law in 2004. To see the effect of this law, I would suggest a drive down Memorial Road at the site of the new Broadway overpass. You will notice a series of elaborately designed artwork to aesthetically improve the new overpass.
Because I represent a growth area where local officials are desperate to fund the construction of roads, I cannot help but think that had the Transportation Department just been allowed to build a normal underpass without all of the associated artwork, the thousands of dollars wasted could be used to pave miles of desperately needy roads. Does anyone seriously think that the state of Oklahoma roads and bridges is so good that we can waste thousands of dollars with artwork on the new bridges?
Senate Bill 1347 requires that 1.5 percent of a construction budget for new buildings or renovations be spent for artwork. A significant number of the state's new construction projects are funded through millions of dollars of debt. This means that generations of Oklahomans could be trying to pay off the bill that comes with these art projects.
Earlier this year, the Director of the State Department of Agriculture testified before an Appropriation Sub-committee upon which I serve. He can point to the fact that a 5 percent reduction in his agency budget is actually a more significant discretionary spending reduction in percentage terms because he cannot lower the bond payments for his building. He stated that the bond/rent payments for his building were going to be very challenging for his department to deal with.
The department's building was recently constructed according to the requirements set forth in Senate Bill 1347. These requirements necessitated the construction of an outdoor plaza with monoliths carved in granite and an accompanying sculpture. The design reflects the work of the department, from livestock to crops to a larger-than-life plow.
In this day, when government taxation is so high and debt at all levels of government is skyrocketing, in my view it is insane to engage in this type of waste. This unfortunate legislative mandate is forcing state agencies to participate in a wasteful spending spree that will haunt Oklahoma policy makers for years to come. The Legislature should right this wrong and repeal the mandate as soon as possible.
Because I represent a growth area where local officials are desperate to fund the construction of roads, I cannot help but think that had the Transportation Department just been allowed to build a normal underpass without all of the associated artwork, the thousands of dollars wasted could be used to pave miles of desperately needy roads. Does anyone seriously think that the state of Oklahoma roads and bridges is so good that we can waste thousands of dollars with artwork on the new bridges?
Senate Bill 1347 requires that 1.5 percent of a construction budget for new buildings or renovations be spent for artwork. A significant number of the state's new construction projects are funded through millions of dollars of debt. This means that generations of Oklahomans could be trying to pay off the bill that comes with these art projects.
Earlier this year, the Director of the State Department of Agriculture testified before an Appropriation Sub-committee upon which I serve. He can point to the fact that a 5 percent reduction in his agency budget is actually a more significant discretionary spending reduction in percentage terms because he cannot lower the bond payments for his building. He stated that the bond/rent payments for his building were going to be very challenging for his department to deal with.
The department's building was recently constructed according to the requirements set forth in Senate Bill 1347. These requirements necessitated the construction of an outdoor plaza with monoliths carved in granite and an accompanying sculpture. The design reflects the work of the department, from livestock to crops to a larger-than-life plow.
In this day, when government taxation is so high and debt at all levels of government is skyrocketing, in my view it is insane to engage in this type of waste. This unfortunate legislative mandate is forcing state agencies to participate in a wasteful spending spree that will haunt Oklahoma policy makers for years to come. The Legislature should right this wrong and repeal the mandate as soon as possible.
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