Kevin Stitt on Government Reform

	Kevin Stitt on Government Reform

Set up courts designed to address business disputes

To be the best state for business and attract more top level CEOs, we need to keep pushing business friendly policies and reducing burdensome regulations. I'm calling on the legislature to take a page out of Delaware and Texas' playbook and set up a system of courts specifically designed to address business disputes. Businesses need assurance that disputes will be adjudicated by courts with expertise in business law. Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the Oklahoma legislature , Feb 5, 2024

Oklahomans deserve to know who's funding political campaigns

Protecting Oklahomans means protecting the integrity of our elections. I'm calling for stronger transparency laws. Because Oklahomans deserve to know exactly who is funding political campaigns. A democracy is doomed when special interests can spread lies and leverage blank checks to buy elections. Protecting Oklahomans means standing up for our values and our way of life. Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Oklahoma legislature , Feb 6, 2023

Government's job is to get out of the way & cut red tape

Another key to a strong economy is letting businesses grow without fear of government overreach. We must continue our focus on cutting red tape. By working together to get rid of excessive regulation, we'll unlock Oklahoma's full economic potential for workers, business owners, farmers, and families. The government's job is not to slow things down. It's to get out of the way! Source: 2021 State of the State Address to the Oklahoma legislature , Feb 1, 2021

Add photo ID & notarization requirement for absentee voting

Legislative Summary:SB1779: An Act relating to elections; prohibiting absentee ballot harvesting in certain elections.

Oklahoma Policy Institute analysis: Just a day after the Oklahoma Supreme Court removed barriers to absentee voting, the Oklahoma Legislature is quietly advancing a bill to make it harder to vote by mail. SB 1779 would require voters to include a photocopy of identification, which would put Oklahoma as one of only three states with similar requirements. In 2021, it would reinstate the notarization requirement--the very one struck down by the Supreme Court.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 88-1-11 on Mar/15/20; Passed Senate 43-0-4 on May/15/20; Signed by Governor Kevin Stitt on May/21/20

Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute on Oklahoma voting record SB1779 , May 21, 2020

Moved from 47th to 7th place in online budget transparency

Last year, we delivered the greatest transparency to the State's budget by publishing Oklahoma's checkbook online. With the new system, we are providing user-friendly access to recent spending data. In partnership with my office and Oklahoma Treasurer Randy McDaniel, we took Oklahoma's 47th ranking to 7th place in online budget transparency. And we will continue to fine tune how citizen interact with it in order to compete for first place in transparency.

Our Office of Emergency Management has the ability to call upon whatever resource it needs to help Oklahoma's communities prevent, respond, or recover from a major crisis. Homeland Security is a key part of that effort, proving valuable coordination to support our first responders. By merging these two agencies, we will bolster response capabilities, streamline coordination, and leverage existing resources for stronger prevention programs.

Source: 2020 Alabama State of the State address , Feb 3, 2020

Remove two regulations every new one added

I am filing an executive order to address Oklahoma's excessive red tape. My executive order will call for the first-ever comprehensive review of the State's administrative code and will instruct agencies to remove two regulations for every new one created. The intent is to reduce red tape by 25% in the next three years, providing relief to Oklahoma's job creators and farmers and ranchers while also strengthening our recruitment efforts to diversify and grow Oklahoma's economy. Source: 2020 Alabama State of the State address , Feb 3, 2020

Reclaim executive powers: more accountable than agencies

Our state Constitution vests supreme executive power in the Governor, but too often that executive power has been delegated by statute to boards that are not directly accountable to the citizens of Oklahoma. State government today is much larger than it was 112 years ago. As a result, accountability for those in power is spread too thin and, at times, it seems as if no one is really in charge. Let's not wait for another crisis to start making this necessary reform across our largest agencies. We will also reimagine state government so that our customers--Oklahoma taxpayers--are the primary focus. This is why I have placed a special emphasis in my administration on the digital transformation of state agencies. I am calling for the Legislature to fund a $20 million grant program where agencies can apply to receive funds to bring their services into the 21st Century and to make government more customer-centered and efficient. Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Oklahoma legislature , Feb 4, 2019

Set aside more of the budget surplus

When we look at states where the economy depends on the price of oil, they place a strong emphasis on saving during the good years. One thing we know is true, oil prices are going to go up and oil prices are going to go down. I am setting a goal for Oklahoma to have $1 billion in our savings by the end of FY20. We must set aside an additional $250 million from revenue growth. Being conservative with our budget surplus will protect Oklahoma from having to cut core services in the future.

The balance of Oklahoma's Quick Action Closing Fund is $4.3 million. By comparison, the latest legislative report for the Texas Enterprise Fund indicates the state has awarded $609 million from its Quick Action Closing Fund, resulting in 94,347 jobs. In Arkansas, their fund has awarded over $120 million, resulting in 26,684 jobs. You can help me sign on the dotted line for new opportunities to grow Oklahoma and demonstrate to the nation that Oklahoma is not afraid to compete with our neighbors.

Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Oklahoma legislature , Feb 4, 2019

Step Up Oklahoma: Fix broken government; level playing field

I support some of the Step Up Oklahoma's governance ideas, such as budget-line itemizing and a budget stabilization fund. I also endorse total tax reform once we have addressed our broken government. Any effort to modernize our tax code must be for the purpose of spurring a free market and leveling the playing field so that we are no longer incentivizing certain industries over others at a cost to Oklahoma. Source: The Oklahoman Kevin Stitt OpEd: 2018 Oklahoma Governor race , Feb 7, 2018

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*Other governors on Government Reform:*			*Kevin Stitt on other issues:*
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