Newell, Treat ‘Frustrated, Baffled’ By Gov’s Veto On Fed Funds Transparency Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2015

STATEMENT: Rep. Newell, Sen. Treat Respond to Gov. Fallin’s Veto of Transparency Measure 

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Tom Newell and state Sen. Greg Treat released the following statements today in response to Gov. Mary Fallin’s veto of their measure, House Bill 1748, which would have required state agencies to report the amount of federal funds received, to rank the funds according to the agency’s reliance on them and to report the cost incurred to comply with federal requirements associated with the funds. In her veto message, Fallin stated that the information was already publicly available and implied that the information is easily accessible.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the governor’s veto of House Bill 1748, and I am honestly baffled by her veto message,” said Newell, R-Seminole. “While it is true that the public and Legislature can find the amount of federal dollars being used by state agencies, it certainly is not as easily found as the veto message implies. However, the point of this bill was never about the amount of dollars, but rather the strings attached to those dollars – and that information is not available. The veto message is also confusing because it first states that agencies would have to hire additional workers to meet the obligations of House Bill 1748, but then ends by asserting that it only requires a repackaging of already available information. Again, I must point out that the “strings” attached to the federal dollars are not transparent to the public or the Legislature. I believe that an agency director, before they receive the money, knows exactly all the information that this measure would have required to be made public. This leads me to one of two possible conclusions: either the agencies don’t want the people to know what those strings are or, and even more concerning, the agency directors aren’t making informed decisions. A recent poll found that nearly 90 percent of Oklahomans want this information made available to the public, and that speaks volumes about the appropriate action the governor should have taken regarding this bill.”

“I am disappointed and frustrated with the governor’s veto of this common-sense transparency measure,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “The federal government too often utilizes these monies to hijack the sovereignty of states and drive federal priorities with little or no public scrutiny.”