OKLAHOMA CITY (June 5, 2009) – Governor Brad Henry has signed House Bill 1032, the Oklahoma State Government Modernization Act of 2009 authored by Senator Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso and Representative Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie.

Murphey said the bill continues efforts to increase transparency of state government spending, puts a stop to certain inappropriate fee increases, requires agencies to provide online access to licensing and permitting processes, eliminates an unnecessary state board, and is expected to save millions of taxpayer dollars by providing a new focus on leveraging state purchasing processes through a dramatic redesign of the state's centralized purchasing processes.

"This legislation represents a comprehensive approach to cleaning up wasteful and inefficient government processes," Brogdon said. "Whether it is renewing their car tags online or just reviewing state spending the people can use now use technology to their advantage instead of being held hostage by a large government bureaucracy."

“In a year where some state agencies received budget cuts, it is more important than ever to make sure our government is as efficient as possible and every tax dollar is spent prudently,” said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. “This legislation gives us the opportunity to find some cost savings, all while actually improving services to Oklahomans, especially with increased online access and transparency.”

The changes incorporated in the bill include:

- Increasing transparency by requiring all purchases made by state employees with state purchasing cards (P-cards) to be posted online through the ok.gov Internet portal for the public to review.

- Tightening up statutory language so that state agencies are no longer allowed to backdoor certain IT costs into online convenience fee increases.

- Making state licensing and permitting more accessible by requiring state entities to provide the public with the option of renewing or applying for permits and licenses online. Online permitting is expected to save many state employee man hours and result in taxpayer savings.

- Allows for major savings by shifting the focus of the Department of Central Services from an agency that primarily processes purchases to one that applies more strategy in managing the state’s purchasing.

A report conducted by IBM in 2007 showed that Oklahoma could realize as much as $70 million in savings if best purchasing practices were put in place. A second report conducted recently by Treya Consultants found similar savings potential.

HB 1032 aggressively codifies findings from these reports in an effort to provide central purchasing officials with the tools they need to leverage spending.

The bill also implements the following reforms:

- Eliminates a state board function in conjunction with the Department of Labor. A past modernization study showed that Oklahoma had nearly twice as many agencies, boards and commissions as states of similar size.

- Contained language enhancing the reforms in last year's House Bill 3325 which allows state purchasing processes to be conducted online. The reform standardizes formatting and prevents human calculation errors that may have proven costly in the past. The bill potentially could free up many tedious hours spent by state employees with mundane data entry duties that will be no longer required.

"HB 1032 is an important second step along the path of government modernization," Murphey said. "The bill will set the stage for a new round of modernization and money-saving initiatives next year."