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Top Oklahoma Senate Republican Hopes for More Proactive Legislature

State of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Senate’s top Republican said the legislature wants to be more proactive — and that will start with the budget.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat said lawmakers have long relied upon agency reports and figures they can’t easily verify when crafting the state’s spending plan.

"In order to better represent the people of Oklahoma, have more transparency, we’ve thought about creating a legislative budget office between the House and the Senate that can dig into those numbers, dig into those programs. Are we getting our best bang for the buck?" Treat said.

Lawmakers heard testimony during an interim study from officials from states that have such budget offices.

"We’ve already got legislative staff working on the language from feedback from that. We’ve got some people investigating what Mississippi does with their review committee. New Mexico was a great example. So, I’m excited. I think we’re going to have a lot of action on this early on in session, and the speaker and I have been talking about it all interim," Treat said.

Treat also wants to improve the orientation process for new lawmakers.

"We’re going to try to expand it under my pro tem-ship. I really believe that one of the most important things we do is get people acclimated to the process," Treat said.

Nearly 40 percent of lawmakers next year will be brand-new, and almost 70 percent will have fewer than four years experience. Treat said mentorships and a better crash-course in rules will make for a better session.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.