GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT RELEASES INAUGURAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS REPORT
Oklahoma City, Okla. (Jan. 22, 2020)— Governor Kevin Stitt released today the 2019 Stitt Administration Annual Accomplishments Report. The inaugural report focuses on the Stitt administration's progress thus far and displays the work being done to improve transparency, accountability and efficiency in state government.
“Oklahomans gave us a mandate to deliver more accountability in State government and to protect taxpayers by strengthening the state’s fiscal transparency,” said Governor Stitt. “We have made great progress and continue to build the road map for delivering a better state government that moves Oklahoma towards Top Ten status.”
Highlights of the report include:
Agency Accountability:
Gov. Stitt signed into law legislation that allows the governor to hire the directors at five of the 12 largest state agencies. Past governors have produced blue ribbon studies showing that responsibility and power is spread so far and thin across state government that essentially few can truly be held accountable by the voters. Within the first two months of the Stitt administration, the governor and the Legislature worked together to produce historic reform that delivers much-needed accountability for the delivery of critical services and the management of billions in tax dollars.
Since being sworn in, the Governor has been a part of hiring 18 new agency directors and making more than 410 appointments across state government.
Largest Savings Account in State History:
Gov. Stitt led the state to build its largest savings account in state history.
The cornerstone of Gov. Stitt’s budget was centered on setting aside an additional $200 million, beyond the Rainy Day Fund’s automatic collection, while also increasing funding for core services by more than 5%. As a result, the state has more than $1 billion in savings, allowing Oklahoma to better protect the taxpayer and core services during inevitable and unforeseen changes in the economy.
Teacher Pay Raises:
Gov. Stitt called for and signed into law another teacher pay raise, for a second year in a row, and increased the state’s spending in public education to a historic high of $3 billion in state revenue annually.
Historic Commutation Release:
Gov. Stitt signed the largest single-day commutation in U.S. history.
On Nov.1, Gov. Stitt signed 523 commutations, with over 450 immediately released, that were sent to his desk by the Pardon and Parole Board under the HB 1269 docket, giving hundreds of nonviolent, low-level offenders an opportunity at a second chance. This historic commutation docket was the result of months-long collaboration between the Department of Corrections, Pardon and Parole Board, 200 nonprofit volunteers and many more. On Nov. 4, Gov. Stitt and First Lady Sarah Stitt greeted the 55 women at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Facility who were released through the HB 1269 docket.
Top Ten Cabinet Tours:
Gov. Stitt launched the Top Ten Cabinet Tour to engage with Oklahomans across the state.
The Stitt administration is committed to listening to and working with the people of Oklahoma to deliver a Top Ten state, which is why the governor took cabinet members on the road to hold public meetings and tour local businesses and state field offices. The Top Ten Cabinet Tour made stops in Woodward, Owasso, Lawton and McAlester.
Digital Transformation:
Governor Stitt appointed the state’s first Secretary of Digital Transformation to help accomplish a vision to bring Oklahoma state government fully into the digital age. By leveraging technology, the state will become more transparency, efficient, and customer friendly. Since the beginning of 2019, Oklahoma has begun to implement digital transformation measures by:
- Launching checkbook.ok.gov, moving the state’s online budget transparency ranking from 47th in 2018 to seventh place at the end of 2019.
- Launching the Oklahoma Mobile ID application, allowing Oklahomans to have their licenses accessible on their smartphone devices.
- Modernizing state parks by making it possible for parks to accept credit cards in the field for the first time in state history.
- Beginning the process to modernize the administrative rules website to make it more user friendly and transparent.
A copy of the complete report is available by clicking here.
from MuskogeePolitico.com
