Given the large shortfall facing lawmakers this year, one might think they would try to reduce potential waste, mismanagement and corruption regarding expenditure of taxpayer dollars. Instead, lawmakers passed a bill that would have reduced oversight of some multimillion-dollar contracts.
Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed the bill recently, and deserves credit for demanding greater accountability in government contracting.
House Bill 1667 would have changed state law so that the “State Department of Education” would be responsible for seeking bids from vendors to provide state tests in grades 3 through 12, and the "Department" would be given authority to “award contracts based on the selected proposals that were submitted.” The legislation repealed language that previously gave the state Board of Education that authority. Read more…