Transparency Trailblazer in Oklahoma

Oklahomans have a history of doing certain things sooner than others. That is in fact how the state got its nickname "Sooner State."

This year, again, sooner than others, Oklahoma legislators got the memo that taxpayers deserve to know how their state government spends their tax dollars.

Senator Randy Brogdon's Taxpayer Transparency Act, modeled after the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, sailed through the Oklahoma house last week with not a single vote in opposition.

Kudos should also go to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. OCPA's vice president for Brandon Dutcher had early on joined the sponsor of the federal legislation, Dr. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, in calling for the creation of a website through which taxpayers could easily search, find and track government expenditures including (but not limited to) grants and contracts.

As Brandon explains: "Many of the people and organizations who fight for bigger government do so because, you guessed it, they receive taxpayer dollars. Those who take the king’s shilling do the king’s bidding. Taxpayers deserve to know who they are."

The Taxpayer Transparency Act had already swept through the senate, and given the popularity of the concept and Governor Brad Henry's (D) previous statements embracing the idea of posting state expenditures online, Oklahoma taxpayers will soon be only a mouse click away from tracking their tax dollars.

Let's hope other states will follow sooner rather than later.