For Immediate Release: June 4, 2007                            

Senator Brogdon Addresses Criticism of Taxpayer Transparency Act,
Encourages Henry to Sign Legislation

At a State Capitol news conference Monday, State Sen. Randy Brogdon addressed recent criticism of his bill, the Taxpayer Transparency Act, and encouraged Gov. Brad Henry to sign the bill into law.
Senate Bill 1, authored by Brogdon (R-Owasso) and Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore), requires the Office of State Finance to create and maintain a searchable Website to let citizens see how state tax dollars are used.

“SB 1 has come under attack by a few individuals who would prefer that light not be shined on certain activities,” Brogdon said. “I would encourage Gov. Henry to ignore these 11th-hour critics and sign SB 1 into law.”

Brogdon said some business groups are advocating that Henry veto SB 1 because of a provision that includes tax credits among the items that are searchable in the bill’s new government spending database.

“The state provides millions upon millions of dollars in tax credits to businesses every year. Oklahoma citizens have just as much right to know where this money is going as they do to know where expenditures are going for other government programs,” Brogdon said. “SB 1 is a common sense, good-government bill that will bring more sunshine to the state budget.”

SB 1 was passed unanimously by the Senate and the House of Representatives in the recently-concluded 2007 legislative session.

Sen. Brogdon said SB 1 is modeled on a new federal law by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn which allows citizens to track the use of federal dollars.

For more information, contact:
Senator Brogdon's Office: (405) 521-5566