Oklahoma's Speaker of the House, Charles McCall(R-Atoka), expressed serious disappointment about Gov. Mary Fallin for breaking her word (lying) to the legislative leaders and the citizens of the state. “Once again, the governor has called us back into special session without a plan in place, which means more taxpayer dollars will be wasted," McCall said. "This additional special session could have been avoided if the governor had kept her word.” McCall says the governor has exascerbated the problems "because the governor vetoed a compromise bill that would have funded our healthcare programs through the fiscal year without cutting those vital services." "Her veto has put those health care programs that Oklahomans rely on in a very precarious position and created uncertainty for health care providers and citizens," McCall said. "Had she signed the bill, as she promised the House and Senate she would do, these additional revenue issues could have been addressed during the upcoming regular session." |
- The Republican Liberty Caucus (a statewide advocacy group of Republicans) published a Dr. Seuss satire meme of Governor Fallin as the Grinch who stole Christmas.
- The Tulsa 912 Project's social media discussion group has a growing number of people calling for impeachment of the governor for gross incompetence.
- The ruling State Committee of the Oklahoma Republican Party has issued a formal commendation of support for those legislative members who voted in resistance of the governor's tax increases.
- The Republican Platform Caucus has largely declared that no agency should receive any budget increases unless and until a state performance audit is completed and carefully analyzed so that redundant, wasteful, or tangent expenditures can be eliminated.
- Senate leaders, including Roger Thompson & AJ Griffin are determined to restore line-item budgeting practices so that legislative priorities can be assured without having to over-fund an agency to get the desired outcomes.
- The Agency Performance Audit Commission (APAC) has now convened to begin a statutory process of quadrennial performance audits of the 20 largest agencies, on a rotation.
- Several announced candidates for state office are adopting a campaign platform which features performance audits as an essential reform feature.
- The Tulsa Republican Assembly is courting candidates who will work in solidarity with the principles of the OKGOP and the Legislative Platform Caucus.
- The Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs (OCPA) is making fiscal conservatism and reform a central focus of their efforts. (They are the most high-profile thinktank in Oklahoma politics.)
- The Oklahoma affiliate of Americans For Prosperity is expected to to step up funding campaign efforts of several fiscal conservatives in state government who have resisted calls for tax increases.
- The Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (OIPA) are already making donations to lawmakers who focus on spending reforms in state agencies, rather than throwing more money at wasteful and/or corrupted agencies.
- The Oklahoma Attorney General, Mike Hunter, is investigating criminal behavior in multiple state agencies where millions of dollars are unaccounted for. But the governor is seeking to change the subject, rather than helping to root out corruption in state agencies.