Budget transparency took a step forward last year. Where are we now?

Oklahoma historically has had one of the nation’s least transparent budget processes. In recent years, the handful of senior lawmakers assembling the budget bills worked behind closed doors only to publicly release the budget bills a few hours before elected officials were asked to vote on them. Sometimes, the copies were still warm when they were passed out on the legislative floor.

In an extraordinary turn of events last year, leaders from the House, Senate, and Governor’s office met publicly throughout May to discuss both big-picture budget planning and line-by-line appropriations. Occasionally messy, it was nevertheless revealing to watch the process unfold.

(Even with all that effort last year, the 45 budget-related bills were posted over the Memorial Day weekend for consideration on the holiday itself. This included some bills dropping that Monday without advance review.)

As of this writing, there are little more than five weeks between now and sine die, the day the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn. The House recently released its online Budget Transparency Portal, which House leaders say is a starting point in negotiations between the two legislative branches and the governor’s office. Aside from this, however, there is not much known publicly about the budget process this session. Comments from leaders in news media about issues that are demanding attention, such as mental health funding, have hinted at the ongoing budget discussions. However, Oklahoma taxpayers deserve more transparency.

While it is uplifting that both House and Senate leaders have said they were committed to being more transparent in this budget process, the public needs to ensure those aren’t empty promises.

Some key promises that legislative leaders can make and uphold include:

• Creating a centralized budget portal. The House’s Budget Transparency Portal has been a helpful tool in tracking that chamber’s budget negotiations. The legislature should take this one step further. It would be helpful for the legislature to create and update regularly a portal that encompasses the Senate, House, and Governor’s budget proposals alongside agency requests. This would streamline the information and ease public efforts to track the budget process.
• Releasing the agreed budget in advance. Legislative leaders have expressed a commitment to sharing budget bills with time for public review. To provide the public and their fellow lawmakers enough time to digest these complex budget bills, the legislative leadership for both houses should pledge to release the agreed upon budget at least seven days before a vote is held. Providing ample time for all members and the public to review the budget before a vote takes place is crucial to building trust within and outside the capitol. Transparency is the essence of a healthy democracy.
• Having more voices in the process. While much of the budget negotiations are happening outside of the public view, last year’s livestreamed budget meetings clearly demonstrated what many folks imagine budget discussions look like most years. A handful lawmakers control budget decisions with little input from most lawmakers, especially the minority party. A greater number of perspectives in budget discussions ensures more representation and can lead to creative problem solving. This session, the legislature should release the budget proposals in advance — with at least a full week to review – to give every member the opportunity to evaluate the bills and better advocate for their constituents. For future sessions, the legislature should introduce full budget bills within three weeks of the beginning of session. These bills should meet all legislative deadlines for committee and floor actions. That way the budget gets the same deliberation as other bills.
• Consistently increasing transparency. Oklahoma’s budget process historically has been one of the least transparent in the nation, by many standards. Legislators should continue to build on their efforts to increase budget transparency by laying out long term goals of having public hearings, allowing public testimonies, and publishing statements explaining the rationale for budget decisions.

Legislative leaders and the governor deserve credit for the steps they took last year to make the state’s budget process more transparent. But, with the end of this year’s regular session quickly approaching, the House and Senate leadership must now live up to the promises of transparency they made at the start. Oklahomans expect – and deserve – a budget process that is open, thoughtful, and accountable. This requires meaningful transparency, not just behind-the-scenes decisions. There’s still time to get it right, but the window is closing fast.