The Senate Rules Committee approved Wednesday five measures which would give the governor the power to hire and fire agency directors. Senate Bill 456 is the vehicle for the changes at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA). The Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) change would come through Senate Bill 457. Senate Bill 458 changes the structure for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC). Senate Bill 459 does the trick for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) is affected by Senate Bill 460.
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat is guiding Governor Stitt’s requests through the Senate.
“Accountability is an important part of the equation in making Oklahoma a top 10 state. Many agency directors are accountable only to an unelected board or commission. This system has preserved the status quo and led to agencies languishing with minimal innovation. The system is broken and it must be fixed. These Senate bills will ensure agency directors of five of the biggest state agencies are accountable to the governor, who is directly accountable to the people. If we pass these bills, Oklahomans will know the buck stops with Governor Stitt. I appreciate the Senate Republicans on the Rules Committee for their support of this measure and look forward to advancing it out of the Senate,” Treat said.
If the measures are approved and then signed into law, they would give the governor the power to hire and fire the directors of OHCA, ODOT, ODOC, ODMHSAS, and OJA with the advice and consent of the senate and shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The governor will be able to set the salaries of his agency directors. The governing boards and commissions of those five agencies would be dissolved and their duties handed to the directors.
The bills are now destined for the full Senate’s consideration.
