Oklahoma Senator Jonathan Wingard has filed legislation aimed at stopping state agencies from charging one another for the cost of employee labor, a practice he says results in taxpayers effectively paying twice for the same work.
Senate Bill 1454 would prohibit state agencies from billing other state agencies for employee labor when one agency performs services for another. The only exemption would be for the State Auditor and Inspector’s Office.
“In some cases, taxpayers are paying twice for the same government employee,” Wingard said. “Agencies already request and receive funding to cover employee salaries. Allowing them to bill other agencies for that same work is nothing more than double-charging taxpayers, and it’s a practice that must stop.”
Wingard said the bill targets internal government billing arrangements where one agency charges another for staff time, even though those employees are already paid through the state budget.
According to the bill’s fiscal impact statement, SB 1454 could save taxpayers more than $65 million by eliminating what Wingard describes as double-billing practices.
“The government shouldn’t be charging the government to work for itself,” Wingard said. “These questionable billing practices open the door to waste, fraud and abuse in state government. Senate Bill 1454 is just another way to ensure that state agencies are good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
