The Senate approved House Bill 3057 this week which would require all purchases of equipment, products, and services within the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) and the Chief Information Officer be subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act and the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974 without exception.
Representative Jay Steagall wrote the bill to bring more transparency and accountability to OMES.
“Oklahomans demand transparency and accountability regarding the expenditure of their hard-earned tax dollars,” Steagall said. “The abuse of certain exemptions provided for in current statute pertaining to the competitive bid process has to end, and with the passage of HB3057, the Legislature is taking steps to reign in a significant portion of such exploitation. As the author of the bill and concerned taxpayer, I will be working to amend additional statutes to close loopholes and eliminate exemptions used or designed to bypass the competitive bid process.”
The Senate author of HB 3057 is Senator Darrell Weaver.
The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.
