My Beliefs
Government belongs to the people, not politicians, lobbyists or bureaucrats.
My Record
Accountability: In 2009, I authored the most comprehensive education reform bill to bring more transparency and accountability to the state’s largest expenditure – common education.
Efficiency: In 2011 alone, I authored several governmental reform laws, including a Treasurer modernization bill to reduce the cost of using outdated paper methods, an Information Technology bill to streamline the use of resources and personnel throughout most of state government, a “one-stop-shop” portal for business licensees to be able to obtain or renew a license, and a bill that eliminated multiple state agencies.
Eminent Domain: To ensure Oklahoma doesn’t take property away from people for economic development purposes, I led the charge after the Kelo vs. City of New London case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Oklahoma private property rights from government land grabs solely for economic development purposes.
Taxpayer Transparency: I helped pass the Oklahoma’s original “Open Books” bill and was the principal Senate author with then-Representative Ken Miller of its successor: the “Open Books 2.0″ bill, which seeks to make every individual expenditure of government searchable by individual check and draft.
Spending Less: I voted against the largest budget in state history, saying that if revenues decreased in the future, more problems would result than what we would care to deal with. I also carried the bill to create the Chief Information Officer, which will save Oklahoma taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
Voter I.D.: Voting is one of our most precious rights and it should be diligently protected from voter fraud. Because of that, I’ve sponsored and helped pass legislation to require voters to prove they are actually the persons on the rolls when they case their ballot.