New Report Find Oklahoman Agencies Spent Billions Without Oversight
A new report says the state spent billions on purchases that lacked oversight.
According to the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), in fiscal year 2022, Oklahoma agencies spent $3 billion while navigating around rules meant to promote transparency.
State Senator Julia Kirt says even when possible corruption is flagged, there’s not enough push for follow through.
"They also have big concerns in that about enforcement. So, if central purchasing recognizes something that is a problem, apparently we are not using the enforcement measures that are available,” Kirt said. “And we may need more enforcement measures in place. So, I'm really concerned about that in terms of fairness and ethics."
The LOFT report also says following the rules is time-consuming.
If state agencies followed the letter of the guidelines, it would take an average of about 100 days for purchases to be approved.
Clinton Hospital Won’t Be Reopening Anytime Soon
It could be more than a year before Clinton residents have their hospital back open.
A private company managing the hospital shut down the facility at the end of last year when it canceled state and federal licenses to operate in Clinton.
The city and Carrus Health are working to bring the building up to code in order to obtain new operating licensing, but news from officials say it could still be a long time before the hospital can welcome back patients.
According to the Clinton Daily News, the city’s hired architect detailed several repairs needed.
The newspaper reported a long lead time for parts and other supply chain issues could push the re-opening back at least 15 months.
Just the first phase of work is estimated to cost $6 million-more than half of what’s available in hospital trust funds.
In the meantime, the Clinton Regional Urgent Care is open, but the city manager says tough decisions lie ahead due to limited funds.
Oklahoma State University Awarded Federal Funds For IAC Expansion
Oklahoma State University is one of five institutions to receive federal funding to host new Industrial Assessment Centers - which helps manufacturing businesses improve productivity, reduce waste and find energy efficiencies.
Nearly $19 million dollars will be shared across the five universities chosen. OSU is receiving nearly $7 million of those funds to establish the Great Plains Center of Excellence.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm made the annoucement late last week.
"This initiative is one piece of a grand strategy for us as a country to be able to get back the manufacturing jobs that we have lost over the past couple of decades," said Granholm.
The investment is paid for by congressional infrastructure legislation. The initiative hopes to pay for a ‘clean energy’ economy here in Oklahoma - where oil and gas is a major employment sector.
Oklahoma City Thunder Headed to NBA Play-in
The Oklahoma City Thunder has defied the odds to make the NBA play-in this year.
Before the season, sports outlet FiveThirtyEight predicted the Thunder finishing with only 24 wins.
The Thunder instead finished with 40 wins.
The team is comprised of newly emerged superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a lineup of young talent assembled from draft picks and trades.
The team ended its regular season on Sunday with a win that didn’t feature any of its starters.
With their record, the Thunder has earned the 10 seed in the Western Conference, meaning they’ll play two elimination-style games, and must win both to have the final spot in the playoffs.
If they win, they’ll play the top-ranked Denver Nuggets in a best-of-seven series.
The Thunder will play the New Orleans Pelicans at 8:30 p.m. CST Wednesday for the final spot in the NBA playoffs.
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