At the Capitol the last few weeks, House App ropriations and Budget subcommittees have been meeting to hear from the agencies, boards and commissions that receive any kind of state funding.
The six agencies that receive the most in appropriated dollars appeared in the House chamber before the full body of representatives.
These agency performance reviews and budget request hearings make Oklahoma better as legislators get the opportunity to transparently discuss in public meetings how prior year funding was spent and what the priorities will be for the coming fiscal year.
We also have many budget documents on our House website, okhouse. gov, through the Budget HQ portal. Anyone can view agency requests for the coming fiscal year and years prior, and they can see the overall budget for the state.
Of course, I am stressing the need for a focus on public safety.
On that matter, I wanted to include a note of appreciation to Tulsa County Deputy Freddie Alaniz who pulled over state Sen. Regina Goodwin recently. Deputy Alaniz said that Sen. Goodwin was driving over the speed limit and rolled through two stop signs. He said he initially was going to give her a verbal warning, but after her hostility toward him during the stop and her unwillingness to cooperate with simple requests such as providing him with her driver’s license, he was forced to write her a citation after briefly putting her in handcuffs into his patrol car.
An attorney, Tulsa’s mayor and a city councilwoman also showed up at the stop.
Deputy Alaniz showed the utmost professionalism during this stop. This is a great example of the way the vast majority of our law enforcement officers behave daily when faced with difficult or challenging situations.
Sen. Goodwin and the rest of us have to remember that our officers – no matter if they work for the state, the county or a municipality – are just enforcing the laws created by the Legislature. And none of us are above those laws. I personally believe Sen. Goodwin should publicly apologize to Deputy Alaniz who was simply doing his job of protecting the public.
Stay safe out there. And remember, if I can help you in my capacity as your representative, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Capitol. My office phone is (405) 557-7375, and my email is tim.turner@okhouse. gov.
Rep. Tim Turner, a Republican, represents House District 15 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Haskell County and portions of McIntosh, Muskogee, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties.
