Boards and Commissions
Council on Bond Oversight
The Oklahoma Counci on Bond Oversight is the statutory body responsible for reviewing all borrowing requests by State agencies, authorities, departments, and trusts, including public institutions of higher education. Upon approval, the State Bond Advisor is responsible assisting issuers with the sale of the approved bonds.
The Council consists of five members who are not members of the Oklahoma Legislature. Two members are appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate, one is appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, one is appointed by the President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, and the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services serves as the fifth member. Appointed members serve terms of two years and may be removed for cause by the appointing authority. Members may be appointed for additional terms.
As of 2014, the members of the Council are as follows:
- Mark Beffort - Chairman
- Robert M. Jones
- Tom Maxwell
- Blaine Peterson
- Preston Doerflinger, Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services
Capital Planning Commission
The Oklahoma Long-Range Capital Planning Commission is an oversight body created by statute to advise and assist the Oklahoma Legislature in providing for capital facilities in the state. Each year, the Commission prepares a state capital plan for addressing state, regional and local public capital facility needs for the next five years. The Governor of Oklahoma, at the time he prepares the state budget, is to use the state capital plan to prepare a capital budget for consideration by the Oklahoma Legislature. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides staff support for the Commission, with assistance from the State Bond Advisor's Office.
The Commission consists of nine members as follows:
- three members are appointed by the Governor to serve at his pleasure and represent the public at large
- three members are appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate to serve at his pleasure, one of whom must be a member of the Oklahoma Senate and two must come from the public
- three members are appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives to serve at his pleasure, one of whom must be a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and two must come from the public
The governor of the State of Oklahoma is the head of state for the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ex officio Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not called into federal use. Despite being an executive branch official, the governor also holds legislative and judicial powers. The governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the Oklahoma Legislature, submitting the annual state budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and that the peace is preserved. The governor's term is four years in length.
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U.S. Census. Its composition, powers, and duties are established in Article IV of the Michigan Constitution.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation and ODOT Executive Director, the Department maintains public infrastructure that includes highways and state-owned railroads. Along with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the Department is the primary infrastructure construction and maintenance agency of the State.
The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 state representatives, each serving a two-year term, and 48 state senators, who serve four-year terms that are staggered so only half of the Oklahoma Senate districts are eligible in each election year. Legislators are elected directly by the people from single member districts of equal population. The Oklahoma Legislature meets annually in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City.
The Secretary of State of the State of Oklahoma is the chief clerical officer of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary of State is the only appointed constitutional member of the executive branch of the Oklahoma state government. The office of Secretary of State was elective from statehood until 1975 when the Constitution was amended and it became an appointive office, running concurrent with the Governor effective in 1979.
The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's budget. The upper house of the Oklahoma Legislature is the Oklahoma Senate.
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.
The State Treasurer of Oklahoma is the chief custodian of Oklahoma’s cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation of state government through effective banking, investment, and cash management. The state treasurer has the powers of a typical chief financial officer for a corporation.
The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.
The President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-ranking official, serving ex officio as President of the Senate, even though he or she only votes in the case of a tie. During the lieutenant governor's absence, the president pro tempore presides over sessions. The lieutenant governor presides over sessions devoted to ceremonial purposes, while the bulk of the management and political power is reserved for the president pro tempore.
The Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act, often referred to as the Health Emergency Act, is an Oklahoma state law that details the response to a catastrophic health emergency in Oklahoma created as a result of a nuclear weapon, bioterrorism, a chemical weapon or other biological toxin. The Health Emergency Act along with the Oklahoma Emergency Management Act of 2003 form the primary state laws regarding emergency management.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for preventing and investigating loss of life and destruction of property caused by fire. OSFM accomplishes its mission through public education, criminal investigations, building inspections, and fire code enforcement activities.
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission is an agency of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is the duty of the Commission to conserve Oklahoma's land and water. The Commission is also responsible for upstream flood control protection, a state-funded conservation cost-share program, reclamation of abandoned mine land and non point source water quality monitoring, planning, and management, in addition to a variety of educational and informational activities.
The Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission (OMPC) is an independent quasi-judicial agency of the government of Oklahoma established to protect the integrity of state’s merit system utilized by state agencies and their employees. The Commission and the Office of Personnel Management act independently forming a “checks and balances” method of managing the merit system.
The Oklahoma State Pension Commission is an Oklahoma state agency responsible for analyzing the performance of the State's public pension systems. The Commission also advises the Governor of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Legislature on necessary action to improve the pension systems. The Commission is provided administrative support by the Office of the State Auditor and Inspector.
The Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief advisor to the Governor on agricultural, forestry and food issues.
The Oklahoma Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the governor. The secretary serves as the chief adviser to the governor on fiscal policy, taxation, and the operations and personnel needs of the state government.
The Oklahoma Secretary of Education is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief advisor to the Governor on public education issues and needs.
The Oklahoma State Budget for Fiscal Year 2015, is a spending request by Governor Mary Fallin to fund government operations for July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015. Governor Fallin proposed the budget on February 3, 2014. This was Governor Fallin's fourth budget submitted as governor.
