OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A former lobbyist and Republican legislator was tapped Friday to head up a new state agency created by the Legislature last year to oversee agency spending.
The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency Oversight Committee selected Mike Jackson to serve as the agency’s first executive director. The former Republican legislator from Enid most recently served as a lobbyist for The State Chamber.
House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat had recommended Jackson for the job.
“LOFT will provide the public and the Legislature with objective data and will be a game-changer in our efforts to provide increased oversight and accountability in how our tax dollars are spent,” Treat said in a statement.
McCall and Treat created the agency last year to serve as an independent budget office to provide the Legislature and public with data on agency budgets and programs. It was formed after a 2018 audit of the state health department found the agency’s financial operations were so badly bungled that nearly 200 employees lost their jobs unnecessarily.
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