Committee Okays Bill for E-Filing of Reports, Budget; Measure Could Save Thousands Annually

A bill that could save taxpayers thousands of dollars annually passed out of the Senate’s General Government Committee Monday.

Senate Bill 1507 by Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, would require the hundreds of reports submitted by state agencies to legislative leaders be transmitted electronically. In addition, the measure would require agency budget requests and the governor’s annual budget to be transmitted electronically rather than through hard copies in the mail.

“Virtually all these documents are already available electronically,” Gumm said. “This measure would save paper, save trees and – most importantly – taxpayers’ money. I would much rather the dollars we spend on printing be spent to educate our children or improve our roads.”

Gumm said transitioning from printed copies to electronic online copies of these documents will save dollars and make state government more effective and less wasteful. As an example, it cost more than $5,700 to print the governor’s budget proposal to lawmakers this year; that would have been saved had hard copies not been printed.

Shifting to paperless documents is a national trend. The White House recently announced it will not print copies of its 2009 fiscal budget. Members of Congress and interested parties could access the document through an Internet link. That way, anyone could review the budget online.

The move is expected to save federal taxpayers $1 million in reduced printing costs over the next five years. Gumm said state government should take this step as well, both as a cost-saving measure and as a statement of policy.

“We can make state government work smarter and be more effective for the taxpayers of Oklahoma,” Gumm said. “There is an opportunity here to save thousands of dollars and use those critical dollars for a host of important needs; it is truly a win-win for state government and the Oklahoma families whose tax dollars fund it.”

The measure next will be considered by the full Senate sometime during the next five weeks.