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Gov. Kevin Stitt launches Oklahoma Checkbook…

11:21 AM EDT on June 14, 2019

One of Gov. Kevin Stitt's big promises on the campaign trail was to modernize Oklahoma government to make it more accountable and transparent. He took a big step in being able to say he at least tried to fulfill that promise by recently launching an "Oklahoma Checkbook" that documents state spending — because, you know, nothing is more modern and relatable than balancing checkbook.

Via KOKH:

Gov. Stitt announced the launch of "Oklahoma Checkbook" on Wednesday, which fulfills a campaign promise to provide Oklahomans with an easy-to-navigate site so they can understand how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.

The interactive website provides near real time data on the state's expenses, ensures citizens can quickly and easily review the state's ledger, providing a greater means of accountability and transparency.

"Since day one I have said we need to put our state government checkbook online so the people of Oklahoma can hold their agencies and elected officials accountable,” said Stitt. “Oklahoma Checkbook creates a level of accountability and transparency within Oklahoma’s government that is unprecedented. I look forward to seeing how this user friendly tool helps keep us on track to becoming a top ten state in budget transparency."

Give Gov. Stitt's extremely experienced and qualified communications team credit for staying on brand and milking this Top 10 state stuff for all it's worth. I can't wait to see where Oklahoma ranks on Wallet Hub's 2020 rankings on state budget transparency!

I checked out the "checkbook" and, sure enough, it has a lot of data. You can click on fancy charts and graphs and look at numbers that really have no meaning or context unless you're a CPA, CFO or whiz kid who understands complex government budgeting. But who cares about that – something is better than nothing. Plus, Kevin Stitt gets to say we're being open and transparent on government spending! That's great for optics!

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