Okla. Admin. Code § 1:2024-12A

Current through Vol. 42, No. 3, October 15, 2024

Section 1:2024-12A

EXECUTIVE ORDER 2024-12A

WHEREAS, it is a practice of good governance to steward taxpayer dollars well; and

WHEREAS, the taxpayers should never foot the bill for the political ambition of an individual, regardless of his or her position in state government; and

WHEREAS, the use of taxpayer funds for campaign purposes is already a violation of state law; and

WHEREAS, any communications distributed by state agencies, state agency directors, and/or state employees should be in service to the people of Oklahoma and the State's interest; and

WHEREAS, any contract with a public relations firm should keep the Oklahoma taxpayer as the top priority; and

WHEREAS, public relations contracts should not be used as fronts for lobbying or advocacy campaigns against state efforts.

NOW THEREFORE, I, J. Kevin Stitt, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, pursuant to the power and authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2 of Article VI of the Oklahoma Constitution, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, hereby order as follows:

1. "State agencies"¹ are hereby prohibited from entering into sole source contracts exceeding $25,000.00 with PR/marketing/communications Vendors (hereinafter "PR Vendor" or "PR Vendors"). Instead, notwithstanding any statutory exemption or directive to the contrary, all contracts with PR Vendors exceeding $25,000.00 shall be procured only through a minimum 30-day request for proposal ("RFP") process.

a. Any PR Vendor agreement exceeding $25,000.00 currently in place that was secured via sole source shall not be renewed and shall terminate at the end of the current contractual term. If the service of the PR Vendor is necessary to continue, then such service must be procured via the process outlined in Section 1 above. Further, if the sole source contract provides for early termination, notice of termination should be given by the state agency no later than ninety (90) days from the date of this Executive Order

2. No PR vendor shall have an active contract related to a campaign-related matter (i.e., candidates or issues/questions that will appear on a ballot), state question initiative, or policy-based 501(c)(4) associated in any way with the contracting agency or its officer(s), employees, or contractors at the time of the PR vendor's bid submission to an RFP for PR/marketing/communications nor during the term of any resulting contract.

3. Any evidence of unregistered lobbying shall be reported to the Ethics Commission for review and resolution.

a. If a PR Vendor is caught participating in unregistered lobbying, as defined by the Ethics Commission, the contract shall be immediately terminated by the government agency.

b. OMES must immediately include language in all new PR Vendor contracts to allow agencies to immediately vacate contracts, with no more than ten (10) days' notice if the reason is for a PR Vendor or a PR Vendor employee, in an unofficial capacity, being caught violating the lobbying clause.

4. No state agency shall contract with PR Vendors that also employ registered lobbyists.

5. PR Vendors shall be contracted to execute clearly defined objectives only, as outlined in the RFP. All such objectives shall advance the mission and service delivery of the state agency for the State of Oklahoma.

6. No state agency, director of a state agency, or any state employee shall use any tax dollars, spent in- or outside the state, for the purpose of self-promotion or for the promotion of any matter outside the scope of the state agency.

7. If any provision of this Executive Order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of the Executive Order and the applicability of its other provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

8. This Executive Order shall be distributed to the Director of OMES, the directors of all state agencies, and my advisors.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this 28th day of June, 2024.

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

J. KEVIN STITT

ATTEST:

Josh Cockroft

SECRETARY OF STATE

Okla. Admin. Code § 1:2024-12A

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 22, August 1, 2024, eff. 6/28/2024

¹ In this Executive Order, "state agency" means, as it does in 61 O.S. § 327(A), "any department, board, commission, institution, or agency or entity of state government."