Opinion

As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, I have made it a top priority to aggressively enforce the Open Records and Open Meetings Acts across State government. That is why I am excited to highlight the importance of Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of access to public information and open government.

This week at the Capitol was packed with dozens of committee meetings as legislators hurried to ensure their bills were passed ahead of Thursday’s committee deadline. In addition to attending meetings for the committees I sit on, I passed six of my own bills out of their committees prior to the deadline, and those are now eligible to be heard on the House floor.

As a small business owner, I know firsthand how bureaucratic overregulation and red tape can threaten or even destroy a business. Eleven years ago, the Obama administration’s burdensome and ever-changing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations put my wife and me out of business in a matter of days—and we weren’t alone. Heavy handed government bureaucracy is a constant challenge for Oklahoma business owners, and it’s why I ran for office in the first place.