House passes legislation locking in legislative role in federal spending

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed legislation aiming to increase transparency and oversight of federal funds received by state agencies.

House Bill 1221, also known as the State Accounts for Federal Expenditures (SAFE) Act, would create accounts to be used by agencies for federal funds received under competitive grant awards, direct monetary payments to the agency not associated with an established federal program the agency operates, and block grants.

The bill would mandate that any state agency receiving federal funds through these mechanisms must place those funds into separate SAFE accounts, which would be subject to rigorous reporting to the legislative and executive branches.

Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, authored the SAFE Act, which would subject expenditures from these federal accounts to legislative approval through a concurrent resolution. If the Legislature disapproves any proposed expenditure, the agency would be required to notify the federal government and withdraw its application for the corresponding funding.

“The SAFE Act ensures federal funds are spent in alignment with Oklahoma’s priorities through a transparent process,” West said. “This gives elected lawmakers a stronger voice on how our state agencies are spending federal funds and ensures Oklahoma taxpayers can trust how their state government is spending these dollars. I appreciate the strong support for this bill in the House and hope to see it move quickly in the Senate.”

HB1221 outlines specific exemptions, including temporary funding increases in existing federal programs already managed by state agencies, federal unemployment dollars managed by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC), and certain competitive grants received by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) for the 8-year Construction Work Plan or grants from the Federal Railroad Administration.

Additionally, agencies would be required to present their grant-seeking activities and federal funding reports during legislative hearings or budget performance reviews.

“We know the Trump administration has promised and is already delivering on sending more federal dollars down to the states where we can best determine how to use those funds to best benefit Oklahomans. This legislation ensures federal funds being redirected to the state have full legislative review and control to ensure state agencies are aligning expenditures with legislative intent,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. “We are excited about the opportunities flexibility with these federal funds will bring to our state and this legislation will maintain accountability at the state level for those funds.”

Having passed the House 78-18, the SAFE Act now moves to the Senate for consideration, where it is authored by Sen. Avery Frix, R-Muskogee.