State could save millions at OCAST

April 18, 2012

Following is an excerpt from OCPA’s Proposed State Budget for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2013.

With Oklahoma government spending at an all-time high (see chart), the time has come to set priorities and to exercise spending discipline.

The Oklahoma Center for Science and Technology (OCAST) should no longer receive state funding for the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center (OTCC). This program directly competes with the private sector and existing market participants engaged in business formation and development. This program is another example of the state picking winners and losers. If businesses in the private sector are interested in subsidizing their competitors through the continued existence of this program, they can make donations to OCAST specifically for the program.

The potential savings from implementing this reform would be $3 million annually.

Submitted each year by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Inc. to the taxpayers of the State of Oklahoma and their elected Officials, the OCPA “Budget Book” is carefully crafted by Fiscal Policy Director Jonathan Small to help lawmakers set priorities and exercise spending discipline while creating a state budget that respects your family budget. Offering unmatched fiscal policy analysis and recommendations, Small draws on his experiences as a former budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, former fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and former director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department to provide perspective on the state budget that you cannot find anywhere else.