Summary and Conclusion of Legislative Proposals Analysis 2011 as to Oklahoma Scenic Rivers

Two bills impact the future of Oklahoma Scenic Rivers. If Oklahoma fails to pass a budget adequate to support the functions of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, it will pay the price in diminished tourism revenues for the counties in the watershed. Locals will see less income, and the state will hurt itself by having fewer taxpayers contributing to the coffers for all state services. Thus, a bigger tax bill will have to be paid by others in order to make up for cutting off the state’s revenue stream from this area if goals of fiscal austerity are to be achieved. Simply, $349,239 solves that. Its less than eleven cents a person.



The second issue is agency consolidation. Consolidation may be appropriate for some agencies but OSRC is a prime example of the goal of agency efficiency because it draws on a wide circle of resources that do not burden taxpayers. In essence, Oklahoma’s getting three dollars of direct goods per dollar of that $349,239 spent—plus volunteerism and unmatcheable expertise.



In recommending a best case scenario for the management of the Illinois River it would be ideal to retain the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission as its own agency and avoiding the foibles of HB1514, and it would be ideal to fund $349,239 of Scenic Rivers Commission budget rather than shut down the tourism jewel of Northeastern Oklahoma.