EXECUTIVE ORDER 2024-13
WHEREAS, eliminating barriers to economic development, breaking
the red tape that hinders job creation, and expanding professional
opportunities remain priorities for my administration; and
WHEREAS, increasing the efficiency in the processing and approval
of state-issued permits will remove unnecessary barriers for those seeking to
do business in Oklahoma.
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.
Each "state agency"
1 (hereinafter "Agency") that
issues permits shall compile an electronic catalog
2
of the types of permits it issues and electronically submit that catalog to the
Executive Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services ("OMES")
within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this Executive Order. At
minimum, the catalog shall include:
a. A
description of each type of permit issued by the Agency, the term thereof, and
the statutory, regulatory, or other basis therefor;
b. The method by which the Agency receives
applications for each type of permit (e.g., paper, electronic, etc.) and when
that method was last significantly updated;
c. The statutory, regulatory, or other basis
governing the length of time within which the Agency must process applications
for each type of permit;
d. Any fee
charged by the Agency for each type of permit and the statutory, regulatory, or
other basis therefor;
e. For
Calendar Year 2023, (1) the average number of days to process each type of
permit application and (2) the total number of each type of permit submitted to
the Agency; and, for Calendar Year 2024 YTD, the same; and
f. The Agency's recommendation of the
appropriate length of time to promptly process "completed" applications for
each type of permit issued by the Agency. Except as explicitly provided by law
otherwise, an application shall be deemed completed for purposes of calculating
appropriate processing times at the time the applicant submits all information
required by the Agency to act upon the application.
2. Following receipt and review of an
Agency's catalogs, historical analyses, and recommendations, the Director of
OMES, in conjunction with the Office of the Governor, the State Chief
Transformation and Information Officers, and all cabinet secretaries and chief
advisors
3 shall:
a.
Establish recommended, efficient application processing times for each Agency's
various types of permits;
b. Review
existing methods used to apply for permits and offer recommendations on
specific digital services to expedite application processing times;
and
c. Within one hundred twenty
(120) days of the receipt of an Agency's catalogs, historical analyses, and
recommendations, the Director of OMES shall transmit and publish for public
viewing an electronic catalog of (1) recommended application processing times
and (2) specific digital services that would better serve the Agency and all
those seeking to do business in Oklahoma.
3. Beginning thirty (30) days after the
Director of OMES transmits and publishes the electronic catalog described in
Section 2(c) above, each Agency shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law,
comply with the recommended application processing times for each type of
permit issued by the Agency. If an Agency exceeds the recommended application
processing time, the Agency shall, unless otherwise prohibited by law, refund
the full amount of the application fee to the applicant. The refund shall have
no bearing on the disposition of the underlying application.
4. Nothing in this Executive Order shall be
construed to impair or otherwise affect the authority granted to an Agency by
the Oklahoma Constitution, the Oklahoma Statutes, or the Oklahoma
Administrative Code. Further, this Executive Order does not create any right or
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the State, its Agencies or agents, or any other person.
5. 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 this Executive Order and the applicability of its
other provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected
thereby.
6. This Executive Order
shall be distributed to the Director of OMES, the State Chief Transformation
and Information Officers, and all cabinet secretaries.
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 17th day of June, 2024.
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
J. KEVIN STITT
ATTEST:
Josh Cockroft
SECRETARY OF STATE
