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Incoming Commissioner Plans To Look At Labor Department's Budget

Brent Fuchs
/
The Journal Record
Recently appointed Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston introduces herself to employees at the Oklahoma Department of Labor in Oklahoma City on December 1.

A little over a month ago Gov. Mary Fallin named Melissa Houston the state’s new Labor Commissioner. She accepted the job after Labor Commissioner Mark Costello was stabbed to death in August.

Houston had served in the office of Attorney General Scott Pruitt since 2011, most recently as the chief of staff and a key policy adviser. Prior to that she spent nearly a decade in a similar role in the state Office of Homeland Security, and she also lost an election for a state House seat in 2000. The Journal Record’s managing editor Adam Brooks says Houston was one of the top advisers in the attorney general’s office as is filed lawsuits concerning the Affordable Care Act, against the Environmental Protection Agency, and against the state of Colorado over its recreational marijuana laws.

“This is at a time when the attorney general has become well known for his focus on fighting what he calls ‘federal overreach’,” Brooks said. “It’s not just Pruitt that led those efforts. [Houston said] she thinks the feds, that what they do, is devastating to Oklahoma as well.”

When Houston took the chief of staff position, the position became on par with the first assistant attorney general, and Houston was involved in running the day-to-day operations, setting the direction of the agency, and serving as its public face, according to The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt:

Along with communicating Pruitt’s message internally, she often spoke to lawmakers and the public about actions Pruitt took. “To be able to explain the impact of the federal regulation and overreach that is taking place in the state, and how that translates to the state of Oklahoma – how devastating that is – that was a lot of my job,” Houston said. She said civility is important in those conversations. “I think reasonable minds can have discussions about important policy issues, and we should,” she said. “The level of rhetoric people have is very important.”

Last week, Houston formally spoke to the Department of Labor for the first time, and hinted things could change at the agency given the current budget climate. Lawmakers could face a revenue shortfall estimated as high as $1 billion due to the trickle-down effect the continued low oil prices have had on state collections and the overall economic climate.

“She's hoping that by the time the session starts in February, she'll have ideas to help the agency pay for itself,” Brooks said.

Chief Elevator Inspector Ralph Cole shows Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston the inner workings of a lift at the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital.
Credit Dale Denwalt / The Journal Record
/
The Journal Record
Chief Elevator Inspector Ralph Cole shows Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston the inner workings of a lift at the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital.

The Department of Labor does have a regulatory role similar to the type of federal oversight Houston fought in the attorney general’s office. Some of that work is mandated by state statute, such as inspecting elevators and fairground rides, and looking for asbestos. But Houston wonders whether or not the frequency of these types of inspections is sustainable in the upcoming budget year, Denwaltreports:

Her stance is welcomed by budget writers who are looking for ways to tamp down spending in 2016. State Rep. Earl Sears, chief budget negotiator for the House of Representatives, said he’s pleased whenever an agency director tries to make his or her agency more self-sufficient or streamlined. . . . Houston declined to elaborate on how she might cut costs or raise revenue at the department. Sears said if she asks to raise inspection fees, though, he needs time to consider it. “After all, the people who pay the fees are the taxpayers,” he said. The agency can theoretically also ask lawmakers to lighten its load by cutting services. “If we inspect X four times a month, maybe we can get by on two times a month. I don’t know,” Sears said, offering a hypothetical solution.

The Business Intelligence Report is a collaborative news project between KGOU and The Journal Record.

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The Journal Record is a multi-faceted media company specializing in business, legislative and legal news. Print and online content is available via subscription.

Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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