Oklahoma expands public access to state spending data with new transparency database
Oklahoma launched a new public database Thursday designed to give residents and lawmakers greater visibility into how state agencies spend taxpayer money.
The Oklahoma Spending Transparency database, introduced by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), brings together purchase orders and purchase card transaction data from across the state government.
The launch follows transparency reforms enacted during Oklahoma’s 2026 legislative session, including House Bill 3415, which requires OMES Central Purchasing to maintain a publicly accessible database of contracts between state agencies and suppliers. Under the law, the database must include vendor names, expected contract costs, purchase order numbers and descriptions of deliverables.
The legislation was authored by Rep. Judd Strom, R-Copan, chairman of the House General Government Appropriations and Budget Committee, and Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville.
“Taxpayers deserve a clear view of how government is spending their money,” Strom said in a statement. “Putting this information in one place makes it easier for Oklahomans and lawmakers to ask informed questions, follow public spending and hold government accountable.”
Last year, Oklahoma faced scrutiny from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, which questioned whether agencies were abiding by the state’s Central Purchasing Act, a 2009 law that created OMES and standardized the procurement process with the goals of transparency, efficiency and fiscal responsibility.
After a review of state purchases, the state legislature discovered that agencies had procured more than $3 billion worth of goods and services outside OMES oversight. In response, OMES deployed Process Copilot, a generative AI platform from German software service firm Celonis that flags mistakes in submission forms, such as missing vendor contracts or including the wrong type of procurement order.
Janet Morrow, director of risk assessment and compliance at OMES, said the tool helps officials review procurement data within minutes, a task that previously took years. He said the new platform gives OMES visibility over more than 24,000 purchase orders winding through PeopleSoft, the state’s enterprise resource planning system.
“In the past, the assessment team would conduct eight audits a year of agencies’ procurement, and that would take two to three years to complete,” Morrow told StateScoop last year. “By the time an audit was completed and it’s two to three years later, you may have a change in leadership, that buyer may no longer be at that agency.”
Oklahoma’s new transparency database was developed in partnership with Concourse, a company that builds software for the public sector, which also worked on the state’s other purchasing tools, including the Statewide Contract Search website and MyOK Staffing and Services portal.
The effort builds on a longstanding push among state and local governments to make financial information more accessible through searchable public databases to deter fraud and corruption as well as give citizens the information to hold elected officials accountable.
Maryland and Idaho have launched similar transparency initiatives in recent years, where officials have used centralized portals to help residents better understand government budgets and vendor relationships.
“Transparency is strongest when information is not only publicly available but also practical to interpret and use,” Daniels said. “This database gives Oklahomans a clearer picture of state purchasing while increasing accountability of every purchase.”
