House Calls for Citizen Input on Speak Up Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY – In ongoing efforts to increase public participation in state policy discussions, the Oklahoma House of Representatives is seeking input from citizens for the 2014 legislative session through a new portal called Speak Up Oklahoma.

Oklahomans can register to weigh in on policy discussions and polls at www.speakupoklahoma.com, said Joel Kintsel, House parliamentarian and administrator. To participate, Oklahomans must simply fill out a short registry form before voting on policy ideas and polls, or simply submitting an idea of their own.

“The Oklahoma House has worked to become increasingly transparent,” Kintsel said. “In past years, we have introduced live video of session online, made votes available online and basically taken advantage of emerging technologies and software to create additional ways to connect state lawmakers with their constituents.”

Matt Hall, community manager at Granicus, Inc., the software provider for the website said the Oklahoma House of Representatives is joining a number of government entities that are making use of an open discussion forum.

“The Oklahoma House is a part of a wave of innovative state and local governments that are bringing citizens and government together online,” Hall said.

Leading up to the 2014 legislative session, House staff has posed questions for citizens to respond to and will continue to prompt Oklahomans to join the conversation, Kintsel said.

The new service is powered through a platform called CivicIdeas™, created by Granicus, Inc. a San Francisco-based company. The platform is specifically designed to help government agencies gather meaningful and measurable feedback from the public. Currently, Granicus provides transparency and community collaboration solutions to more than 1,000 local, state, and federal government agencies across the U.S. and Canada.