When Doug Linehan took over as executive director of the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) in January 2022, he said he was confronted with a “toxic” and “broken” culture.

Introducing himself during his first week on the job, Linehan remembers meeting a female employee who appeared nervous to see him. 

“She said, ‘I’ve been here 12 years, and this is the first time the executive director has ever spoken to me,’” Linehan said. “This is very common. They were told, and I’m not exaggerating, ‘If you ever see the executive director, never establish eye contact. If you walk into them in the hall, keep your head down and never speak to them.’” 

Linehan viewed the encounter as a chance to revamp the department.

“I saw it as an opportunity to truly transform an entity that’s been operating really the same way since 1931,” he said. “We can truly transform.”

Linehan was the keynote speaker Friday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s third and final Legislative Briefing Breakfast of the year before close to 200 people at the DoubleTree by Hilton Tulsa-Warren Place. 

Sponsored by Paycom, the event also featured a panel discussion featuring Oklahoma Sen. Joe Newhouse and state representatives Monroe Nichols, Terry O’Donnell and Lonnie Sims.

Legislative Briefing Breakfasts give local elected officials a chance to provide an update on the legislative session and share their top priorities for the remainder of the year.

Linehan said since he’s been at the helm of the OTC, he has championed upgrades such as pay-for-performance incentives, improved accountability and better performance management.

When he arrived at the OTC, he said some people had not undergone a performance evaluation for 15 years. 

“Everything we do should be at the benefit of the taxpayer, the tax preparer or the employee,” Linehan said. “If it does not benefit one of those three parties, we should not be doing it.”

Since his arrival, the income tax account backlog is down more than 80%, he said. Also, the average wait time at the taxpayer resource center has dropped from more than three hours three years ago to 27 minutes in April.

“We are radically different than we were two years ago; we will be radically different in three years,” Linehan said. “But at the end of the day, it’s simply looking at it and saying ‘it’s not our money.’ I want to look you in the eye and say, ‘I think I’m doing everything I can to spend that money as wisely as possible.’” 

Moderated by Seth Paxton, Paycom’s manager of government affairs, the panel reflected on the accomplishments of memories of the three outgoing legislators. 

Regarding legislation, Nichols said he was most proud of the grocery tax reduction bill signed into law earlier this year. 

“We know what food insecurity is like in Oklahoma,” he said. “We know folks are struggling right now. And we did it in a bipartisan way, which makes it really exciting.” 

Sims said his tenure has been highlighted by historical investments in public education and the “Rainy Day Fund.” 

Newhouse recalled being part of a controversial bill with which Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler disagreed. 

“Instead of blasting me in the press, …he drove down from Tulsa to the Capitol and met with me one-on-one,” Newhouse said. “We discussed the bill, talked about the ins and outs of it, and he explained to me the unintended consequences of the bill.” 

Newhouse withdrew from the bill. 

“It taught me that when you run a piece of legislation, really look out for the stakeholders that it is going to affect and then you reach out to them,” he said. 

O’Donnell compared being a lawmaker to getting a well-rounded education.

“Serving in the legislature is like going to college and majoring in every subject,” he said. “We go from a bill on wildlife to a bill on energy to a bill on transportation. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it.

“If you can make yourself an expert on some subject…do that and be the person that everybody depends on when one of those bills comes up.” 

Also, be wary of what bills you commit to, he said. 

“Some of these bills start out and look like a stallion and by the time they get through a committee with amendments or through the floor with amendments, they look like a giraffe,” O’Donnell said. “You don’t want to get your name put on a bill like that.”