Alva Review-Courier -

A small group of unelected citizens, all appointed by Republican state leaders, will soon be exercising significant powers to decide how the state’s top agencies spend their funding and which services they should provide.

Legislators and Gov. Mary Fallin added $2 million to the state budget this year to pay for state agency audits to be conducted by a private firm and overseen by a commission of Oklahoma business leaders.

Conservative lawmakers say this private-sector approach work will uncover waste, fraud and unnecessary spending that goes beyond agencies’ legislative or constitutional direc...