Bingman announces appointment of Cynthia Rogers to Incentive Evaluation Commission

Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman has announced the appointment of University of Oklahoma economist Cynthia Rogers to the Incentive Evaluation Commission. Rogers has been appointed to a term that will expire in June, 2020.

Bingman said he was confident Rogers would provide exceptional leadership as a member of the Commission. Rogers has had a long and distinguished career in academia, with extensive work on economic development, and state and local tax policy research.

“Thoroughly evaluating economic incentives is a critical part of our overall effort to promote fiscally sound management of taxpayer dollars,” said Bingman, R-Sapulpa. “As our budget situation has made clear, we are at a point where we must carefully examine all state spending, and economic incentives will continue to be a part of that discussion. We provide more than $1.7 billion in economic incentives, and to protect taxpayers we need to ensure they are effective.”

A professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma, Rogers has previous experience at the Regional Research Institute at West Virginia University, is a past President of the Southern Regional Science Foundation, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Urban Affairs and the Review of Regional Studies.

Bingman last year sponsored House Bill 2182, which created the commission and outlined its mission and responsibilities.