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Bob's Record in Public Service
At the Corporation Commission
Here are a few of Bob Anthony's
accomplishments and victories achieved during his 16 years at the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission:
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Fought consistently for utility rate reductions and
refunds for Oklahoma's gas, electric and telephone customers.
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Obtained the
largest refund and rate reduction in state history
for Oklahoma's ratepayers.
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Mandated modern telephone equipment and technology
standards statewide which have benefited distance learning, telemedicine
and economic development, especially in rural areas across the state.
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Ordered technology upgrades to benefit Oklahoma's schools and universities.
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Under-spent the commission budget by
$1.4 million in state fiscal year 1990 (his first full year as chairman), after which the
state legislature took direct budgetary control away from the commissioners.
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Created the two largest toll-free
calling circles in the United States.
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Introduced "The Anthony Plan" which inaugurated an alternative form of telephone
regulation to encourage competition and consumer choice in local phone
service.
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Established opportunities for "startup"
telephone companies within the Anthony Plan, bringing competitive consumer
choice and job opportunities to Oklahoma.
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Sponsored incentives to bring about the
broadest accessibility to high-speed Internet service of any state in the nation.
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Enforced rules to protect Oklahoma's air and water, and
improved collection of fines for violations of
pollution prevention rules.
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Adopted the strongest ethics policy of any state
agency in Oklahoma.
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Assisted in a 1989-1994
FBI investigation at the Corporation Commission, which resulted in bribery
convictions and prison terms for the former chairman and a former general
counsel of the commission.
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Earned the FBI's
Louis
E. Peters Service Award, the bureau's highest honor given to a citizen,
"who at great personal sacrifice, has unselfishly served his
community and the nation."
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Adopted new exploration incentives and new procedures
to accommodate horizontal drilling, 3-D seismic testing, and production from
tight sands, as well as new oil and gas rules and utility
provisions to help prevent the premature plugging of marginal wells.
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Simplified and streamlined the processing of oil and gas applications.
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Adopted a set of modern and progressive rules to bring
the benefits of customer choice and competition to gas utility service.
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Adopted requirements for a "prudence review" and hearing
before millions of dollars in utility company "stranded costs" can be
passed on to ratepayers.
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Achieved smooth deregulation of intrastate trucking
in Oklahoma.
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Worked cooperatively with Governor Brad
Henry's administration to establish electronic filing at the Corporation
Commission.
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Worked with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to plug hundreds of abandoned oil and gas wells in
northeastern Oklahoma.
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Assisted the Oklahoma Energy Resources
Board in the restoration of over 5,000 abandoned oil and gas sites in
Oklahoma.
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Defeated an attempt by the state legislature to amend
the constitution (without a vote of the people) which would have given an
illegal mid-term pay raise to the corporation commissioners.
Return to Bob's Track Record.