Reining in the Regulators: Oklahoma Sen. Michael Bergstrom at the ALEC Annual Meeting

Oklahoma State Senator Michael Bergstrom has been attending ALEC Annual meetings for years. Recognized as a Policy Champion just a few months ago, he successfully carried two bills through the Oklahoma City chambers. Both of which went a long way towards restoring accountability to the Sooner State’s rulemaking process.

“If you have any rule that is proposed that is going to have more than a $200,000 a year impact, a million dollars over five years … that’s a major rule,” Bergstrom explained. “It has to be separated out and be evaluated by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency.”

Previously, rules had been used to be buried among dozens of others, slipping through “under the cover of night.” Now, thanks to his hard work, lawmakers can request a closer look at any rule they think deserves the “major” label.

The reform package also eliminated Chevron deference in Oklahoma courts.

“With administrative rules, judges used to defer to the agency’s interpretation,” Bergstrom said. “Now they have to go back and look at legislative intent.”

Emphasizing that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper decision applied only to federal agencies, the senator realized that states like Oklahoma had to act separately should they want the standard to extend to state agencies.

For Bergstrom, the issue is accountability. Legislators face voters if they pass a bad law. Unelected agency staff do not. He recounted one encounter where agency personnel insisted their regulations matched legislative intent. The only problem was that they never spoke to the lawmakers who wrote the bill … which just happened to be Bergstrom.

“Would you like us to tell you legislative intent?” Bergstrom quipped with a smile. “Needless to say, the folks that are in the agencies do not always understand legislative intent, so for me, that was evidence that we definitely needed to deal with Chevron.”

Another measure gave the governor new authority to block bad rules at the start, not just at the end of the process. And Bergstrom’s Senate Bill 995 made clear that no rule can take effect unless it is approved by the legislature.

Father of four and grandfather to even more, he arrived in the legislature with three separate careers under his belt: land surveying and engineering, journalism, and two decades in education as a teacher. That varied background provided him with a practical approach toward policymaking. Now he enters 2026 with a focus on reforms to the state’s nearly 800 agencies, boards, and commissions.

Luckily, he knows just where to look for trusted policy solutions on just that issue.

“I always turn to ALEC first,” Bergstrom said. “It’s one place where I know I’m going to be able to get good information, and then they can help direct me to anyone else I need to talk to.”

With three years left in his final term, Bergstrom plans to hit the ground running. With administrative reforms and a path to zero income tax on the books, this term could be a memorable one. And if agency reform follows, it will make Oklahoma more competitive than ever.

“That’s a win,” he said.