State Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, filed legislation to create accountability and transparency regarding the movement of state assets.

Martinez’s House proposal will directly specify that no state asset is to be moved farther than 10 miles from wherever it was located on July 1, 2020, without the approval of the Oklahoma State Legislature.

Martinez said the legislation was spurred when the governor announced in October his plan to move the Public Health Laboratory to Stillwater. The plan had no legislative input, Martinez said.

“This is not solely about the health laboratory,” he said. “It also helps us avoid similar moves in the future. We want the public to have a say in where their assets are located, and that happens best when we use the legislative process.”

State health officials said they would use $25 million in state funds along with federal coronavirus aid funds to move the laboratory into temporary leased space in Stillwater.