Reining in Free "Unadulterated Entertainment" for Legislators!

There is some very good news to report about the effort to level the
playing field between the paid special interests groups and the
people.

During the first six months of 2007, paid lobbyists reported giving
legislators $137,000 in personal gifts, such as expensive dinners or
sporting events tickets. This spending power basically bought access
to the legislators on behalf of the spenders. This is the type of
access that the average person (whom the legislators are supposed to
be representing) simply cannot compete with.

I feel that the special interests' influence problem has in large part
been created by the massive size of government. Because state
government has become so engorged with billions of our tax dollars,
and because there are so many different government regulations and
laws, a cottage industry has sprung up that is populated by those who
seek to benefit their specific field of interest. Because there are
millions of dollars at stake, these special interests will see an
investment in personal gifts or political contributions to lawmakers
as being a small price to pay, compared to the possible benefits.

When I sought election to be State Representative, I felt so strongly
about the impropriety of legislators taking gifts from lobbyists, that
I made a pledge that I would not accepts these gifts. I believe that
it is just as inappropriate for a lawmaker to take a gift from a
lobbyist as it would be for a judge to take a gift from an attorney.
It should not be seen as any different for a lobbyist to give a gift
to a lawmaker who is casting a vote on an issue that might benefit the
lobbyist's' client, than for an attorney to give a gift to a judge
whose rendered judgment will benefit the attorney's client.

Here is the good news: on Friday, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission took
action to limit the amount of lobbyists' gifts to legislators to $100
and under. The rule came about after the courageous advocacy of Ethics
Commissioner John Raley. Raley correctly tagged the gift-giving
practices of lobbyists to lawmakers as "unadulterated entertainment".

Raley's proposal reduced from $300 to $100 the amount spent on
legislators and elected officials by a "lobbyist principal" during a
calendar year. Lobbyist principals are companies or associations that
hire the lobbyists and provide the money to buy gifts for lawmakers.
The proposal also requires lobbyists to disclose gifts after spending
more than $10 on any official during a six-month period.

In addition, it looks as though the Commission will take additional
action in the future. The Chairman of the Commission, Don Bingham,
said he thinks commission members will be ready to move next year to
make Oklahoma the strictest state in the nation when it comes to what
legislators can receive in gifts from lobbyists.

The Commission reforms still face a big hurdle. The Legislature could
take action to stop the proposal from taking effect, and has until May
to try to stop the rule. If the Legislature fails to do so, the law
will take effect in July.

If the Legislature does try to stop this reform, I will vote to defend
the Commission's proposal. I think this is an exciting reform that
starts to restore balance to the legislative process in favor of the
people.

Mortgaging the Future of our Children and Grandchildren

Mortgaging the Future of our Children and Grandchildren

Each year the Governor opens the session of the legislature with his State of the State address. This allows him to address the legislature with his proposals for the year's state budget. I am very anxious to examine his proposals and will be especially alert for any attempts to issue new bonded indebtedness.

One year ago the Governor asked the legislature to expand the size of government. In his presentation, he outlined several major costly proposals. The Governor proposed to indebt the taxpayers to more than $666,000,000 of new bonded indebtedness. Fortunately, most of this plan was not implemented.

Of special concern to me was the Governor's proposal to issue new debt to fund non-capital items. Traditionally, government bonds are issued for capital projects such as the construction of buildings. However, in his budget proposal last year, the Governor appeared to be seeking the authority to spend a sizable percentage of this debt on non state-owned capital items. This is money that I believed would have disappeared into the government bureaucracy, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for years to come.

It is also important to remember that the Oklahoma Constitution prohibits the government from going into debt. However, years of creative interpretation by the judiciary have made it possible for those who advocate for public debt to open up a Pandora's box of spending.

As your Representative, I have committed to reversing the disturbing trend of state government going deeper into debt. In fact, the state currently owes billions of dollars in long term debt and unfunded liabilities.

I feel strongly that state government should avoid long-term debt. It is irresponsible for politicians to saddle citizens with millions of dollars of indebtedness and then allow the bill to come due when they are no longer in office. This places debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren and makes reducing the size of government difficult because government will be forced to keep taxes high in order to pay debt and especially all of the interest that goes with the issuance of the debt.

As your representative, I have a policy of voting against the issuance of new debt. I have called for the passage of legislation which makes it more difficult for politicians to engage in this dangerous behavior with the taxpayers money.

If we are serious about rolling back big government and enacting important pro-growth reforms such as eliminating state income tax, the issue of big government debt is not one we can ignore. As it stands now, reducing the size of government is difficult enough because of past inappropriate spending by state politicians. It is our responsibility as legislators to draw a clear line in the sand and defeat new attempts to mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren.

The Big Issue Of The Year

The Big Issue Of The Year

It is starting to appear that one of the biggest debated issues this year will be whether or not the Legislature will approve a proposal to lessen the burden on Oklahoma's hardworking families by reducing the state income tax.

This year's state government will have millions of dollars of extra growth money to spend. While previous legislative commitments may obligate some of that money, it is important to realize that Oklahoma taxpayers have, in effect, been overcharged for government services.

Republican leadership in both the House and the Senate have made it clear that tax cuts are on the table for the upcoming session.

The majority of the debate surrounding tax relief will probably focus on returning some of the growth revenue to the people through incremental income tax reductions.

While I support this effort, it is important for the Legislature to consider massive reductions in the amount of money that the government spends, and to accompany this spending reform with significant tax relief.

I have always known there is waste in government. I have certainly seen my fair share of it as an elected official and I know about it because the people have informed me about various examples they have experienced firsthand. Common sense tells us that when any entity has a monopoly on a service, that entity will inherently tend to become wasteful and corrupt because the forces of free market competition and consumer choice are not allowed to weed out such practices.

This is why I have always felt comfortable in calling for reductions in massive spending and taxes. However, during recent days, experience has confirmed this belief more than ever.

I was asked by Speaker of the House Lance Cargill to participate in an ongoing study focusing on how wasteful spending could be reduced in state government. The resulting study documents that up to 70 million of your taxpayer dollars could be saved if just one agency were to become more efficient. Imagine how much money state government is wasting -- when just one of Oklahoma's 515 agencies, boards and commissions is costing us this much by failing to modernize their processes!

Involvement in this study has allowed me to see firsthand how an antiquated, overly bureaucratic process has been absolutely prohibitive in allowing government to function efficiently.

The massive size of government pits bureaucracy against bureaucracy in a power grab for your tax dollars. Without free market competition, there is little to entice bureaucrats to participate in becoming efficient, as they would likely see cost-reducing modernization measures as a threat to their ability to leverage money.

I am committed more than ever to seeking the best solution for shrinking the size of government and making it more efficient. That solution is to cut taxes.

Upcomming Town Hall Meetings

Upcoming Town Hall Meetings

One of the more enjoyable tasks I have performed during the past few months has been to organize and host a series of town hall meetings across House District 31.

As a candidate for State Representative, I developed a position that if elected, I would institute a constituent contact program that excelled at representing citizens of House District 31.

An important part of this program has been to host town hall meetings. This has allowed me to make a great number of new contacts, and most importantly, has kept me in touch with citizens. I feel that one of the ways special interest lobbyists have been able to have such a strong voice at the state capitol has been because they can so much more access to the legislators. I do not feel it is healthy for legislators to have more contact with the lobbyists than the people in their districts. I believe the proper focus for a state representative should be in his or her district, with the people, as opposed to lobbyist-hosted events in Oklahoma City. These town hall meetings have allowed me to maintain that contact.

One of the other exciting aspects of town hall meetings is the opportunity to provide county and state updates to local residents and to receive feedback. It has been rewarding to see the interest people expressed in becoming involved. The past meetings were well attended, with over 100 present at each meeting.

Two of the key concerns expressed by the people have been the need for proper funding of county roads and comprehensive property tax reform. This has confirmed my belief about the passion of the people on these two issues. These concerns will remain at the forefront of my goals to address in the legislature.

If you have missed the town hall meetings or would like to attend one, I invite you to two upcoming forums. On January 15th, at 7:00 p.m., a meeting will be held at the Crescent Community Center. The meeting will focus on the upcoming legislative session and issues of relevance to Northern Logan County residents. State Senator Patrick Anderson will be in attendance.

On January 22nd, at 7:00 p.m., a town hall meeting will be held at Waterloo Road Baptist Church. The meeting will focus on tax reform issues. Attending will be Representative Randy Terrill, who as Chairman of the House Revenue and Tax Committee, is a leader in the fight for tax reform. I intend to explain my desire for eliminating state income tax and the need for comprehensive property tax reform. I also look forward to talking about efforts to modernize state government during the past legislative interim and how this important process could make the substantive tax reduction I am advocating for possible.

I look forward to these meetings and the opportunity to communicate with Logan and Oklahoma County residents on issues of concern to them.