There has been a lot of nationwide attention paid to State
Representative Sally Kern's comments regarding what is becoming an
obviously well financed and planned attack on traditional family
values. Those behind this effort have gone on the attack and suggested
that Kern is a hateful person who should resign from office.
Based on my experience as a member of the House, I believe there are
few legislators kinder or more caring than Kern. She is the last
person in the House I would think of as hateful. Her soft-spoken
kindness may initially mask the fact that she unafraid to fight for
what she believes is right. Whether it is asking the tough questions
or just being one of the first lawmakers to post a vote against
inappropriate spending, she is not afraid to take a tough stand.
Two years ago, Kern learned that books endorsing the homosexual
lifestyle could be made available in the children's section of
Oklahoma public libraries. She led the fight to require libraries to
segregate these books to keep them away from children. To this date,
Kern has been firmly resolved to expose the agenda that places these
types of materials in front of our children.
As part of this ongoing effort, Kern has given a presentation to
various groups in which she talks about this agenda and posits that if
the homosexual lifestyle is allowed to expand by being openly marketed
to our youth, a grave threat is posed to our society. Kern believes,
as do I, that America's greatness is because of traditional Judeo-
Christian family values. I believe that children need and desire the
traditional family environment. Because of the attack on traditional
values, too often our children are not being raised in stable
households, which is what they so badly need.
I see this firsthand as a member of the Human Services Committee where
I serve with Rep. Kern. Because of the breakdown of the family, there
are now 19,000 children in state custody. As a member of the
Corrections Committee, I know that Oklahoma prisons are filled to
capacity and the government struggles to deal with the fallout from
the lack of adherence to traditional values. There are no easy
solutions to these problems because the massive cost falls upon the
taxpayers, but these challenges, if left unchecked, will eventually be
too large for the government to handle.
Rep. Kern has come under attack for suggesting that the breakdown of
family values poses a grave threat to our society. Despite enormous
pressure, she has courageously refused to back down from her beliefs.
I appreciate and agree with her stand and consider it an honor to be
able to serve with her in the Legislature.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
One hot button issue this year is the need for ethics reform in
Oklahoma government. This issue is addressed in House Bill 2196.
This is a legitimate need because lobbyists and special interests
appear to be spending millions of dollars to buy personal gifts and
make political contributions to politicians in each election cycle.
The desire of the special interest groups to "invest" in politicians
has only increased over the years as government has gotten bigger and
bigger, enabling politicians to use the power of the government to
either benefit or hurt industries that hire lobbyists.
This is something I feel so strongly about that I have put in place a
policy to not accept gifts or contributions from lobbyists or groups
that employ them.
The author of House Bill 2196 has established a noble goal and I
believe his intent is just as noble. HB 2196 purports to place a ban
on any political giving during the legislative session. The logic
follows that a politician should not be receiving donations at the
same time he or she is voting on important laws.
However, this law would also apply to the challenger of that
incumbent. What this means is that HB 2196 would create an incumbent
protection scheme so strong, it would be almost impossible for an
incumbent to be defeated in the primary election process.
Many of Oklahoma's legislative districts, including the one I
represent, are heavily tilted in favor of one party. This means that
the winner of the July primary is almost certain to win in the
November general election. Because HB 2196 places a blackout on the
ability of the challenger to raise money from January through June
(the legislative session), a challenger who decided to run for office
after the blackout started would not be able to raise money from
friends, family and supporters until just days away from the primary
election. Meanwhile, most legislative incumbents would have built a
sizeable lobbyist-funded war chest over the months preceding the
legislative session and would have no problem using this funding to
attack the challenger while the challenger stood by helplessly, unable
to fund his/her campaign. The challenger could not even raise money to
fund the mandatory filing for office fee required in early June.
Because this bill contains an emergency clause, it could take effect
this very year. I believe it is very inappropriate for legislators in
the name of "ethics reform" to put in place a huge barrier to those
who would seek to remove them from office.
I think a better idea would be to simply prohibit lobbyists and the
groups that employ them from being able to give during the legislative
session. This common sense law, proposed a few years ago by Rep. John
Trebilcock, would help restore the balance of power in favor of the
people.
There is another solution that would not require the enactment of any
law. If the constituents of each legislative district would insist
that their legislators put in place a policy to refuse gifts or
contributions from lobbyists or groups that employ them, I think that
as more and more legislators made that commitment, the pressure would
mount on all legislators to do the same.
Oklahoma government. This issue is addressed in House Bill 2196.
This is a legitimate need because lobbyists and special interests
appear to be spending millions of dollars to buy personal gifts and
make political contributions to politicians in each election cycle.
The desire of the special interest groups to "invest" in politicians
has only increased over the years as government has gotten bigger and
bigger, enabling politicians to use the power of the government to
either benefit or hurt industries that hire lobbyists.
This is something I feel so strongly about that I have put in place a
policy to not accept gifts or contributions from lobbyists or groups
that employ them.
The author of House Bill 2196 has established a noble goal and I
believe his intent is just as noble. HB 2196 purports to place a ban
on any political giving during the legislative session. The logic
follows that a politician should not be receiving donations at the
same time he or she is voting on important laws.
However, this law would also apply to the challenger of that
incumbent. What this means is that HB 2196 would create an incumbent
protection scheme so strong, it would be almost impossible for an
incumbent to be defeated in the primary election process.
Many of Oklahoma's legislative districts, including the one I
represent, are heavily tilted in favor of one party. This means that
the winner of the July primary is almost certain to win in the
November general election. Because HB 2196 places a blackout on the
ability of the challenger to raise money from January through June
(the legislative session), a challenger who decided to run for office
after the blackout started would not be able to raise money from
friends, family and supporters until just days away from the primary
election. Meanwhile, most legislative incumbents would have built a
sizeable lobbyist-funded war chest over the months preceding the
legislative session and would have no problem using this funding to
attack the challenger while the challenger stood by helplessly, unable
to fund his/her campaign. The challenger could not even raise money to
fund the mandatory filing for office fee required in early June.
Because this bill contains an emergency clause, it could take effect
this very year. I believe it is very inappropriate for legislators in
the name of "ethics reform" to put in place a huge barrier to those
who would seek to remove them from office.
I think a better idea would be to simply prohibit lobbyists and the
groups that employ them from being able to give during the legislative
session. This common sense law, proposed a few years ago by Rep. John
Trebilcock, would help restore the balance of power in favor of the
people.
There is another solution that would not require the enactment of any
law. If the constituents of each legislative district would insist
that their legislators put in place a policy to refuse gifts or
contributions from lobbyists or groups that employ them, I think that
as more and more legislators made that commitment, the pressure would
mount on all legislators to do the same.
Monday, March 17, 2008
State Rep. Murphey Makes Donation to Pro-Life Ministry
OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Jason W. Murphey has presented a donation of $8,241.92 from his legislative salary to officials from Crossroads, An Open Door For Life Choices, Inc., located in Guthrie. Crossroads provides faith-based, pro-life counseling and support services to expectant mothers.
Murphey said that Oklahoma legislators are the third-highest paid, part-time legislators in the nation, making more than double the regional average. Murphey said he made the donation – the difference between Oklahoma lawmakers’ salaries and the salary of the average working Oklahoman when Murphey was first elected to office – to emphasize that legislators in Oklahoma should not be paid more than other legislators in the region and to illustrate the importance of pro-life services such as Crossroads.
"In order to reform government, we must cut out wasteful state government spending. I hope most would agree that it is wasteful to pay legislators more than double the regional average," said Murphey, R-Guthrie.
Crossroads, a pro-life organization that provides a support network for expectant mothers in Guthrie, is currently working with Focus on the Family to convert a Pregnancy Resource Center to a Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic. As an evangelical ministry that upholds the sanctity of life, Crossroads provides practical assistance, encouragement and unconditional love to women and families facing crisis pregnancies. Crossroads offers alternatives to abortion, promotes sexual purity and provides post abortion counseling.
After conversion to a Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic, Crossroads will be able to offer abortion-vulnerable women in the community a free ultrasound scan to confirm viable intrauterine pregnancies. Statistics show that 89 percent of abortion-minded women choose life for their unborn babies after seeing them through ultrasound and receiving truthful information about their options.
Focus on the Family’s Option Ultrasound Program is helping to place ultrasounds in 650 Pregnancy Resource Clinics like Crossroads. There have been 81,000 babies saved across the country already, and it is Crossroads’ stated goal to bring this life-saving technology to Guthrie.
Murphey said that Oklahoma legislators are the third-highest paid, part-time legislators in the nation, making more than double the regional average. Murphey said he made the donation – the difference between Oklahoma lawmakers’ salaries and the salary of the average working Oklahoman when Murphey was first elected to office – to emphasize that legislators in Oklahoma should not be paid more than other legislators in the region and to illustrate the importance of pro-life services such as Crossroads.
"In order to reform government, we must cut out wasteful state government spending. I hope most would agree that it is wasteful to pay legislators more than double the regional average," said Murphey, R-Guthrie.
Crossroads, a pro-life organization that provides a support network for expectant mothers in Guthrie, is currently working with Focus on the Family to convert a Pregnancy Resource Center to a Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic. As an evangelical ministry that upholds the sanctity of life, Crossroads provides practical assistance, encouragement and unconditional love to women and families facing crisis pregnancies. Crossroads offers alternatives to abortion, promotes sexual purity and provides post abortion counseling.
After conversion to a Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic, Crossroads will be able to offer abortion-vulnerable women in the community a free ultrasound scan to confirm viable intrauterine pregnancies. Statistics show that 89 percent of abortion-minded women choose life for their unborn babies after seeing them through ultrasound and receiving truthful information about their options.
Focus on the Family’s Option Ultrasound Program is helping to place ultrasounds in 650 Pregnancy Resource Clinics like Crossroads. There have been 81,000 babies saved across the country already, and it is Crossroads’ stated goal to bring this life-saving technology to Guthrie.
Breaking Up The Crime Bubble
The House of Representatives recently finished consideration of the bills that have been introduced this year by State Representatives. This included consideration of HB 2513 which I was honored to present to the House. HB 2513 passed the House with bi-partisan support and a 65-36 vote of the members.
This year I presented a number of bill because they were requested by local citizens. HB 2513 was introduced per the request of a resident of Guthrie.
HB 2513, which is advocated for by the National Rifle Association, supports our veterans and active duty military personnel by giving them the right to defend themselves and others when they are attending or teaching classes at one of Oklahoma's state colleges and universities, provided they notify the university that they are in possession of a concealed carry license.
Over the past 12 years, more than 60,000 Oklahomans have made the decision to defend themselves by going through the background examination (including mental health record checks) and taking the time to receive training for a concealed carry license.
There appears to be very little evidence that Oklahoma's concealed carry program has been anything less than a sensational success, with very few incidents of inappropriate behavior by the licensees. Certainly, I am not aware of any example of an innocent person being harmed by the inappropriate weapon usage of a concealed carry licensee.
Unfortunately, since the inception of this program, it appears that every state college and university in Oklahoma has put in place a policy that does not allow concealed carry licensees to defend themselves in what is becoming a very dangerous environment; the college campus.
Earlier this year, the Governor received a report from a task force which recommended 16 million dollars be spent on enhancing campus security. This proposed expenditure comes at a time when Oklahomans are already forced to deal with massive tuition increases, high taxes and a government that continues to incur long term debt. What better way to solve some of our security challenges than to take advantage of the training of our military veterans and active duty military personnel who also maintain concealed carry licenses? House Bill 2513 would allow them to defend themselves and their fellow students and teachers. In many cases, these personnel have training that is equal to or exceeds the training of the law enforcement officers charged with protecting our campuses. This is a service that would be provided with little or no cost to the state.
House Bill 2513 also seeks to end the practice of surrounding our campuses with a gun-free bubble. Currently, college campuses are a wide open area which a criminal can enter with confidence, knowing that it is most unlikely that their victims will be able to defend themselves. It seems you can hardly turn on the news without seeing or hearing of another incident of violence committed on a college campus.
Just as they did 12 years ago, the critics of concealed carry will point to any number of possible negative outcomes in allowing the people the right to defend themselves. Fortunately, history has not been kind to those critics, as Oklahomans have proven that they possess the good judgment to defend themselves appropriately. Now, some of the elite in the higher education system are again resorting to the same tired excuses as they attempt to discredit the ability of our military personnel to use good judgment. I believe that we have the finest military in the world and I find it offensive that some in the higher education community have begun to question the judgment of our military men and women. I also believe that just as a strong majority of Oklahoma's State Representatives have been able to see through these excuses, so do a majority of Oklahomans.
This year I presented a number of bill because they were requested by local citizens. HB 2513 was introduced per the request of a resident of Guthrie.
HB 2513, which is advocated for by the National Rifle Association, supports our veterans and active duty military personnel by giving them the right to defend themselves and others when they are attending or teaching classes at one of Oklahoma's state colleges and universities, provided they notify the university that they are in possession of a concealed carry license.
Over the past 12 years, more than 60,000 Oklahomans have made the decision to defend themselves by going through the background examination (including mental health record checks) and taking the time to receive training for a concealed carry license.
There appears to be very little evidence that Oklahoma's concealed carry program has been anything less than a sensational success, with very few incidents of inappropriate behavior by the licensees. Certainly, I am not aware of any example of an innocent person being harmed by the inappropriate weapon usage of a concealed carry licensee.
Unfortunately, since the inception of this program, it appears that every state college and university in Oklahoma has put in place a policy that does not allow concealed carry licensees to defend themselves in what is becoming a very dangerous environment; the college campus.
Earlier this year, the Governor received a report from a task force which recommended 16 million dollars be spent on enhancing campus security. This proposed expenditure comes at a time when Oklahomans are already forced to deal with massive tuition increases, high taxes and a government that continues to incur long term debt. What better way to solve some of our security challenges than to take advantage of the training of our military veterans and active duty military personnel who also maintain concealed carry licenses? House Bill 2513 would allow them to defend themselves and their fellow students and teachers. In many cases, these personnel have training that is equal to or exceeds the training of the law enforcement officers charged with protecting our campuses. This is a service that would be provided with little or no cost to the state.
House Bill 2513 also seeks to end the practice of surrounding our campuses with a gun-free bubble. Currently, college campuses are a wide open area which a criminal can enter with confidence, knowing that it is most unlikely that their victims will be able to defend themselves. It seems you can hardly turn on the news without seeing or hearing of another incident of violence committed on a college campus.
Just as they did 12 years ago, the critics of concealed carry will point to any number of possible negative outcomes in allowing the people the right to defend themselves. Fortunately, history has not been kind to those critics, as Oklahomans have proven that they possess the good judgment to defend themselves appropriately. Now, some of the elite in the higher education system are again resorting to the same tired excuses as they attempt to discredit the ability of our military personnel to use good judgment. I believe that we have the finest military in the world and I find it offensive that some in the higher education community have begun to question the judgment of our military men and women. I also believe that just as a strong majority of Oklahoma's State Representatives have been able to see through these excuses, so do a majority of Oklahomans.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Fixing Oklahoma Roads
Last week the House of Representatives passed a bill designed to correct what I believe to be one of the Oklahoma Legislature's most egregious ongoing policy mistakes. Each year, Oklahoma citizens spend millions of dollars in motor vehicles taxes such as car registration. I believe this money should be used to pave roads and build bridges. However, each year about 447 million of these dollars are diverted for non-transportation related items.
House Bill 3342, authored by Representative Mike Thompson, would direct about 227 million of this money back to the funding of roads where it belongs. Thompson is the Chairman of the Transportation Committee of which I am a member, and I have enjoyed working with him on advancing the issue of properly funding Oklahoma's roads and bridges.
HB 3342 proposes to direct the motor vehicle money to transportation in six separate increments over the next few years.
Some of the concern over the bill appears to come from representatives of the Oklahoma Education Association. The OEA is worried that redirecting these funds would reduce the amount of money that is currently being channeled into education from the state's general fund. This concern is despite the fact that even under Thompson's proposal, approximately 218 million dollars that goes to schools in motor vehicle fee money would not be affected.
Another area of concern has been raised by county officials who are worried that Thompson's proposal as it stands does not go far enough in addressing county road issues. HB 3342 is mostly focused on funding state maintained highways, interstates and the bridges that are on those highways.
As the author of a bill that encourages these motor vehicle fees to be used for high trafficked county roads, I certainly believe that a percent of this money should go to county roads. However, I believe that this new money should be carefully targeted to the most needy county roads through a fund administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
It is a sad fact that due to past neglect, many county line roads remain unpaved. For example: in Logan County, only 16% of county roads are hard surfaced. Of the 229 county maintained bridges, 125 are structurally deficient and 8 are functionally obsolete. Only 30% of county roads in the entire state of Oklahoma are hard surface.
I believe it is important that we pay for the upgrade of these county roads through a fund that is professionally administered and targeted to the most needy roads. It is inexcusable that in the 21st century, 70% of Oklahoma county roads remain unpaved.
I am confident that due to the leadership of Rep. Thompson and the commitment of Oklahoma Representatives to Oklahoma's roads and bridges, we will see significant reform this year.
House Bill 3342, authored by Representative Mike Thompson, would direct about 227 million of this money back to the funding of roads where it belongs. Thompson is the Chairman of the Transportation Committee of which I am a member, and I have enjoyed working with him on advancing the issue of properly funding Oklahoma's roads and bridges.
HB 3342 proposes to direct the motor vehicle money to transportation in six separate increments over the next few years.
Some of the concern over the bill appears to come from representatives of the Oklahoma Education Association. The OEA is worried that redirecting these funds would reduce the amount of money that is currently being channeled into education from the state's general fund. This concern is despite the fact that even under Thompson's proposal, approximately 218 million dollars that goes to schools in motor vehicle fee money would not be affected.
Another area of concern has been raised by county officials who are worried that Thompson's proposal as it stands does not go far enough in addressing county road issues. HB 3342 is mostly focused on funding state maintained highways, interstates and the bridges that are on those highways.
As the author of a bill that encourages these motor vehicle fees to be used for high trafficked county roads, I certainly believe that a percent of this money should go to county roads. However, I believe that this new money should be carefully targeted to the most needy county roads through a fund administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
It is a sad fact that due to past neglect, many county line roads remain unpaved. For example: in Logan County, only 16% of county roads are hard surfaced. Of the 229 county maintained bridges, 125 are structurally deficient and 8 are functionally obsolete. Only 30% of county roads in the entire state of Oklahoma are hard surface.
I believe it is important that we pay for the upgrade of these county roads through a fund that is professionally administered and targeted to the most needy roads. It is inexcusable that in the 21st century, 70% of Oklahoma county roads remain unpaved.
I am confident that due to the leadership of Rep. Thompson and the commitment of Oklahoma Representatives to Oklahoma's roads and bridges, we will see significant reform this year.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Using Technology to Benefit the Taxpayers
Can you imagine a classroom where students no longer need to use their
textbooks? What about a school environment where advanced students are
not unnecessarily held back and those who need more time to study an
important concept are allowed to spend the time they need? How
exciting would it be if students had access to all of the same
resources from their homes that they would normally access in the
classroom?
textbooks? What about a school environment where advanced students are
not unnecessarily held back and those who need more time to study an
important concept are allowed to spend the time they need? How
exciting would it be if students had access to all of the same
resources from their homes that they would normally access in the
classroom?
I must admit that one of the less encouraging parts of being in the
legislature is the constant exposure to the "government status quo."
Because government is a monopoly and does not have the same natural
competition as privately owned businesses in the free market, there is
little incentive for innovation. In the free market, a privately owned
business is forced to innovate and modernize in order to compete and
survive. As a result, government agencies frequently simply survive;
not by updating and modernizing, but by constantly pressuring
legislators to dole out to them more of the people's hard-earned
money.
That is why it is so exciting and inspirational when there are clear
examples of hardworking individuals who are applying innovative
concepts to the public education system right here in Logan County.
Recently, I was privileged to observe a department of education
official as she interviewed students from Crescent High School. The
official expressed amazement as she realized how technologically
advanced Crescent High School has become. She made the observation
that the technology capabilities of the Crescent High School program
were superior even to those employed at the state department of
education.
One of the foremost components of the Crescent system is known as
Acellus. Acellus is a server-based curriculum that allows Crescent
High School students to complete their math curriculum on their
computers through the internet. Acellus provides high-quality video
lectures to students, identifies specific areas of student difficulty,
provides an alternative learning path customized to each student's
learning experience and captures student data so that the overall
effectiveness of the course can be assessed. The program frees up
teachers to spend one-on-one time with students requiring special
attention.
In essence, the program adds much needed flexibility to the public
education experience. No longer are students forced to work at a
generalized pace that either leaves them frustrated at being held back
or too far behind to ever catch up. Crescent students take pride in
explaining how that because of this program, they no longer have a
need for math textbooks. In this way, students can receive a much more
effective and individualized learning experience.
In deploying this innovation, Crescent High School demonstrates that
it is possible to quickly and effectively take advantage of technology
and provide a higher quality product without imposing a higher tax
burden on the people.
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