Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Pay-As-You-Go Road Districts and Guarding the Initiative Petition Process
In 2007, I was contacted by a member of a rural Logan County road district who explained that one of the big challenges facing the district was Oklahoma's statutory scheme which encourages public boards to incur debt for their long-term projects instead of allowing them to participate in a pay-as-you-go project where no debts would be incurred.
He asked me to sponsor a bill that would allow them to avoid this unnecessary debt. The principle, while simple to explain, is somewhat complicated to express in statutory language and the bill was defeated when I introduced it to the House in 2008. I brought the bill back for consideration this year, and with the help of Senate author Randy Brogdon, we were able to win legislative approval.
And, of course, I am happy that it better enables road districts to improve their roads. Anyone in Logan County can tell you about the deplorable condition of many county roads and this is a tool that will hopefully help to solve that problem.
Another bill I authored and that was recently approved by the legislature is Senate Bill 800 which was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Anthony Sykes.
I am a big believer in the right of Oklahomans to take action through the initiative petition process, despite inaction from the legislature. It is through this process that important reforms have occurred in the past, such as legislative term limits and a cap on the ability of legislators to raise taxes.
The opponents of these petitions can sometimes simply wait until the petitioners go through the time and expense of circulating a petition and then challenge the petition in court based on minor technicalities, such as a mistake in the wording of the ballot title, for example. You can imagine how this serves as a deterrent to those who wish to circulate a petition because they fear investing the time and money to pass the petition when it could be thrown out because of a small technicality.
SB 800 separates the protest process of the petition's validity based on the quality of the signatures from the protest of the ballot title. This means that in order to throw out a petition for technical reasons, a protest must occur before the petition is passed out. This has the positive affect of allowing both the circulators and the signatories of a petition to know that the petition they are working on is valid.
This is a positive reform that will help protect one of our rights as citizens to change bad laws through the initiative petition process.
He asked me to sponsor a bill that would allow them to avoid this unnecessary debt. The principle, while simple to explain, is somewhat complicated to express in statutory language and the bill was defeated when I introduced it to the House in 2008. I brought the bill back for consideration this year, and with the help of Senate author Randy Brogdon, we were able to win legislative approval.
The pay-as-you-go principle is a fantastic plan. I believe that all levels of government entities incur debt too often and pay millions of dollars in unnecessary interest. The savings from implementing House Bill 1294 will stay in the people’s pockets where it belongs, instead of being used to go to unnecessary fees and interest.
Another interesting aspect about this bill is that it exposes the fact that state statutes tend to encourage public boards to issue bonded indebtedness. If the no-debt concept can be proven to work in a road district, it might be able to be expanded to cities, counties, public trusts and school boards that wish to fund capital improvements.
And, of course, I am happy that it better enables road districts to improve their roads. Anyone in Logan County can tell you about the deplorable condition of many county roads and this is a tool that will hopefully help to solve that problem.
Another bill I authored and that was recently approved by the legislature is Senate Bill 800 which was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Anthony Sykes.
I am a big believer in the right of Oklahomans to take action through the initiative petition process, despite inaction from the legislature. It is through this process that important reforms have occurred in the past, such as legislative term limits and a cap on the ability of legislators to raise taxes.
The opponents of these petitions can sometimes simply wait until the petitioners go through the time and expense of circulating a petition and then challenge the petition in court based on minor technicalities, such as a mistake in the wording of the ballot title, for example. You can imagine how this serves as a deterrent to those who wish to circulate a petition because they fear investing the time and money to pass the petition when it could be thrown out because of a small technicality.
SB 800 separates the protest process of the petition's validity based on the quality of the signatures from the protest of the ballot title. This means that in order to throw out a petition for technical reasons, a protest must occur before the petition is passed out. This has the positive affect of allowing both the circulators and the signatories of a petition to know that the petition they are working on is valid.
This is a positive reform that will help protect one of our rights as citizens to change bad laws through the initiative petition process.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The Impact of Substance Abuse
This issue of substance abuse is a major issue, and one of the most significant policy issues facing the legislature which I have seen first hand in my capacity on several legislative committees.
Having served on the Homeland Security Committee, I can speak to the fact that much cost is placed on the taxpayers by those who choose to engage in illegal substance abuse even though they are not caught or incarcerated. The obvious cost of their action is to force a large level of investment in law enforcement resources. However, a not so obvious cost is the destruction and devastation being caused to so many lives because these individuals are in fact funding the criminals who are providing the illegal substance.
This really hit home recently when an acquaintance of some of my friends was killed in Mexico by Mexican drug cartels when they mistakenly identified him as an opponent. To add insult to injury his friends and family proceeded to become possible targets of the cartel as the drug runners no doubt feared their potential testimony.
These groups are being funded by the Americans' who are engaging in drug use. I believe the individuals that are thoughtlessly funding these groups through their purchases of illegal drugs are responsible third parties to this death and destruction.
As a member of the Human Services Committee, I saw first hand the level of stress that is placed on the Department of Human Services as they fight a losing battle against the havoc wreaked on families by substance abuse. As a member of the Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, I know the challenge faced by the state's corrections system as a tremendous burden is being placed on the taxpayer for the ever increasing cost of incarcerating so many Oklahomans.
I think this can be largely attributed to the fact that traditional values are coming under attack like never before. In bygone days those who were tempted to engage in substance abuse would probably have a strong family and church structure that could provide them with the support that they needed. Now days, as family values continue to face attack on all fronts that support network continues to crumble.
The government either through incarceration or human services is little substitute for the family and the church. As in all too many other areas the government is simply ineffective in dealing with these issues.
Do we really want the organization that runs the local bureaucracy also in charge of trying to change peoples lives?
Unless people's hearts change there is little that the government can do. This is where the church must step in, in order to encourage people to commit their lives to God and receive the help that only He can provide.
Ultimately the answers to these issues must be provided by individuals of faith. And, I believe it is important for state government to allow easy access to the faith community to both the state's human services and corrections networks.
Having served on the Homeland Security Committee, I can speak to the fact that much cost is placed on the taxpayers by those who choose to engage in illegal substance abuse even though they are not caught or incarcerated. The obvious cost of their action is to force a large level of investment in law enforcement resources. However, a not so obvious cost is the destruction and devastation being caused to so many lives because these individuals are in fact funding the criminals who are providing the illegal substance.
This really hit home recently when an acquaintance of some of my friends was killed in Mexico by Mexican drug cartels when they mistakenly identified him as an opponent. To add insult to injury his friends and family proceeded to become possible targets of the cartel as the drug runners no doubt feared their potential testimony.
These groups are being funded by the Americans' who are engaging in drug use. I believe the individuals that are thoughtlessly funding these groups through their purchases of illegal drugs are responsible third parties to this death and destruction.
As a member of the Human Services Committee, I saw first hand the level of stress that is placed on the Department of Human Services as they fight a losing battle against the havoc wreaked on families by substance abuse. As a member of the Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, I know the challenge faced by the state's corrections system as a tremendous burden is being placed on the taxpayer for the ever increasing cost of incarcerating so many Oklahomans.
I think this can be largely attributed to the fact that traditional values are coming under attack like never before. In bygone days those who were tempted to engage in substance abuse would probably have a strong family and church structure that could provide them with the support that they needed. Now days, as family values continue to face attack on all fronts that support network continues to crumble.
The government either through incarceration or human services is little substitute for the family and the church. As in all too many other areas the government is simply ineffective in dealing with these issues.
Do we really want the organization that runs the local bureaucracy also in charge of trying to change peoples lives?
Unless people's hearts change there is little that the government can do. This is where the church must step in, in order to encourage people to commit their lives to God and receive the help that only He can provide.
Ultimately the answers to these issues must be provided by individuals of faith. And, I believe it is important for state government to allow easy access to the faith community to both the state's human services and corrections networks.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Taking Another Stand for States' Rights
This week, the Oklahoma House of Representatives once again voted to support a House Resolution authored by State Representative Charles Key which sends a message to the federal government regarding states' rights. This is Key’s second proposal which has been necessitated by a previous version approved in the House and Senate, but vetoed by the Governor.
The resolution seeks to reassert Oklahoma’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and according to the resolution’s language, serves as “Notice and Demand to the federal government, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”
The resolution makes a firm statement on behalf of local control.
I continue to firmly support local control because the ability of the people to make a difference is greatly enhanced when the power to change the law is close to the people.
For instance, people have very little opportunity to make a difference in federal policy. They can call their Congressmen or US Senators, but in the big scheme of things, it is hard for even a federal official to change policy because he/she is only one out of several hundred. This means that people have very limited ability to change unfair federal mandates.
On the other hand, people have a little more ability to change policy at the state level. You can call me as your State Representative and I can have some voice in changing egregious policy, because I am 1 out of 149 legislators. In addition, I can sponsor up to eight bills each year in order to reflect the desires of the people I represent. If a parent or teacher is negatively influenced by a bad state mandate, with a lot of effort we can make a difference.
However, if the power is concentrated at the local level of government, then people have a tremendous voice, because they can easily contact their city councilman, county commissioner or school board member. Rarely do these boards have more than 10 members, so it is quite possible and relatively simple for the affected individual to contact every member of the board to make sure their side of the story is heard. If local officials are not responsive to the values presented, the way for people to change policy at that point is simply by voting for a new local official.
I believe that as much power as possible should be placed in the entities that are closest to the people and I believe this was also an important principle to our founding fathers which is why they attempted to make this concept clear in the Tenth Amendment to our country's Constitution.
Another reason the people have a much greater voice at the local level is because powerful special interests and lobbyists have a tremendous investment in federal and state level politicians. At the local level there is very little influence welded by these groups as they can not afford to invest in every local official.
Unfortunately, years of aggressive federal government expansion has eroded these principles and it is my hope that as more states adopt states' right resolutions and laws, we will see the start of a reversal of this trend.
Federal mandates are affecting our lives in a number of ways and in the future I plan to share some of the examples of how the federal bureaucracy's unfortunate regulations are negatively affecting local residents.
The resolution seeks to reassert Oklahoma’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and according to the resolution’s language, serves as “Notice and Demand to the federal government, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”
The resolution makes a firm statement on behalf of local control.
I continue to firmly support local control because the ability of the people to make a difference is greatly enhanced when the power to change the law is close to the people.
For instance, people have very little opportunity to make a difference in federal policy. They can call their Congressmen or US Senators, but in the big scheme of things, it is hard for even a federal official to change policy because he/she is only one out of several hundred. This means that people have very limited ability to change unfair federal mandates.
On the other hand, people have a little more ability to change policy at the state level. You can call me as your State Representative and I can have some voice in changing egregious policy, because I am 1 out of 149 legislators. In addition, I can sponsor up to eight bills each year in order to reflect the desires of the people I represent. If a parent or teacher is negatively influenced by a bad state mandate, with a lot of effort we can make a difference.
However, if the power is concentrated at the local level of government, then people have a tremendous voice, because they can easily contact their city councilman, county commissioner or school board member. Rarely do these boards have more than 10 members, so it is quite possible and relatively simple for the affected individual to contact every member of the board to make sure their side of the story is heard. If local officials are not responsive to the values presented, the way for people to change policy at that point is simply by voting for a new local official.
I believe that as much power as possible should be placed in the entities that are closest to the people and I believe this was also an important principle to our founding fathers which is why they attempted to make this concept clear in the Tenth Amendment to our country's Constitution.
Another reason the people have a much greater voice at the local level is because powerful special interests and lobbyists have a tremendous investment in federal and state level politicians. At the local level there is very little influence welded by these groups as they can not afford to invest in every local official.
Unfortunately, years of aggressive federal government expansion has eroded these principles and it is my hope that as more states adopt states' right resolutions and laws, we will see the start of a reversal of this trend.
Federal mandates are affecting our lives in a number of ways and in the future I plan to share some of the examples of how the federal bureaucracy's unfortunate regulations are negatively affecting local residents.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Great News for Oklahoma Taxpayers
In the upcoming days, the details surrounding the state's next budget should begin to become public as legislative leadership and the governor's office work through negotiations and determine how to account for the multi-million dollar budget shortfall.
Some may see this shortfall as a negative because it will force state leaders to cut the amount of money they control through the budget process. I believe these cuts are a fantastic opportunity, because the shortfall will force legislative leaders and agency officials to do what they would have not taken the time to do when state government largesse was increasing. It is actually in a downturn when money is less plentiful that taxpayer accountability improves, because unnecessary functions of state government are eliminated and pork spending is not as easily dispensed by politicians who wish to buy the loyalty of their constituencies.
You may recall in past years how I have described that the bills that make up the budget process are often released late in the session and have historically involved a significant amount of last-minute spending that I believe to be inappropriate. Two years ago, this spending was in the form of an excess spending bill known as the "spill over bill," which was later held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Last year, the spending took the form of bonded indebtedness which was also unconstitutional.
This year, however, I expect taxpayers to emerge from the budget process as winners. Because of the economic downturn, the government will actually have to get smaller and eliminate some of the pork and waste from the spending process. Legislative leaders are hard at work exposing and eliminating inappropriate spending and it now appears that a number of pork programs known as "pass-throughs" will have to be eliminated and the remainder greatly reduced in size.
Legislative pass-throughs are funds given to agencies with directions from the Legislature to pass on to a private organization. That organization may use the funds for a good cause but in my view, the process is very subject to corruption and not as subject to accountability, because the private organization could easily serve as a funnel to pass the money on any number of other entities. I believe these types of funding arrangements have been at the heart of previously documented corruption in Oklahoma politics that is still being prosecuted by federal authorities.
It has been exciting to observe the process by which legislative leaders are now engaging as they fold up these pass-throughs. It is especially interesting when they justify the elimination of a pass-through by observing that it is acceptable to stop funding because it appears that the entity is not doing much with the funding. In other words, had it not been for the shortfall, these groups would still be getting money with little or no measurable return on the investment.
Unfortunately, some of the necessary reduction in the size of government will not occur because of an influx of federal stimulus money. These stimulus funds will prop up state governments all across the nation and keep them from doing the hard work of cutting the size of their governments after years of irresponsible increases in state government spending.
I will keep you informed as the budget takes form over the next three weeks and hope to be able to continue to report some very good news about your taxpayer dollars.
Some may see this shortfall as a negative because it will force state leaders to cut the amount of money they control through the budget process. I believe these cuts are a fantastic opportunity, because the shortfall will force legislative leaders and agency officials to do what they would have not taken the time to do when state government largesse was increasing. It is actually in a downturn when money is less plentiful that taxpayer accountability improves, because unnecessary functions of state government are eliminated and pork spending is not as easily dispensed by politicians who wish to buy the loyalty of their constituencies.
You may recall in past years how I have described that the bills that make up the budget process are often released late in the session and have historically involved a significant amount of last-minute spending that I believe to be inappropriate. Two years ago, this spending was in the form of an excess spending bill known as the "spill over bill," which was later held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Last year, the spending took the form of bonded indebtedness which was also unconstitutional.
This year, however, I expect taxpayers to emerge from the budget process as winners. Because of the economic downturn, the government will actually have to get smaller and eliminate some of the pork and waste from the spending process. Legislative leaders are hard at work exposing and eliminating inappropriate spending and it now appears that a number of pork programs known as "pass-throughs" will have to be eliminated and the remainder greatly reduced in size.
Legislative pass-throughs are funds given to agencies with directions from the Legislature to pass on to a private organization. That organization may use the funds for a good cause but in my view, the process is very subject to corruption and not as subject to accountability, because the private organization could easily serve as a funnel to pass the money on any number of other entities. I believe these types of funding arrangements have been at the heart of previously documented corruption in Oklahoma politics that is still being prosecuted by federal authorities.
It has been exciting to observe the process by which legislative leaders are now engaging as they fold up these pass-throughs. It is especially interesting when they justify the elimination of a pass-through by observing that it is acceptable to stop funding because it appears that the entity is not doing much with the funding. In other words, had it not been for the shortfall, these groups would still be getting money with little or no measurable return on the investment.
Unfortunately, some of the necessary reduction in the size of government will not occur because of an influx of federal stimulus money. These stimulus funds will prop up state governments all across the nation and keep them from doing the hard work of cutting the size of their governments after years of irresponsible increases in state government spending.
I will keep you informed as the budget takes form over the next three weeks and hope to be able to continue to report some very good news about your taxpayer dollars.
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