Spotlight14
Capitol Spotlight for May 6, 2008, or thereafter
Voter ID bill hits yellow light in Senate
By Jim Campbell
OPA Capitol News Bureau
A voter identification bill given a green light by the U.S. Supreme Court hit a caution signal in the state Senate involving questions of politics, absentee voting and effects on the poor and elderly.
Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, laid the bill amid a flurry of questions from Democrats but said he would try again when he had votes in hand to pass the politically even chamber.   
Senate co-president Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, expected Senate Bill 1150 to reach a vote before adjournment. 
"I think Sen. Ford will make sure he has all the answers," said Coffee, who also anticipates votes on such contentious issues as official English and abolishment of the Sentencing Commission.
Ford said the purpose of the ID proposal is to make sure "that every vote in an election is a legitimate vote."
Assured that any of a variety of ID sources would suffice, Senate co-floor leader Charlie Laster, D-Shawnee, nevertheless raised questions about his elderly mother's ability to vote that were typical of concerns voiced in other states.
"My mom lives with my sister, she does not have a driver's license, a bank statement, utility bill, a paycheck and there is no photocopy machine in the house," Laster said. "Are we making it more difficult for a class of people we really ought to protect?"
Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, said similar bills have been proposed across the country "to help the Republicans get elected."
"This is a Republican bill, has been for years," said Wilson.
The more stringent Indiana law, upheld 6-3 by the Supreme Court, was passed on a party line vote. The court said it was not an undue burden to require voters to produce a driver's license or passport, with free documents available to non-voters and allowing provisional ballots to be verified later.
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In the House, Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, said there would be no vote on a mandate for insurance coverage of autistic children, disappointing parents patrolling the halls throughout the session.
At a news conference announcing a task force study of Oklahoma's uninsured, Benge such mandates raise the cost of health insurance for all Oklahomans and increase ranks of the uncovered.
Wayne Rhode, whose son Nick inspired the "Nick's Law" by Sen. J. Paul Gumm, D-Durant, attended the event.  Later, he urged phone calls and e-mails to persuade Benge to reconsider. Rhode and his wife worked the capitol halls again Monday.
The legislature has proclaimed an autistic week in recognition of the bio-neurological condition now affecting one in 150 children.
Autism legislation was a major goal of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.
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Another priority of the child advocacy group, as well as Gov. Brad Henry and the Fit Kids Coalition, was signed into law Monday.
SB 1186 by Sen. Mary Easley, D-Tulsa, and Rep. Ann Coody, R-Lawton, raises the mandated physical education quota for students from 60 to 120 minutes to combat childhood obesity.
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Saying Senate Democrats had rejected compromise language insuring that a new term limits bill is not retroactive, Republican authors pushed for  a vote on the original bill that prompted Attorney General Drew Edmondson's criticism. The bill sets a statewide vote this November on limiting terms of statewide elected officials to 12 years.
Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, said Republicans were trying to change the subject from health insurance to term limits.
Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins was called to break a 23-23 tie but chose to take her constitutional privilege not to vote and the bill was laid over for another day.