Capitol Spotlight for Tuesday, May 13, 2008 or thereafter


Road advocates, educators paint bleak scenes
By Jim Campbell
OPA Capitol News Bureau
With no new money to fight over, legislators lurched toward early adjournment amid ugly pictures of standstill financing painted by advocates of causes they consider slighted.
For example:
¥ Death from falling concrete, school buses risking life crossing rickety bridges, head-on crashes unfettered by safety barriers and economic growth stunted by poor roads.
¥ School districts pinched by soaring costs, ravaging school operations while lawmakers consider bonds that education leaders fear would further jeopardize school funding.
¥ An "invoice" from the father of an autism victim for $3.2 million over the next 50 years for lack of insurance coverage of early treatment.
¥ And, "Leave us out - we'll vote you out" from public employees in scheduling a protest rally for Tuesday.
Road advocates and Republican legislators warned that failure to act on funding bills now in conference committee "will mean an estimated $275 million in lost road and bridge improvement projects statewide." Meanwhile, they saw further erosion of the 8-year building and maintenance plan through double-digit inflation.
"It's now time for committee chairs to act upon the legislature's near-unanimous support for Senate Bill 1396 and other bills to meaningfully increase transportation funding by keeping legislation moving forward," said Sen. Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa. 
Rep. Guy Liebmann, R-Oklahoma City, author of legislation with Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, removing the 3 percent trigger that has blocked receipt of $65 million, said, "We're at serious risk of going backward if we don't act this session."
Liebmann said road bonds backed by "a sliver" of motor vehicle fees could be sold at 4 or 5 percent to keep maintenance on schedule "before inflation eats it up."
Repair of 450 bridges on the 8-year plan, Liebmann said, "would still leave 495 bridges over 80 years old that were designed for Henry Ford's Model A."
Randall Rayburn, executive director of the Cooperative Council of School Administrators, said a bond issue means, "We are simply buying on credit and leaving Oklahoma's children to foot the bill."
"We're mortgaging our future with this type of deficit spending," said Roy Bishop, Oklahoma Education Association President. "This is clearly the negative impact of the $560 million tax cuts."
Meanwhile Senate Democrats managed a parliamentary snooker twice in the same week, leaving two priorities of Republicans moribund if not dead for the session.
Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, blocked a vote on the House-passed bill making English the official state language by moving to send it to conference with instructions to adopt a milder version. It was adopted 25-23, with Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, joining the Democrats. Morgan said it was unlikely to emerge for another vote. Also, after voting for House amendments to a voter ID bill, Morgan abstained on the final roll call. This skirted a tie that could have been broken by Democratic Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, which Morgan contended was "playing games" by the GOP.
Gov. Brad Henry vetoed House Bill 2458, a tort reform bill, saying the "certificate of merit" requirement for filing suit was ruled unconstitutional in a similar bill.
***
The House late Monday passed and sent Henry a bill by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, allowing pupils to express religious viewpoints in class work.
At issue during debate was whether State Superintendent Sandy Garrett had endorsed it, as Kern contended.  Rep. Ray McCarter, D-Marlow, said he called the education department and was told she had not.
The vote was 70-28 but the emergency clause failed, 66-30. A notice of reconsideration of the emergency was filed.
***
During goodbye tributes to term-limited lawmakers, Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, R-Oklahoma City, explained the "circumcised turtle" story blamed on her.
Bidding farewell to Sen. Jeff Rabon, D-Hugo, she said she understood Rabon to argue several times for protection of "circumcised turtles" in his first bill 12 years ago.
"I'm a city girl. I had no idea how you would even identify a turtle you would do that to," she said, confessing she does not hear that well.
A colleague she consulted corrected, "It is certain sized, not circumcised."

###