Former lawmaker may challenge governor
Capitol Report for dailies for week of June 4, 2996
By Jim Campbell
OPA Capitol News Bureau
A former Democratic House member displeased with Gov. Brad Henry's budget deal with Republican House Speaker Todd Hiett says he likely will challenge Henry's bid for re-election.
Joe Jeff Hutchinson Jr. of Jay said Friday he would be at the Capitol during the filing period beginning Monday and might make his announcement for the Democratic nomination on Wednesday.
"I just don't think Henry's done a very good job," said Hutchinson, who retired from the State Wildlife Department before spending 12 years in the House. "I really don't believe he's a Democrat.  I think the people need a choice.
"I didn't like it that he went around the party and made a deal with Hiett on the budget," Hutchinson said. "He didn't consider the Democrats in the House and Senate."
Hutchinson said he would concentrate on "infrastructure, roads and bridges, and of course I'd be for the teachers, which I think he (Henry) is too." Hutchinson said he'd like to bring more tourism to Oklahoma and work on economic development.
"There are other things I'd like to do," he said. 
The filing period runs June 5-7.
Henry has called a special session, expected at mid-month, to complete work on the state budget. The Legislature adjourned the regular session on May 26, locked in a House-Senate stalemate, marking the first time in 30 years lawmakers have gone home without writing a budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.
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A child advocacy leader sees "enormous progress" by the 2006 Legislature on behalf of Oklahoma's young people, from new bulwarks against abuse and neglect to stronger measures against youth access to alcohol.
Anne Roberts, executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, made that assessment while acknowledging some failures and a House-Senate philosophical split that left funding for various programs in limbo pending a special session.
"Despite this intractable problem, enormous progress was made on behalf of Oklahoma's children and youth," Roberts said. 
Some child-related bills remained on the governor's desk for signature, including a ban on young people under 18 buying violent or sexually explicit video games. Roberts said the bill, House Bill 3004, is similar to legislation has been struck down in other states and is likely to face a court challenge should it become law. It passed both houses unanimously.
Successes in Roberts' post-session summation included such high profile measures as the Kelsey Briggs Act and the Caitlin Wooten Act passed in response to highly publicized killings of young people. 
Disappointments, besides failure to fund such services as prenatal care and increased mental health care for children, notably included failure to obtain protection for minors riding all-terrain vehicles and a mechanism to measure fitness and obesity reduction.
Roberts said all three substantive issues on the institute's agenda were treated favorably, along with many other child-related measures.
The three substantive issues were tightened youth access to alcohol, enacted in House Bill 3056 by Rep. Thad Balkman, R-Norman, and Sen. Jeff Rabon, D-Hugo; the Farm to School Program to reduce child obesity in HB 2655 by Rep. Susan Winchester, R-Chickasha, and Sen. Daisy Lawler, D-Comanche; and mandating teacher training to recognize child abuse and neglect in HB 2097 by Rep. Odilia Dank, R-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Susan Paddack, D-Ada.
HB 3056 provides stiffer penalties for minors, servers and store owners. Minors could lose drivers' licenses and store owners their licenses to sell beer, which Roberts called youngsters' "drink of choice." Surveys showed an 83 percent failure rate in preventing minors from buying it, she said.
A "social host" measure, HB 2767, makes it illegal to permit a minor invited to a residence or other property owned by an adult to possess alcohol or controlled substances. The death of a minor could bring a felony charge.
The farm to school bill connects schools with fresh produce from local farmers and seeks to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. 
Other child health measures were designed to increase breastfeeding, vaccination for meningitis, vision screening, genetic counseling and regulation of tattooing to prevent Hepatitis C.
Providing a positive environment for breastfeeding for working mothers, Robert said, would add an estimated 12,500 breastfed babies with health benefits for both mother and child. It could save "an estimated $24 million per year in projected healthy costs," she said.
The Oklahoma Genetic Counseling Licensing Act, Senate Bill 990, provides means for the Board of Health to set standards for professional counselors. Passed after assurances it would not lead to abortion, it would allow physicians to identify and treat genetic diseases in newborns.
Roberts said the Legislature, schools and community organizations had responded to childhood obesity with a variety of nutrition and fitness programs.
"Now everyone is asking, 'is it working,'" she said. "The answer is we don't know." SB 1461, calling for development of a fitness assessment software program, failed to get a hearing in the House.













	
 

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