House Democrats Stay on Message

It's easy for reporters at the state Capitol to quickly tire of the "same old story." There are lawmakers whose actions any legislative observer can usually predict.
I've personally tired of the House Democrats' "it doesn't add up," "the math doesn't work," phrases. Those words have been a part of every press availability I've attended so far this session.
While I've tired of those words, they still make a certain amount of sense.
The term, "cut and starve," could be the response to "tax and spend." I'm sure there is some middle ground.
Late this afternoon, House members participated in a roast of sorts of Democratic House member Richard Morrissette. He is often on the prickly end of debates on the floor, holding feet to the fire.
The House I saw came together in support of a member they often disagree with on his bill related to elimination of the red cedar (though I've been told it's redcedar, and I haven't taken the time to check this out) scourge from Oklahoma's land.
There were impersonations, questions reflecting tough legislative debates in a playful manner, and a general camaraderie of those we elect to make our laws.
The "debate" left me wondering if the idealogical divide isn't nearly as wide as it appears.

Workers' Comp Ads on TV

The battle over changes to the state's workers' compensation system is hitting the airwaves. The Dan Davis law firm has commercials on featuring a person with an amputated leg saying his family would not have made it without workers' comp.
Legislation that would eliminate a court-based system in favor of an administrative program passed the Senate this week and is now headed to the House.
Compensation amounts for specific injuries have been reduced, the main point made in the new TV commercial. House Speaker T.W. Shannon is shepherding the legislation through his chamber and says changes are likely. Whether that will include altering the amount employees injured on the job receive isn't known.
I'm keeping a close eye on this bill and will be reporting on it regularly on KGOU.

First Bill to Governor

It appears that Chesapeake Energy's efforts to alter Oklahoma law to fit its corporate governance needs are bearing fruit. It's likely this may be the first bill Gov. Mary Fallin signs into law this legislative session. StateImpact Oklahoma's Joe Wertz reports the story.

A new corporate governance law sought by Chesapeake Energy now awaits Gov. Mary Fallin’s signature.

Final approval from the state Legislature came Wednesday. The measure — House Bill 1646, authored by Rep. Fred Jordan, R-Jenks — reverses 2010 legislation that mandated staggered elections of directors at certain public companies, a corporate governance strategy designed to prevent a boardroom takeover.

Chesapeake Energy helped write the 2010 law, which didn’t protect it from a boardroom shakeup. Chesapeake pushed to reverse the law because the energy company’s new directors — and many of its shareholders — want annual board member elections, a structure in place at most of Chesapeake’s corporate peers.

The Oklahoma City company’s new directors have threatened to reincorporate in Delaware if the law isn’t reversed.

At least two other companies, ONEOK and OG&E, were unintentionally affected by the 2010 law, a situation lawmakers remedied last year with a legislative fix.

Despite a little acrimony from Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, HB 1646 received overwhelming support from lawmakers voting in the state House and Senate.

http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2013/02/28/chesapeake-corporate-governance-bill-sent-to-governor/

Oklahoma Anti-Science Science Teaching Bill Dead

The National Center for Science Education is celebrating the death of Senate Bill 758 which

would have undermined the integrity of science education in the Sooner State.

There remains a bill in the Oklahoma House (HB 1674):

styled the Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act, which differs from SB 758 primarily in mentioning "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning" as supposedly controversial topics.

Bills that target the teaching of evolution show up like dandelions in the spring.

Two News Releases, No Information

First, the House Democrats sent a statement responding to the newly formed State's Rights Committee:

The State’s Rights Committee entertained as fact internet myths and tinfoil hat fantasies Tuesday afternoon, legitimizing a sector of the House Republicans powerful enough to be awarded their own committee within which only their beliefs are given a platform.

Then, the House Republicans send a counter statement:

In their latest attack on House Republicans, Democrats showed their continued contempt for states’ rights and personal freedom and echoed their belief in big government and servitude to the federal government.

Does anyone else find these statements to be less than productive? The public relations release war is not new at the state Capitol, but these two statements do little to inform the people of Oklahoma.

Text of Workers' Comp Bill

The text of the new workers' compensation bill is not on the state Senate website yet, so I'm putting the text here. It's after the break. Here it is in all 261 pages, Senate Bill 1062:

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 54th Legislature (2013)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 1062 By: Bingman and Sykes

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

An Act relating to workers’ compensation administrative system; creating the Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act; providing short title; defining terms; stating applicability of act; stating effect of finding of unconstitutionality; providing for exclusivity of certain remedies; providing exceptions; prohibiting certain statement or misrepresentation; creating felony offense; directing allocation of certain fine; requiring referral of certain violations; creating certain investigation unit; requiring Attorney General to designate certain personnel;

Copying Arkansas: Workers' Comp Bill at 261 Pages

Republican lawmakers and business leaders have been asking and working for what they call workers' compensation reform, and it looks like the wholesale changes are on the way. Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman and Sen. Anthony Sykes are the authors of Senate Bill 1062.

A news release from the state Senate says the bill will replace the "adversarial" system with an administrative system. The statement goes on to say:

SB 1062 is modeled on a similar administrative system in the state of Arkansas.  Workers’ compensation insurance premiums under the Arkansas administrative system were rated in the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services Survey at $1.19 per $100 of payroll – less than half the cost of premiums paid by Oklahoma businesses.Bingman said in addition to reducing costs for business, SB 1062 will generate better outcomes for injured workers. An administrative system will resolve cases based on an evaluation of the merits of the case and objective medical evidence.  Under the current judicial system, employees are often pitted against their employer in litigation proceedings characterized by dueling trial lawyers and dueling doctors.Sen. Anthony Sykes, chair of the Judiciary Committee and co-author of the measure, learned first-hand about the benefits of an administrative system on a fact-finding trip to Arkansas.“The Arkansas system is a model for states that want a system designed to help injured workers get the care they need without delay,” said Sykes, R-Moore.  “Oklahoma’s small business owners care about their employees, and they know they wouldn’t be successful without them.  I believe this system is the right solution for employees, and it’s good for business.”Under SB 1062, an administrative system would be structured with three commissioners appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate approval, for six-year staggered terms.  The commission will then appoint administrative law judges to hear all claims for compensation.

The bill will be heard at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sen. Sykes chairs. I plan to be in the room and will have a report on KGOU during All Things Considered.

Workers' Compensation Plan Coming Monday

Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman says a bill that would change Oklahoma's system of taking care of injured workers will be unveiled Monday and heard in a committee the next day.
If you have heard any (and I mean "any") of the legislative panels or discussions aired on KGOU, you'll know this bill was expected. The contents aren't yet known, but lawmakers say it will create an administrative system and get rid of the current court-based system.
Democrats, including House minority leader Rep. Scott Inman, say changing the system will require operation of the older one for at least a decade, at great expense.
With the business community in the state pushing for the change, and Republicans in control of both chambers and the governor's office, Oklahoma is likely to end up with an administrative workers' compensation system soon. My prediction is it will be law before the end of the current session.

Taxes and Infrastructure

Monday at 11 a.m. KGOU will air Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett's State of the City speech (lots of uppercase letters in that lead). Listening to Cornett review the success OKC has seen in the past decade or two, I can't help but think that MAPS is the key.
Yes, taxes.
It's a five-letter word at 23rd and Lincoln unless the word "cut" is included in close proximity. The StateImpact Oklahoma team did a good job looking at the success of the MAPS tax.
I can't help but wonder what a targeted state tax increase could mean for the state? I don't even know if that is possible, but my guess is if you told Oklahomans they were going to get 1,265 miles of upgraded roads, better municipal water supplies, upgraded schools and better access to mental health care, and came up with a plan like Oklahoma City did, you might be surprised at the level of support.
Submitting a tax increase to the people might just pass. Should the people be given a choice in the matter?

Consolidation Returning to Schools Unsearchable?

Before teachers, chambers of commerce, mayors, moms and local football boosters panic, it's the consolidation of computers, software and other information technology services on the agenda. Gov. Mary Fallin mentioned her Open Range plan during the State of the State speech this week (seems like longer).
Basically, the plan, as presented by Fallin's IT guru Alex Pettit, would allow school districts to voluntarily obtain their tech needs from the state. Pettit says this will save millions of dollars by driving a harder bargain with vendors and buying things in bulk.
Democratic Rep. Richard Morrissette doubts the savings would be as great as advertised. I asked Pettit about schools choosing not to buy from local businesses in favor of the state. He said since the plan is voluntary, they could still buy locally.
One issue that cropped up while I was doing research on the Open Range program is that Google doesn't seem to know about it. I tried searching for the program using one word and two. I'll be doing more searches on state programs to see how easy it is to find them.

Crying Wolf? Budget Leader Questions Corrections Needs

Gov. Mary Fallin's chief budget negotiator indicated the dire consequences forecast for Oklahoma prisons if they don't receive more money may be overstated, or at least hyped.

Preston Doerflinger made pointed comments yesterday when asked about the $1 million increase in the 2013 budget for the Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections and no extra money for 2012.
Corrections Director Justin Jones told a legislative budget panel in January he would have to take extreme measures if lawmakers did not provide more cash for the current fiscal year.

"We can't go any further or we're going to have blood on our hands," Jones told lawmakers. He also said 29 percent of DOC workers qualify for food stamps.

Those comments may be what prompted Doerflinger to single out DOC for its budget request. He said the prison system was not considered for a supplemental appropriation. "We've got to have a very frank conversation with the director and understand exactly what the needs are, no smoke and mirrors," Doerflinger said. "I don't want to hear doom and gloom... in an attempt to sow fear and doubt."

Listen to Doerflinger's comments.

Not Much New Expected from Gov. Fallin Tomorrow

I hope Gov. Mary Fallin has a few surprises in store during her State of the State address tomorrow. Last time she outlined her agenda there wasn't much unexpected except for a ban on smoking on state property. It included the conversion of the smoking room in the state Capitol basement into a fitness center, but even that plan had to be changed after it was decided the existing space was much too small.
The governor says she will present a tax cut plan that will be much more modest than a proposal last year that would have moved Oklahoma toward a personal income tax rate of zero. That effort failed to go anywhere. Sen. Sean Burrage (D-Claremore) told reporters he isn't even reading tax cut bills because it was wasted time last session. The leader of the record minority in the Senate may be the most outspoken in the leadership, or at least the one who directly speaks his mind.
At a recent legislative panel discussion sponsored by the Oklahoma City Chamber, Burrage gave a clear, "No," answer to a question about putting more guns in public schools. You can read an opinion piece on his response from my friend M. Scott Carter of The Journal Record newspaper:
Fourth Reading: The simple courage of saying ‘no’

KGOU and other public media throughout the state will be carrying Gov. Fallin's State of the State speech. Most will air it live starting at 12:30 p.m. You can also stream it from KGOU's website.