The right kind of leadership
Before this year’s legislative session, pundits opined about the divided Republican caucus in the House. The 2012 session had not been an easy one and…
State Government
The Assimilation
As the legislative session came to a close last week, it was my job to filter incoming bills. Lobbyists are notorious for putting dramatic last…
I Will Vote No!
All indications point to this being the last week of this year’s legislative session. The Legislature will go home a week early. This is good…
Saying goodbye to the earmark
Before I print my update for this week, I have attached a press release from the Governor’s office regarding her government consolidation measures which I…
My views on the State budget proposal
On Thursday, the Governor and legislative leaders announced an agreement for the composition of the state’s next budget. Capitol insiders as hard pressed to recall…
Gas Tax Increase – How Your No Vote Fixed the Problem
Frequent readers of these articles will recall the series of updates I have written about the significant progress the state is making in regards to…
Tax Reduction, Workers Comp, Welfare Reform and No Bonds
This is a big week in the Legislature. It is a key deadline week. By this Thursday another set of proposals will fail to advance…
Update from Commissioner District 1
In 2006 the state legislature passed a law creating the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) program. The purpose for the program was to…
Funding for County Roads
This past week, I witnessed one of the most significant county road funding policy success since taking office as State Representative.
Visualizing TWO BILLION DOLLARS of State Debt Email
You may have seen recent news reports detailing how Britain’s national debt now equals 90% of its entire economy. The Daily Mail published a graph…
Inhofe meets with Customs and Border Patrol officials
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following statement after meeting with Customs and Border Patrol officials in Brownsville, Texas and touring the…
Senator Coburn pays Guthrie a visit with town hall meeting
United States Senator Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, was in Guthrie Wednesday morning for his third and final day of scheduled town hall meetings in Oklahoma for…
Continued opposition to the federal healthcare proposal
Oklahoma legislators have become rather accustomed to receiving emails and calls from those who are intensely worried about ongoing federal overreach. Many of these contacts…
Prepared to explain the vote
Consider the following statement one might hear if they stay around the capitol very long: “If there is one consistent thing about that legislator, it…
Inhofe pays a visit to Guthrie for town hall meeting
U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee,…
Oklahoma IT modernization effort featured in national publication
Oklahoma’s modernization reform efforts have drawn national attention following the publication of a cover story about the consolidation of Oklahoma’s information technology infrastructure in the…
Two elected officials who are not playing the game
In 2010, the state electorate gave a vote of confidence to a new wave of state-level office holders. Nearly all of these candidates ran on…
Decrease the pay of legislators
State Rep. Jason Murphey today announced his mid-March tradition of a yearly donation of $8,241.92 from his legislative salary to the Guthrie-based Crossroads Clinic. Oklahoma legislators…
Aggressive government modernization plans approved by House
Oklahoma residents are set to benefit from a package of modernization initiatives designed to cut the cost of state government, add transparency to government activities…
The key to legislative success
Aside from the last week of the legislative session, this is probably the busiest week in the legislative year. Bills authored by those who serve…