Legislative hearings this fall

This is the time of year during which it is customary for legislators to conduct hearings before the various legislative committees. This year I am participating as a sponsoring legislator for three of these hearings and am eligible to participate in additional hearings in my role as a member of the host committees.

Last month I sponsored a hearing designed to analyze the many ways state and local government regulations overlap. The hearing took testimony from various business owners and industry representatives who spoke to the confusion, cost and numerous detriments to businesses created by the maze of bureaucratic regulations.These regulations stem from the many government entities who step on each other and the business owner in their attempts to regulate private businesses.

Also in September, those of us on the County and Municipal Government Committee held a hearing on the current state of county governments, the state’s association of county commissioners and the lack of transparency by which the association conducts the insurance programs on behalf of the counties. While the association caught our attention by refusing to exercise their right to speak at the hearing, I was quite impressed by the testimony from a series of recently elected county commissioners who expressed their acknowledgement of the obvious problems within the current status-quo and their desire to work for reform. They were quite brave to speak out on behalf of reform.

Later this month, I will join with two other representatives in conducting a legislative hearing regarding the earthquake issue, the ongoing seismic swarms and the state’s response. This will provide us with an opportunity to take statements from the state officials whose testimony could potentially guide legislative action during the next legislative session.

Finally, in November, I will be a sponsor of the annual legislative review of the ongoing implementation of our modernization reforms including the savings from purchasing system reforms and the status of the state’s information technology unification.

These hearings provide a valuable opportunity for legislators to discover and bring public attention to the facts. Our state’s legislative hearing environment differs from its national, Congressional counterpart in that state lawmakers are not normally put on the clock when asking questions. Generally speaking, they may ask as many questions as they desire and in this role they have a wider purview than their congressional counterparts who frequently must confine their questioning to a set amount of time.

Those members of the public who wish to listen to the audio recordings of these hearings may do so by visiting okhouse.gov and clicking on the interim study option from the committee drop down menu.

Thank you for reading this article. Your interest and input are much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to email Jason.Murphey@hd31.org with your thoughts and suggestions.