Weekly Opinion/Editorial
MISSED OPPORTUNITYby Steve Fair
On Friday, the 2010 Oklahoma legislature adjourned sine die, which means, “without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing.” This was a challenging session for the legislature because of revenue shortfalls, and it was thought a special session might be necessary to deal with the budget, but the Republican led legislature did reach a budget agreement with Democrat Governor Henry before the close of the session.
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Just hours after the 2010 session was gaveled closed, outgoing/term limited Speaker of the House Chris Benge, (R-Tulsa) evaluated the session and gave it an “A.” Benge said, “I would give it an A considering everything we had to deal with, both the budget and the policy measures. We have positioned the state to grow in the future.”
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Outgoing/term limited Governor Henry gave the 2010 legislative session a B-, saying he thought the legislature spent too much time on idealogy issues like abortion and did not devote enough time to the budget. Saying he was wistful about his last legislative session, Henry said, “We(First lady Kim Henry) are at peace with ourselves about how we moved the state forward.”
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While Governor Henry gave the 2010 session a “B-” grade, outgoing/term limited Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, (R-OKC) assigned a straight “B.” In response to critics who said the Republican leaders focused too much on ideology and not enough time on the budget, Coffee said, “Some of the things we dealt with might seem like extracurricular issues to outsiders, but those issues are important to voters, and voters elect us. We represent them. Getting the budget done on time, and devoting time to the budget, does not change the issues or the views voters have about the importance of those other issues.” One reporter said the last week of session looked like ‘total chaos.’ Coffee responded by saying, “I would disagree. I remember other years when we were waiting on the 'deal' in the last day or two of session, not getting into it over the last couple of weeks when there was still time to really consider the details. This year I thought we had a good process.”
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In my opinion, the legislature earned a B. Here are the areas of failure:
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Once again, they failed to get the attorneys out of the Oklahoma Workers Comp system, even though everyone knows doing that will save employers money and increase awards to injured workers. They made significant progress on Workers Comp, but we are still just nibbling around the edges of the issue until we get the lawyers out of the system. Another missed opportunity.
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The second major goof was Speaker Binge not allowing a Joint Resolution to be heard on the House side. The Resolution by Senator Jim Reynolds, (R-Moore) would have placed a state question on the ballot in November to reduce the increases in property tax. Benge knew the J.R. would pass if it were voted on, so he didn’t allow it a vote. That is inexcusable and the type of leadership that will not be missed. Reynolds proposal just slowed down the growth of property taxes, it did not reduce them. A missed opportunity.
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The legislature passed a $6.7 billion dollar state budget- still over a billion less than what was requested by state government. A large part of the budget is federal stimulus money. Next year, the federal money will not be available and even deeper cuts may have to be made if revenue doesn’t pick up. Instead of making surgecial cuts in government, the 2010 legislature took the easy way out and did ‘across the board’ cut. They should have used these ‘hard times’ to have state agencies justify every dollar they asked for, but instead they took the path of least resistance. A missed opportunity.
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Speaker Benge, President Pro-Tem Coffee and Governor Henry are all three term limited. None can seek re-election in November. It will likely be years before this same dynamic(all three of the state’s top leaders are termed out at the same time) happens again. The trio had the unique opportunity to work together in a non-partisan way to move Oklahoma forward this session. They could have made history by carving waste out of government, creating a better business environment in the Sooner state, and by making the tough calls that need to be made in Oklahoma- a missed opportunity.
*****
Just hours after the 2010 session was gaveled closed, outgoing/term limited Speaker of the House Chris Benge, (R-Tulsa) evaluated the session and gave it an “A.” Benge said, “I would give it an A considering everything we had to deal with, both the budget and the policy measures. We have positioned the state to grow in the future.”
*****
Outgoing/term limited Governor Henry gave the 2010 legislative session a B-, saying he thought the legislature spent too much time on idealogy issues like abortion and did not devote enough time to the budget. Saying he was wistful about his last legislative session, Henry said, “We(First lady Kim Henry) are at peace with ourselves about how we moved the state forward.”
*****
While Governor Henry gave the 2010 session a “B-” grade, outgoing/term limited Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, (R-OKC) assigned a straight “B.” In response to critics who said the Republican leaders focused too much on ideology and not enough time on the budget, Coffee said, “Some of the things we dealt with might seem like extracurricular issues to outsiders, but those issues are important to voters, and voters elect us. We represent them. Getting the budget done on time, and devoting time to the budget, does not change the issues or the views voters have about the importance of those other issues.” One reporter said the last week of session looked like ‘total chaos.’ Coffee responded by saying, “I would disagree. I remember other years when we were waiting on the 'deal' in the last day or two of session, not getting into it over the last couple of weeks when there was still time to really consider the details. This year I thought we had a good process.”
*****
In my opinion, the legislature earned a B. Here are the areas of failure:
*****
Once again, they failed to get the attorneys out of the Oklahoma Workers Comp system, even though everyone knows doing that will save employers money and increase awards to injured workers. They made significant progress on Workers Comp, but we are still just nibbling around the edges of the issue until we get the lawyers out of the system. Another missed opportunity.
*****
The second major goof was Speaker Binge not allowing a Joint Resolution to be heard on the House side. The Resolution by Senator Jim Reynolds, (R-Moore) would have placed a state question on the ballot in November to reduce the increases in property tax. Benge knew the J.R. would pass if it were voted on, so he didn’t allow it a vote. That is inexcusable and the type of leadership that will not be missed. Reynolds proposal just slowed down the growth of property taxes, it did not reduce them. A missed opportunity.
*****
The legislature passed a $6.7 billion dollar state budget- still over a billion less than what was requested by state government. A large part of the budget is federal stimulus money. Next year, the federal money will not be available and even deeper cuts may have to be made if revenue doesn’t pick up. Instead of making surgecial cuts in government, the 2010 legislature took the easy way out and did ‘across the board’ cut. They should have used these ‘hard times’ to have state agencies justify every dollar they asked for, but instead they took the path of least resistance. A missed opportunity.
*****
Speaker Benge, President Pro-Tem Coffee and Governor Henry are all three term limited. None can seek re-election in November. It will likely be years before this same dynamic(all three of the state’s top leaders are termed out at the same time) happens again. The trio had the unique opportunity to work together in a non-partisan way to move Oklahoma forward this session. They could have made history by carving waste out of government, creating a better business environment in the Sooner state, and by making the tough calls that need to be made in Oklahoma- a missed opportunity.
*****
Thomas Edison was right when he said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Thomas Edison was right when he said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
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