Ten Best & Ten Worst

$2.50 25,000 Blue Chip Readers VOL. 43, NO. 11 An Independent Journal of Commentary JUNE 10, 2011 2011 Legislative Performances Ten Best & Ten Worst By Arnold Hamilton and Frosty Troy It was the best Legislature big mon- ma taxpayers that now will be spent ey could buy. in other states. With Republicans controlling all le- While some legislators embarrassed vers of state government power for the themselves and their state with breath- first time, corporate interests domi- taking venality and ignorance, others nated the 2011 session – unleashing distinguished themselves in an oth- an all-out assault on worker rights, erwise disastrous session. Herewith, further cutting income tax rates that the Best 10 and Worst 10 legislative disproportionately benefit the rich performances of 2011: and ensuring negligent doctors and businesses can’t be forced legally to House Best make whole those who are wronged. REP. DOUG COX, R-Grove: A true As hundreds of developmentally conservative in the Henry Bellmon disabled children remain on waiting mold, Cox deftly shepherded the hos- lists for wheelchairs, as public school pital provider fee through the Legisla- class sizes explode, as bridges and ture, ensuring some hospitals plagued highways crumble and as overcrowd- by unreimbursed indigent care will ed and understaffed prisons simmer, remain open. He also was the only Oklahoma lawmakers cried poverty House Republican to vote against the – blaming a half-billion-dollar budget dubious 20-week abortion bill, the hole on the worldwide recession. attack on Planned Parenthood and The truth is far less benign for a the elimination of the Human Rights legislative majority that served as Commission as a stand-alone entity. little more than lapdogs for the State REP. KRIS STEELE, R-Shawnee: Chamber. It was far from a perfect session for Lawmakers not only refused to de- the likeable speaker, who all too of- lay or abandon the quarter-percent- ten rolled over to the demands of age-point income tax cut [slashing the greedy State Chamber. But he state revenues another $120 million deserves high praise for his penal re- annually], but also declined to sys- form measure and his fair approach to tematically review nearly $6 billion redistricting, a stark contrast to the in tax breaks, credits and exemptions dragged to the Capitol to defend their than half the appropriated state agen- Senate’s highly partisan plan. – much of it corporate welfare that handouts. cies have absorbed cuts in excess of REP. SCOTT INMAN, D-Del City: amounts to a legalized looting of the Oklahoma voters, of course, have 20% over the last three years, accord- With only 31 seats, Democrats had no state treasury. no one to blame but themselves. Far ing to the Oklahoma Policy Institute. way to influence the session unless Why the reluctance? Their pluto- too many swallowed – hook, line and The wingnut caucus in both hous- they remained united and worked cratic masters fear what could happen sinker – the God, guns and gays dem- es only made things worse – Grover with disaffected Republicans. As mi- if the public gets a good look at nearly agoguery that asserts government is Norquist clones who want to starve nority leader, Inman deftly kept the $2 billion in taxpayer giveaways that evil and Democrats are un-Christian. government as much as possible, then Democratic caucus together, not only never created a single job. So the For them, the disconnect between tax- drown what’s left in the bathtub. They exposing GOP excesses but also de- legislative majority did what it often es and services is complete. browbeat Gov. Fallin and the legisla- feating the emergency clause that does – punt – promising to study the It won’t be for long. The budget-cut- tive leadership into abandoning plans would have enabled myriad Republi- incentives during the interim. Alas, ting frenzy since Republicans gained to accept a $54 million federal grant can bills to become law immediately. it would be an upset of biblical pro- the majority in both houses will take to help set up the state’s health insur- REP. FRED JORDAN, R-Jenks: Jor- portions if corporate titans ever were its toll soon enough – indeed, more ance exchange – money from Oklaho- dan emerged as a reasonably sane voice amid the corporatist-wingnut ca- cophony. He led the fight that defeated Rep. Sally Kern’s bid to force biblical creationism into science classrooms. And he fought [unsuccessfully] the speaker and State Chamber over the latest scheme to padlock the court- house door – a $350,000 cap on pain and suffering. REP. DAVID DANK, R-OKC. The House’s elder statesman, Dank is a pro-business, Chamber of Commerce See SESSION Page 19 Observations Put Up Or Shut Up Oilman and billionaire T. Boone while distorting other votes. Pickens thinks America should be “Just because the State Chamber powered by a natural gas revolution. has placed its stamp of approval on a But when asked about the dangers bill does not make that bill the ‘gold posed by gas drilling, especially the standard’ for economic growth legis- practice of fracking, Pickens scoffed. lation,” said Morrissette, D-OKC. “I Talking with Jon Stewart recently question any group such as the State on the Daily Show, Pickens denied Chamber that develops its agenda and there were any dangers from fracking: then proceeds to have a litmus test “I have never seen that happen ... I’ve determining who is ‘pro-business’ been here. I have fracked 3,000 wells and who is not.” in my life... I’ve never seen anything The State Chamber has launched damaged.” a web site that labels Morrissette as People from Pennsylvania to Texas one of the 10 most “anti-business” would disagree with Pickens – folks legislators at the Capitol. It was petty who have seen their water, homes and and vindictive. health ruined by fracking. Further, the site has been criticized A campaign is underway encourag- for posting false information on sev- ing Democracy for America members eral votes cast by more than one law- to call Pickens and ask him to volun- maker. tarily comply with the FRAC Act which Talk about egg on your face. When would require that all fracking opera- State Chamber CEO Fred Morgan pointments or abandons treatment. Havrilla spent four months working tions disclose the chemicals used in served in the Legislature, he opposed • Time employee is off work should for a man she alleges bit her neck, the process. the hospital assessment. Morrissette be reduced by employer being able pulled her into his bed, and grabbed “Energy independence cannot come voted for it and it’s now the law, sav- to ask for an independent doctor to her butt and waist – on a daily basis. at the expense of clean water and ing rural hospitals and shoring up determine if employee still cannot When, on the last day of her deploy- Americans’ health,” says Kaili Lambe, Medicaid. work. ment, she alleges she was raped by a campaign manager for DFA. Morgan is as phony as a three dollar • Freezes maximum permanent par- soldier she considered a friend, it was, Vice President Dick Cheney ex- bill, a lapdog for big business and a tial impairment or disability [PPI] rate she says, “the icing on the cake.” empted fracking from the Safe Water disgrace to the State Chamber. at $323 for four years. This is 10% be- It’s far past time to hold the mili- Drinking Act in the 2005 Energy Bill low the 2010 PPI rate. tary accountable for its unspeakable and since then the natural gas indus- • Prevents the possibility of a judge crimes against women. They are as try unleashed a massive 34-state drill- This Is Reform? awarding more than 100% permanent much of a soldier, sailor or Marine as ing campaign. impairment if latest injury is non-sur- the guys who have junk. Now, six years later, the facts are Republicans finally got their chance gical. stacking up how fracking is poison- to virtually destroy Workers Comp. To • Limits discretion of judges by ing drinking water and contributing begin with, SB 878, signed into law by putting more decision-making in the God And Money to climate change. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, cuts the hands of medical experts which can If fracking, and the myriad toxic maximum time to draw weekly tem- be appointed on ANY issue at ANY Churches can’t contribute directly chemicals that are used in the pro- porary total disability [TTD] benefits time. to political parties or elected mem- cess, is really so safe then let’s have from six years to three years. Other • Eliminates survivors’ benefits bers – but freshman Congressman Pickens [and all the other gas drillers changes in a law that was working for permanent total disability benefi- James Lankford seems to have found out there] let us know what’s in their well: ciaries if injured employee dies of a a way around the prohibition. fracking fluid. • Employee cannot draw TTD if re- cause unrelated to his injury. According to official records, Lank- ceiving unemployment or short term • Relieves employer from providing ford, who was Falls Creek director, disability benefits provided by em- lifetime prosthetic devices if such de- made $22,105 in 2010 mostly from False Attack ployer. vice or the same part of the body is speeches – principally, the speaking • Automatic termination of TTD if subsequently injured. fees came from churches. We agree with state Rep. Richard employee is incarcerated. • Limits consequential injuries. A Now candidates are free to speak Morrissette who said the State Cham- • Employee cannot draw TTD if he “consequential” injury is strictly de- before churches but not for money.

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