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By Rep. Jason Murphey
Last week I wrote about how the projected government shortfall is an opportunity to reduce the size of government and to apply technological advances to state government. This action will have the effect of providing improved customer service. A budget shortfall will force legislative leaders and agency officials to do what they would have not taken the time to do when state government largess was increasing. It is actually in a downturn when money is less plentiful that taxpayer accountability and customer service may improve.
I consider it the primary responsibilities of the government modernization effort not only to introduce ideas for reform, but also to clear away the statutory roadblocks that prevent the application of money saving processes.
But there are other vital roles for the modernization effort. Read more…
I had the opportunity to file my bills last week as the deadline fell to turn in ideas for legislation for the 2009 Legislative Session. There were 1,269 bills, 46 joint resolutions and six concurrent resolutions filed in the House of Representatives. I expect things will go along normal lines and most bills will be killed early in the committee process. The issue of having less money from the previous session of more than $300 million will also prevent many of the ideas from being considered due to cost restraints. Most of my bills have limited fiscal impact, so I hope I will be able to work with the various chairs to get hearings and passage on them.
Two ideas I’ve worked with Lieutenant Governor Askins on this interim will be in legislation this session. One…Read more…
By Rep. Jason Murphey
If you listen to or read the various news stories regarding Oklahoma’s budget situation, you might have received the false impression that a budget shortfall is a negative circumstance poised to cause all sorts of harm and confusion.
By some estimates, state government spending will be $300 to $500 million less this year than last year. Those who have an appreciation for big government see this as a very unfortunate event because they know that government will most likely be required to shrink in size this year.
I believe the shortfall presents the Legislature with a most exciting opportunity not only to cut through bureaucratic waste and make government more cost effective, but also to streamline and modernize government services so as to provide much improved customer service to the people. Read more…
From okiepolitics:
“Jason Murphey (R – Guthrie) deserves credit. He doesn’t take shi “gifts” from lobbyists.
Lobbyists like Pat Hall do not “know why we need a law” banning lobbyists giving legislators gifts. Hall continued by suggesting that giving legislators trinkets has “never been a problem.” Read more…
OKPNSnet Forum Question: Should lobbyists be banned from giving legislators gifts? (click here to join the discussion!)
Hello again, everybody! One of my favorite quotes from President Kennedy perfectly sums up some of our challenges as we work to create a brighter future for Oklahoma.
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic,” he said. “Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
One myth that has held back rural Oklahoma is the misguided belief by some that our area cannot compete in a global economy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We see time and again that rural Oklahoma can compete in a global economy, bringing prosperity and opportunities to our communities.
It takes two things to dispel that myth: confidence and capital. Read more…
One of the issues about which I have felt the most strongly has been the inappropriate nature of special interest influence over policy makers. One of the foremost manifestations of the inappropriate influence has been the ability of these special interests to give personal gifts to legislators.
I do not believe it is any more appropriate for a lobbyist to give a gift to a legislator than it would be for an attorney to give a gift to a judge who was ruling on a case in which the attorney was a party. In both cases the gift giver receives a direct benefit from the decision of the recipient.
As such when I sought election to the legislature I did so on a platform of not taking personal gifts or contributions from lobbyists or the groups that hire lobbyists.
When I first entered the legislature just two years ago this inappropriate giving was nearing an all time high point. In 2007, over $150,000 of personal gift giving was reported by lobbyists. This number was probably just a percent of the total gift giving as a significant amount of gift giving probably did not meet reporting requirements.
OKPNSnet Forum Question: Should lobbyists be banned from giving legislators gifts? (click here to join the discussion!)
Giving Special Interests The Power To Take Your Property
By Rep. Jason Murphey
In the past, I have written about the possibility of the expansion of the Trans-Texas Corridor into Oklahoma and described why it is important that we not allow foreign-owned companies to control Oklahoma roads.
The example of the foreign-owned Texas toll road is one example of this type of abuse. However, this is not the only example of Texas allowing privately owned interests to operate much like the government in order to make a profit.
Over the past few years, a wealthy Texas businessman decided to incur the risk of investing in a product that he believes will be in great demand in the future. That product is water. The businessman formed a corporation known as Mesa Water and acquired water rights in a large aquifer in the Texas panhandle and tried to market this water to the nearby city of Amarillo. Read more…
My interim study last week provided a great deal of information regarding our elections process in Oklahoma. There were very few problems at the polls and the provisional ballots are currently being reviewed for authenticity and will be included in the totals, even though none can possibly change outcomes on the elections. Thank you to those of you that voted and helped make this election turnout just short of a state record. Read more…
Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, was the guest on the Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008 edition of KXII’s First News Forum, a public affairs program hosted by Charlie Haldeman. The senator answered questions on a host of subjects including the election results, priorities for the Oklahoma Legislature in 2008 and the change in legislative leadership. This is the opening segment.
Hat tip:senatorgumm
By Rep. Jason Murphey
Attending a recent forum at the Woodcrest fire department reminded me that one of the experiences I have most enjoyed as State Representative during the past two years has been the role of Vice-Chairman and ranking Republican on the House of Representative’s Homeland Security Committee.
When designing the new house committee system, house leadership structured the system so that members of the committees could really focus on specialized areas of committee work. They did this by giving the committees both appropriation and policy oversight in their respective areas. It has been exciting to serve as Vice-Chairman of a committee where I could specialize in an area in which there is a core purpose for government involvement.
In this role, a little over a year ago I joined Oklahoma State Fire Marshal Robert Doke and a delegation of state government and firefighting officials in visiting the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There we met with FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison. Administrator Paulson was complimentary of the manner in which Oklahoma officials have handled past emergencies and is supportive of the efforts made in developing additional emergency readiness.
One of the reasons for meeting with Paulison related to developing a truly interoperable statewide emergency communications system to allow officials in different agencies to communicate with one another. This issue has without doubt been the most comprehensive and the most controversial issue that our committee has considered in my term as Vice-Chair. Read more…
Should Private Companies Be Allowed To Own Our Roads?
By Rep. Jason Murphey
As a member of the House of Representative’s Transportation Committee I have been able to observe one of the most controversial but rarely talked about and mostly under the radar issues regarding the long term development of our highway system.
One year ago I wrote in my update about an the issue at the heart of which has been Oklahoma’s membership in a group known as the North America SuperCorridor Coalition (NASCO), the desire of big corporations to enhance the movement of Chinese-manufactured goods throughout North America, the possible privatization of new state and federal highways and NASCO’s desire to deploy sophisticated tracking devices along I-35.
In the past I written about what I believe to be the inappropriate and frightening alliance of big business monopolies backed up by the power of big government. Nowhere is this abuse more evident than when big companies buy long term leases of public roads. You can only imagine how your power as a citizen is minimized when a big (and likely foreign owned) corporation has complete control over a public road on which you depend in order to get where you need to go.
The issue of private ownership of public roads is in its infancy in Oklahoma but appeared to be growing after Texas planned out the construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) network. The TTC was to be owned and financed over the next 50 years by a foreign investment group based in Spain known as Cintra. Read more…
Most of the interim studies have been heard, but I have one coming up on November 6th regarding the possibility of updates for voter rolls and notification to state agencies upon the death of an Oklahoman. The Department of Health does not currently share this information automatically and it would help a great deal for other agencies to know this information.
I remember seeing my grandmother’s name on the voter rolls after she had passed and thought this would be good to have the names removed so the family does not have to go through current channels. Should a name be mistakenly removed, provisional ballot would still be allowed so a vote will not be prohibited. I authored the bill that allowed provisional ballots here in Oklahoma. Read more…
Perhaps you have seen recent stories in the news about a group known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Some of ACORN’S employees have been accused of submitting false voter registration forms; some were signed “Mickey Mouse” and some listed Dallas Cowboys players’ names, even though none of the players lived in that particular state. Agents acting on behalf of ACORN employees were also caught filling out voter registration forms using names and addresses copied from the telephone book. In a number of states, fraud investigations are underway.
While these events are mostly occurring in presidential battleground states,
The voter identification cards used by the election board could be easily forged. Especially during low turnout elections, there is absolutely nothing to stop people from voting under different names in different precincts. If a group with the wherewithal and the power of ACORN decided to manipulate our elections by registering out-of-state voters or by registering the same person multiple times in different precincts under different names and addresses, there would probably be very little to stand in their way. Read more…
By Rep. Jason Murphey
One of the types of bills I am most disappointed to see appear on the floor of the House is a bill that makes a seemingly small but expansive change in the way an incentive program or tax credit give away is allotted to some special interest somewhere. I believe that most legislators have no clue about the identity of the special interest or group that is set to benefit from the change but are simply asked to support the bill in the name of economic development.
Over the past few years any number of programs have popped up that give away your money to any number of entities that will benefit from the special consideration of one of these incentive programs. The programs are usually created in the name of economic development which means it is very hard for most legislators to vote against them and run the risk of being seen as anti-growth.
Now, these programs appear to be slowly expanding to include more and more special interests. These groups are no doubt willing to invest in the lobbyists and build relationships with legislators in order to be successful in expanding these programs to include themselves.
I feel that Oklahoma’s elected officials are putting us on a dangerous road down a path where anyone who can afford a high price lobbyist can create a special program that provides their specific interest with financial gain at the expense of the average taxpayers who are unknowingly forced to carry the burden of paying for these pay outs. Read more…
Related:
Sen Gumm: Mandate Myths From “The Daily Oklahoman” Opinion Page
Video: KXII First News Forum – Segment 1 – Sept. 28, 2008
Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, is the guest on this edition of KXII’s First News Forum. Forum is a weekly public affairs program hosted by Anchor Charlie Haldeman. The show is broadcast Sunday mornings at 6 a.m. on KXII-TV, serving southern Oklahoma and north Texas.
By Rep. Jason Murphey
What if you had a pressing need for a new car? And what if, when you went to buy a new car, the only vehicle you were allowed to purchase was a luxury vehicle with all options pre-installed? Can you imagine how many Oklahomans would be unable to afford transportation if this scenario were a reality?
One of the most pressing topics the Legislature deals with each year is health care. The issue is of added importance because Oklahoma has the fourth highest population of uninsured people. The most obvious reason for this lack of coverage is the high price of purchasing insurance in Oklahoma.
The average price of a job-based health insurance policy in Oklahoma is $4,088. The national average is $3,991. Oklahoma’s median income is significantly lower than the national average, which means that Oklahomans pay higher health insurance costs with a lower average income.
One of the reasons for high insurance fees in Oklahoma is because the Legislature has driven up the cost over the years by mandating a “one size fits all” approach to coverage. Policies become even more expensive when the Legislature approves new laws to mandate the coverage of any number of heartbreaking medical situations that have not traditionally been covered by health insurance policies Read more…
Related:
Sen Gumm: Mandate Myths From “The Daily Oklahoman” Opinion Page