Capitol Considerations
by Senator Micheal Bergstrom
Back In the Saddle Again
As
of Monday, February 5, we are back in session, back in the saddle
again.
No,
let me correct that, we are still in the second special session.
Well,
to be accurate, we are in a new regular session and continuing the
second special session concurrently. So, in a way I might say I am
back in the saddle again, but we’ve been in the saddle so much this
past year that some might be getting saddle sores.
Of
course, Governor Mary Fallin kicked off the new regular session with
her state of the state speech and it was a good speech. Especially
when compared to the one she gave in 2017. I was glad to see that the
Governor's speech was not a lengthy laundry list of proposed tax
increases like last year's.
She
described this as being a “historic, defining moment.” Maybe
she’s right. Maybe we will begin to move away from budget failures
and one-time budget fixes. Maybe we will see significant reforms this
year and our state government will run more efficiently. Maybe we
will be able to take on the challenges of prison overcrowding and
increasing teacher salaries.
I
hope so, but as the Governor stated in her speech, it will require
cooperation.
Compromise
will be necessary for the legislature to deal with long-term funding
issues and to reform the government to make it more efficient. The
governor also noted that the legislature is no rubber stamp for her
or any group's proposals. While she indicated she supports the
Step-Up Oklahoma Plan, which is a collection of revenue measures and
reforms, proposed by the business community, intended to stabilize
the budget and make government more efficient, she stated that there
are portions of the plan that we, the legislature, may choose to
modify or scuttle, and that is what I expect will happen.
Even
if portions of the Step-Up plan pass, and bills related to the
Step-Up plan will probably begin being heard in Joint Committee on
Appropriations and Budget (JCAB) in the House this week, we have a
great deal of other problems to take on.
For
example, since our prisons are at 112 percent capacity, the
governor’s call for us to take on the challenge of prison
overcrowding and finding alternate ways to deal with those with
addictions is spot on. We need to deal with that now, before we end
up with the Department of Justice deciding it wants to take control
of the situation away from the state. It has happened before and it
can happen again.
And
that is just one of the problems the legislature must act on this
session.
I
welcome your questions and concerns, so please feel free to contact
my office at the State Capitol if you would like to discuss a
particular issue or problem. Our office can be reached by phone at
405-521-5561 or by email at bergstrom@oksenate.gov.
If you visit the Capitol, we are located in Room 428B.
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