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Capitol News Update     

 

July 16, 2012 

 

          There's an informative article in Sunday's Tulsa World about a $2 million increase in next year's appropriation for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. The Department didn't ask for the money, but it got the money anyway. Turns out the $2 million was for the Oklahoma Youth Expo, a non-profit located in Oklahoma City described as the "world's largest junior livestock show."

 

            The expo wasn't mentioned in the appropriation bill, but the Agriculture Department has been instructed where the money is intended to go. House Appropriations and Budget Chairman Earl Sears said it was no secret among legislators where the money was going. The money came from an account in the Secretary of State's office rather than from the general revenue fund.    

 

            The story explains in some detail how the largesse occurred. Bob Funk, Chairman and CEO of Express Employment Professionals is also Chairman of the expo board, and Jimmy Harrel, a Western Oklahoma Banker is a member. According to the story, both men have a history of being large donors to legislators, primarily Republican. Funk acknowledged making "one or two" calls to legislators on behalf of the expo and that "four or five legislators called him to make sure the money was a good investment for the state." Chairman Sears said "all the powers that be" got together and decided to help the program for youth.

 

            Rep. Mike Reynolds, who apparently didn't know about it at the time, blew the whistle on the deal. Reynolds says the appropriation is unconstitutional because the state cannot appropriate to a private entity. This is likely not a problem because the money was actually appropriated to the Agriculture Department. It can use the money to contract with the expo board for a "public purpose." Educating and training young people to be future food producers is surely a public purpose. It's open for discussion and perhaps some justifiable angst from other public service providers whether this is a $2 million priority, but that doesn't make it unconstitutional. The money having come from an account in the Secretary of State's office could be a problem if it is fee money. The story wasn't clear on that.

 

            I spent 5 years as House Appropriations Chairman, and in that role, like Rep. Sears, I was the "keeper of the list" of all the appropriation requests of House members on behalf of various programs. Some things never change. As Rep. Sears said, at the end of the session the "powers that be" get together and decide what they are going to fund. That includes the House and Senate leadership and the governor. To be honest, there are worse ways decisions could get made.  

 

            The amount of the appropriation was larger than usual, and the amount of the political donations by Messrs. Funk and Harrel are larger than most, which makes the story fodder for discussion. But frankly, if the worst thing these gentlemen do is use the relationships they've developed through their political giving to help a non-profit organization working with youth, we should have a pretty good state. The real damage occurs when folks like this use their influence to help themselves at significant cost or injustice to the rest of the public. You can't take the politics out of politics. That's why it's important to elect people with the right kind of friends.  

Former prosecutor to head DHS Commission

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Mary Fallin has appointed a longtime Oklahoma prosecutor as the new chairman of the Department of Human Services Commission. Fallin named Wes Lane to the post on Wednesday.

Lane replaces Brad Yarbrough, who resigned as commission chairman in June but remains a commissioner. Lane is a former Oklahoma County prosecutor who served more than five years as the county's elected district attorney. He currently is president of the Burbridge Foundation, a Christian foundation dedicated to solving problems facing society and families.

The DHS commission is a nine-member panel that oversees the agency that provides services to vulnerable children, the elderly and disabled Oklahomans.  Lawmakers are seeking a statewide vote in November to abolish the commission and replace it with four separate governor-appointed committees.

GOP pressing on with contraception lawsuit

By Grant Schulte and Sean Murphy

Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. - Seven states trying to block part of the federal health care law that requires contraception coverage will continue with their lawsuit despite last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld most of the law, according to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who is leading the case.

The federal lawsuit is challenging a rule that requires contraception coverage in health care plans - including for employees of church-affiliated hospitals, schools and outreach programs. The suit argues that the rule violates the rights of employers that object to the use of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

The U.S. Department of Justice wants the suit dismissed, in part because the president is trying to work out a compromise, but Bruning and his fellow Republican attorneys general in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas aren't backing down.

"This rule is a brazen violation of the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," Bruning spokeswoman Shannon Kingery said. "We will continue to fight this attack on religious liberty."

Some legal experts said that even though the nation's highest court largely upheld the law, the lawsuit is narrowing in on a separate issue and has a decent chance.

Adam Samaha, a constitutional law professor at New York University's School of Law, said other recent Supreme Court rulings suggest that the court has "some sympathies with religious organizations being burdened by government." He cited a unanimous decision earlier this year in which justices sided with a religious school in an employment discrimination lawsuit.

But he also noted that President Barack Obama's administration, in response to the criticism from religious groups, delayed enforcement of the provision until next summer and has said it would shift the requirement from employers to health insurers. Samaha said that shift bolsters the administration's position in the legal challenge.

"Everybody agrees that this is far from a frivolous suit," added Samaha's colleague, NYU law professor Richard Epstein. "Intellectually, it's a very powerful suit."

The lawsuit was filed by Bruning, who was running for U.S. Senate at the time, in U.S. District Court in Nebraska. Plaintiffs also include three Nebraska-based groups - Catholic Social Services, Pius X Catholic High School and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America - along with a nun and a female missionary.

Justice Department lawyers say the plaintiffs have failed to show they face the immediate threat of having to offer the coverage, because the federal government delayed enforcement until August 2013 so that the groups' concerns could be addressed. The agency said the attorneys general lack the legal grounds to sue over the provision because state governments don't enjoy the same First Amendment protections as individuals.

But the lawsuit argues that the rule will effectively force religious employers and organizations to drop health insurance coverage, which will raise enrollment in state Medicaid programs and increase patient numbers at state-subsidized hospitals and medical centers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is named as a defendant.

Donald Blankenau, an attorney for an Omaha Catholic missionary who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the Nebraska case focuses on different issues than those addressed in the Supreme Court's ruling last month.

"Had the court knocked out the mandate in the case, it probably would have resolved the issues in ours. But since it didn't, our set of issues will proceed," Blankenau said.

Obama administration officials have said they don't want to abridge anyone's religious freedom, but want to give women access to important preventive care. Supporters of the rule, including the American Civil Liberties Union and women's advocacy groups, say the measure is about female health.

Officials have said the Obama administration's ruling was carefully considered, after reviewing more than 200,000 comments from interested parties and the public. The one-year extension, they said, responds to concerns raised by religious employers about making adjustments.

Administration officials stress that individual decisions about whether to use birth control, and what kind, remain in the hands of women and their doctors.

Still, Samaha noted, challenging the requirements is a win-win for Republican attorneys general, particularly those from conservative states who would benefit from being seen as standing up for religious freedom.

"If they prevail in the constitutional challenge, then they get a judicial order that might help change the state of affairs," the law professor said. "If they lose, they've indicated whose side they're on, and not just with cheap talk."

Oklahoma officials project $306M savings deposit

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State finance officials say Oklahoma is expected to make a record $306 million deposit into its Rainy Day Fund this week after the final revenue figures from the 2012 fiscal year are totaled.

But figures released Tuesday by the Office of State Finance showed collections to the state's general revenue fund in June were down by about $45 million compared to June 2011. The decline is mostly because of a nearly 60 percent drop in tax collections on oil and natural gas production.

Despite the dip in June, overall collections to the state's general revenue fund in fiscal year 2012 totaled $5.5 billion. That's an increase of nearly 8 percent over collections from fiscal year 2011.

This week's Rainy Day Fund deposit brings the total balance to $556 million.

Simpson appointed associate district judge

OKLAHOMA CITY (JR) - Megan Simpson has been appointed associate district judge in Harper County by Gov. Mary Fallin.

She replaces Judge G. Wayne Olmstead, who resigned.

Simpson, of Clinton, is assistant district attorney in Custer County and previously had the same position in Texas County. Simpson has been practicing law since 1995. She also served as a contract attorney for the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, covering all indigent defense services for Woodward and Ellis counties.

Simpson received a bachelor's degree from Phillips University and a law degree from the University of Denver. Simpson was awarded the 2005 Professional Advocate Award as Prosecutor of the Year from the Oklahoma Bar Association Criminal Law Section.

House interim studies approved

OKLAHOMA CITY (JR) - The House of Representatives will conduct 59 interim studies this year, House Speaker Kris Steele announced Friday.

The House received 89 interim study requests.

A policy instituted last year requiring all interim study reports to be publicly posted and archived will be continued, Steele said.

Topics for the studies will include education, government modernization, veterans' issues, public finance, pensions, public safety, corrections and health care.

"We've done a good job lately of using interim studies to prepare for productive sessions," said Steele, R-Shawnee. "This year's interim studies will ensure that practice continues."

Under a policy instituted last year, once an interim study is complete, a summary report of its work and recommendations will be posted on the House website and archived for future reference. All documents and presentations used during interim study committee hearings will also be posted on the House website and archived. Audio of interim study committee hearings will be streamed live on the House website and will remain posted to the House website for future review.

Have a good week.  Give me a call at 918.671.6860 if I can be of help in any way

                  Steve Lewis

 
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This Week's News
Former Prosecutor to Head DHS Commission
GOP Pressing on With Lawsuit
Officials Project $306 Saving Deposit
Simpson Appointed
Interim Studies Approved