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Capitol News Update     

 

June 3, 2013


 

                 During the legislative session the governor has 5 days after she receives a bill to either sign or veto it.  If she does nothing, the bill can become law without her approval.  But the Oklahoma constitution provides that a bill passed in the last five days before Sine Die adjournment may not become law unless the Governor approves it within 15 days after adjournment. A bill not signed within 15 days after adjournment is said to have been "pocket vetoed."

                  When there's a bill you're interested in having the governor sign or veto, 15 days is a long time-sometimes a nerve-wracking time.  Since a huge number of bills were passed in the last 5 days of the session it's a safe bet there are a few people around the state who have been experiencing some anxiety.  I remember several years ago there was a bill I thought was horrible that I hoped Governor Henry would veto.  He had made statements about the issue that left one in doubt as to exactly where he stood on the bill.  As the days went by those interested in the bill began calling the governor's office, but no word.  As the 15th day approached the tension increased.  Finally, on the 15th day the governor vetoed the bill.

                  So I can sympathize with those waiting now.  A governor's action is seldom fully predictable.  Governor Fallin vetoed several bills earlier in the session, and the vetoes seemed to come as a surprise to the legislative authors.  Naturally they weren't too happy.  But it's a sign of respect legislators have for the governor, probably together with a dose of party loyalty, that there were no attempts to override the vetoes.       

                  I notice the governor vetoed a bill by Speaker Shannon requiring state agencies to develop a plan for a 25% cut in federal funding.  The bill was announced with some fanfare earlier in the year as a response to federal sequestration, but it wasn't passed until the last day of the session.  The governor's veto message said the bill isn't necessary because the state's existing financial planning scheme is sufficient.  One could speculate as to why she would veto a bill by one of the legislative leaders.  But, who knows, maybe she just thought it was a very bad idea.  

Legislative session over, but health questions remain

By Sean Murphy  

Associated Press   

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin gave lawmakers an 'A' grade for approving much of her agenda during the recently concluded legislative session, but the question of how the state plans to address the more than 630,000 Oklahomans without health insurance remains unresolved.

Fallin, a Republican, rejected the opportunity under the federal health care law to expand Medicaid coverage to nearly 200,000 people without health insurance, saying last November that doing so would prove too costly to the state and the country.

But this group that makes up about 17 percent of the state's population is placing a burden on the state's health care system because they often seek expensive medical care at hospital emergency rooms and ultimately drive up the cost of health care.

A pair of Republican lawmakers crafted a last-minute plan to modify and expand the state's Insure Oklahoma program by using state and federal money, combined with modest co-pays, to provide health insurance to low-income, working Oklahomans, but that proposal never got off the ground in the House.

Then Fallin offered a separate proposal in the waning days of session to use tobacco tax revenue to help provide coverage to the 9,000 Insure Oklahoma participants who will lose coverage when the program expires Dec. 31 but won't qualify for insurance subsidies offered through the federal health care law. That proposal passed the Senate, but was never taken up in the House, where House Speaker T.W. Shannon said he doesn't believe providing health insurance "is a proper or efficient function of government."

State Sen. Brian Crain, who worked on the last-minute legislative proposal to modify the Insure Oklahoma program, said he believes the Legislature could ultimately support a plan to expand health insurance if it involved some form of co-pays and targeted working Oklahomans.

"I think that our Legislature would approve a premium assistance program along the lines of Insure Oklahoma, as long as they know these are people who are working to try and better themselves and not just trying to live off the state," said Crain, R-Tulsa.

Fallin and lawmakers are awaiting the findings of Utah-based health consultant Leavitt Partners, due at the end of June, on how the state can expand coverage to its uninsured population.

During a briefing with reporters on the final day of the legislative session on Friday, Fallin did not rule out the possibility of calling lawmakers back for a special session to address the issue.

"I need to have that discussion with my staff, certainly our counsel, to see what our other options are," Fallin said. "We will be regrouping and seeing what other options we have, and certainly a special session could be an option."

Fallin vetoes 2 bills, signs 4 dozen others

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Mary Fallin has vetoed two bills and signed more than four dozen others less than a week after lawmakers adjourned the 2013 legislative session.

Fallin on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have moved all of the employees of the Oklahoma Military Department into the "classified" system of state employment. Fallin said in a veto statement this move could result in additional costs to the state and complicate a pending lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

She also vetoed another bill that would have overturned Oklahoma Department of Labor rules regarding asbestos removal training.

Among the more than four dozen bills Fallin signed into law on Wednesday was a measure that allows private schools to develop policies to allow firearms on campuses and school buses.

O'Connor, Cole to speak at symposium

By M. Scott Carter

The Journal Record  

OKLAHOMA CITY - Former Supreme Court of the United States Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cole will headline the 26th annual Sovereignty Symposium, officials with the Oklahoma Supreme Court announced this week.

The symposium is one of the largest meetings in the United States focused on Indian law.

The symposium will also feature Republican Gov. Mary Fallin; David Walters, former Oklahoma governor; retired Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, state secretary for military and veterans affairs; Ernest Stevens Jr., chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association; and many others.

The two-day event is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. June 5. All sessions will be at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.

O'Connor will deliver the keynote address at 1:15 p.m. June 5 during the symposium's opening ceremony. A graduate of Stanford University, she was appointed to the high court in 1981 by then-President Ronald Reagan. O'Connor retired from the bench in 2006.

Cole will speak about the passage of the federal Violence Against Women Act. Cole's speech will follow O'Connor's address.

A member of the Chickasaw Nation, Cole is one of only a handful of Native Americans currently serving in the U.S. Congress. Cole represents the state's 4th Congressional District. He served as secretary of state under Gov. Frank Keating. He also served in the Oklahoma Senate and as the executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The symposium is expected to draw legal and cultural experts from across the country.

Considered one of the nation's top symposiums on Indian law, the meeting provides a forum to exchange ideas, University of Oklahoma law professor Lindsay Robertson said.

Robertson, who has presented at the symposium since 1996, will be part of a panel on tribal self-government and sovereignty. He said the event offers lawyers the opportunity to receive specialized training that they might not ordinarily have.

"It's like a mini university filled with a rich collection of diverse topics and people," he said. "There are other Indian law conferences that attract almost exclusively lawyers. But this conference is very rich with diverse people and topics including culture and language."

Robertson serves as faculty director for the American Indian Law and Policy Center at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

More than 600 people are expected to attend. Sponsored by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the event provides a forum where ideas concerning common legal issues can be exchanged in a scholarly, nonadversarial environment.

For information about the symposium, visit www.thesovereigntysymposium.com.  

Oklahoma group asks Supreme Court to ignore abortion drug case

By Chris Casteel  

The Oklahoman

WASHINGTON - The Oklahoma Supreme Court properly struck down a state law banning "off-label" uses of abortion-inducing drugs, and review by the U.S. Supreme Court is unwarranted, a reproductive rights group in Oklahoma argued in a brief filed Tuesday.

The law passed by the Oklahoma Legislature in 2011 "imposes substantial obstacles to women seeking abortions" and amounts to a total ban on medication abortion, violating women's constitutional right to abortion early in pregnancy, the brief by the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice states.

Moreover, the group argues that there are no conflicts among lower courts that require resolution by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state of Oklahoma is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case and reverse the state court's decision.  Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt told the high court earlier that the state law properly regulates the use of drugs used to induce abortion.

The Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice initially waived its right to respond to Oklahoma's petition for Supreme Court review.  However, the court asked the group for its views.

Supreme Court justices are expected to decide in June whether to accept the Oklahoma case for review.

Governor vetoes bill on federal budget cuts

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Mary Fallin has vetoed two bills approved by the Oklahoma Legislature, including one that would have required state agencies to prepare for a 25-percent cut in federal funding.

Fallin says in a veto message released Friday that the state's budget process already allows for ample review of federal programs and funding. Fallin says the bill by House Speaker T.W. Shannon would duplicate the state's existing budget process and be burdensome to state agencies.

Fallin also vetoed a bill that would have allowed the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission to assess administrative fines of between $50 and $500 for littering and other violations of the Scenic Rivers Act. The veto message says the bill creates more bureaucratic red tape.

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

                  Steve Lewis

 
This Week's Meetings


 

2012 DEADLINES
 

This Week's News
Legislative Session Over
Fallin Vetoes 2 Bills
O'Connor to Speak at Symposium
Group Asks Supreme Court to Ignore Abortion Drug Case
Governor Vetoes Bill on Federal Budget Cuts