Open Door Policy 2/22/2010
Rep. Joe Dorman (D)
OPEN DOOR POLICY
By Joe Dorman
***(Editor’s Note: Joe Dorman is the Oklahoma House District 65 Representative and ‘The Lawton Town Crier’ appreciates Mr. Dorman’s many contributions to our site, most notably his “Open Door Policy,” and his guest appearances on the “Lawton Town Crier” podcast. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lawton Town Crier, or other contributors.)***
It has been a busy two weeks at the Capitol as legislation has been progressing through the committee process. I have had the chance to present several of my bills and received favorable action on those, but I still have a few more which could possibly make it through the process. I have one bill currently out of committee which deals with TIF reporting and I’m currently working to get more of my bills set for hearings.
Of the bills currently on committee agendas, I will present my legislation to place doctors who volunteer for school athletic functions under the Good Samaritan Act, a bill restructuring the volunteer firefighters tax credit so as to enhance training opportunities and a bill dealing with funeral accounts in the Appropriations Committee this week. I also have legislation to create an income tax check-off for disaster reimbursement in Rules Committee and another bill to set requirements for assisted living facilities to have generators in case of power outages in the Public Health Committee. Thanks to Chairmen Ken Miller, John Trebilcock and Gus Blackwell for hearing these bills!
I had another issue get combined with a bill by Rep. Paul Roan to create a designated memorial highway for the US Army’s 95th Division in Comanche County at the junction of I-44 and Highway 7 to mile marker 46. That should be on the floor of the House this week. If any bills are not passed out of committee this week, or by the entire House next week, they will not be considered this year.
We saw one bill die on the floor Monday. This legislation would have mandated a minimum of one hour of marriage counseling for those couples filing for a divorce. I, along with many, felt this was too much government intrusion in a very personal area. I fully support and encourage voluntary marriage counseling, but as one person put it, this is trying to save the milk with an expiration date coming up. We should encourage , even incentivize preventing divorce before there are problems, but not have government mandate a solution.
There have been several groups visit the Capitol over the past few weeks. On Monday, we saw delegates from the Oklahoma Conservation Districts and the adult leadership class for Canadian Valley Technology Center. TRIO also had several students tour the Capitol last week, along with students representing Cameron and USAO for Higher Education Day. We also had the chance to visit with delegates for the American Farmers & Ranchers and the Farm Bureau conventions.
The Canadian Valley Technology Center adult leadership class, along with faculty, staff and Rep. Joe Dorman
On a final note, we saw two fantastic events with great turnout this past weekend. The Emergency Management conference hosted by myself and Rep. Gus Blackwell was well-attended and provided much useful information. There was attendance from all corners of the state and I was pleased to have Mayor Jack Johnson of Cyril in attendance. We also had the Mo Betta Celebrity Quail Hunt in Apache and it was a huge success. I was pleased to visit with Jon Michael McGrath II, one of our upcoming Summer Olympians in Shooting Sports who is a Tulsan and want to wish him the best in representing the USA!
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559 , Rush Springs , OK 73082 and my website is www.joedorman.com on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Mayor and Ward 2, Lame Ducks Until March
Michael Tenis, Ward 2 Council Elect
Mayor and Ward 2, Lame Ducks Until March
by Garrett Jackson
As of right now, the Mayor, and Ward 2 Councilman, Jim Hanna, are lame ducks in our city council.
Mayor elect Fred Fitch, Councilman elect Michael Tenis, and Bill Shoemate will be sworn in to office in March. Both Fitch, and Tenis drew opponents this past fall and Ward 1 Councilman Shoemate did not.
The City Council will face a number of issues this next year with the upcoming budget session, and may have to look at cutting services in order to keep the budget at its present level. Other areas that will be on the councils radar include, repairs to the Water treatment plant in Medicine park, and the acquisition of the remainder of the water rights to Waurika Lake in Jefferson County.
Robert Gibbs is no Tony Snow
Garrett Jackson (L)
One thing that I have noticed that is different from the old administration, or any administration for that matter is that lack of class. Robert Gibbs, I cannot believe has so little class as to mock someone about having notes at a speech.
I am sure his thought was it would be funny to mock a person for using notes, but it is just sad. Making a comment about how the President ALWAYS uses a teleprompter when he talks, is a fair question. Mocking someone who uses notes is not. Perhaps, the Obama administration does not want someone to criticize them who might be more competent than they are. Especially on topics of concern to the American People.
I really do not blame Robert Gibbs. Why you might ask? As we all know, he speaks directly for the President himself. This has been the case regardless of who is in the white house. So his comments must come directly from Mr. Obama himself. Even if he did not actually say them, then Obama at least approves of them. Mr. Gibbs has shown what he actually is, a pawn in a large game of chess.
Maybe we should HOPE for a little less CHANGE, and pray for a little bit more class.
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