Internet Request Yields Huge Response for State Lawmaker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Ray Carter, House Media
Capitol: (405) 557-7421
Contact: State Rep. Joe Dorman
Capitol: (405) 557-7305
E-mail: joedorman@okhouse.gov

Internet Request Yields Huge Response for State Lawmaker

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 31, 2007) – To encourage Oklahomans to become more involved in state government, state Rep. Joe Dorman used the World Wide Web to solicit their input this year.
In online postings on Dorman’s personal Web site (www.joedorman.com) and his pages on myspace.com and facebook.com, the Rush Springs Democrat encouraged members of the public to send in their suggestions for legislative studies.
The response was overwhelming.
"I asked people to turn in ideas for issues they thought the Legislature should address during the interim," Dorman said, "and I had a huge response from people all across the state."
After the Oklahoma Legislature adjourns each May, state lawmakers conduct interim studies on issues that could be addressed during the next session, which begins the following February.
Dorman submitted more than 20 study requests this year with the majority coming from the online response of Oklahomans.
The study proposals submitted as a result of Dorman’s online request include a review of animal cruelty laws affecting laboratories, gasoline prices, the legal definition of mental illness, protection of the state’s water supply, driver’s education classes, global warming, state-funded medical research opportunities, the state contracting process, a proposal to install ATMs on toll roads, creation of a NASCAR race track in Oklahoma, encouraging the production of biofuels from switch grass, and more.
"It’s a wide variety of issues," Dorman said. "But all of them are issues that are important to Oklahomans now engaged in our political process and I’m very excited by the response."
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