Friday, June 19, 2009

Open Door Policy - June 2 & 9, 2009


June 9, 2009
It is a sad time around the State Capitol as we lost one of our coworkers this past weekend. Ashley Pena, the legislative assistant to Rep. Don Armes, passed away from injuries sustained from an accident. She was in the hospital for over a week and went through various surgeries, but the accident was too severe. Ashley was a vibrant young woman who greeted everyone with a smile. I had the chance to visit with her many times at work and outside the Capitol and enjoyed being around her. She will be missed by all her family and friends at the State Capitol and please keep her family in your prayers.

It was a busy weekend in District 65 as I saw many friends at local fundraisers and events over the past few days. The Fort Sill Fire Department held a successful fundraiser on Friday, the Chickasha Cheerleaders also were raising money on Saturday and Lavender Valley Acres held their annual festival just outside of Apache. Saturday evening, I spoke to the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) program in Stillwater about networking and I will speak to the new campers this upcoming weekend also.

I scratched my eye and had to spend Saturday afternoon at an eye doctor, but it seems to be getting better. I appreciate my fellow Rotarian, Chad Linville of Chickasha, for driving both of us to Stillwater that night as I was not allowed to drive by my doctor. It was a fantastic group of young people and I would highly recommend it for students to check with their local Rotary clubs about future camps.

This upcoming weekend, I will be speaking to various youth groups other than RYLA. Youth Leadership Oklahoma is at the Capitol and I will discuss the legislative process with them. I will also visit with the Future Business Leaders of America officers about Parliamentary procedure. I truly enjoy the opportunity to visit with these students from around our sate and look forward to them moving into leadership roles for Oklahoma in the very near future.

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 http://us.mc837.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is http://www.joedorman.com/ on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.


June 2, 2009

The session has finally concluded and the legislators are back in their districts waiting to see which bills Governor Henry will sign and which will be vetoed. Oklahoma has a system similar to the federal government, but with some modification. Any bill passed by the legislature prior to the final five days must be acted upon by the governor, or it will automatically become law through pocket passage. Bills passed in the final five days switch to a system of pocket veto, which allows the governor fifteen days to act upon them or they will automatically be vetoed at the end of that period.

Legislators can return in the second session of the legislature and attempt an override of those bills which were vetoed. The same cannot occur during the second session as we will be in the election cycle at that point and a new legislature will be sworn in and bills must be filed in a new term for another attempt.

Another job duty for legislators is to study issues over the summer and fall for ideas which could become potential bills. When these occur by an official request, as approved by the Speaker and a call by a committee chair, the issue will be researched by our staff and presented at a meeting. These requests are called interim studies and each representative is allowed ten requests. The submissions I will make this summer are:

1. Emergency management funding for disasters and how this occurs in other states;
2. Traffic light activation by sensors on side roads off highways to allow for changes and potential federal funding;
3. Prison reintegration systems in other states and how Oklahoma compares;
4. Assessment of youth programs in Oklahoma, duplication of services by state agencies and similarities in other states, along with drop-out prevention policies for local schools;
5. Business incubator systems, effectiveness and similar programs in other states;
6. Efficiency, effectiveness and cost of rural firefighter training;
7. Updates on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts in Oklahoma;
8. Potential program for cost share and maintenance of adjoining fence lines on property in Oklahoma;
9. Provisions for rural water use for emergencies in municipalities; and
10. Review of laws regarding contracting of services by board members and potential bidding procedures.

Should you want to attend any of these studies, if they are approved, please contact my office and I will make sure you know of the date in which they are scheduled. All interim studies which are approved will be listed on the Oklahoma House of Representatives website (http://www.okhouse.gov/) once the Speaker of the House decides which will be selected. The committee chairs over the specific studies will also need to decide if a hearing will be granted, so I will be in contact with them once the Speaker gives approval.

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 http://us.mc837.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is http://www.joedorman.com/ on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.

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