 | The Oklahoma Ethics Commission was formed to monitor the behavior only of our elected officials and our govt. agencies. But this current Ethics Commission is mulling new rules that would force private citizens to file paperwork or face fines, if they petition their government for redress of grievance (a constitutional right). They held public hearings this past week on a set of rules which will become law, unless specifically voted down by the Ethics Commission board, or the entire legislature. Several citizens signed up to speak at the public comment period. But after the supporters all finished speaking, the commission then put time limits on everyone else. Among the great presentations , OCPA was masterful in their arguments. While Trent England demonstrated that the commission is only mandated by law to enforce ethical standards on elected officials and govt agencies, they are turning their commission against the very people whom they were supposed to be protecting. Rep. Meloyde Blancette was the initiators of this set of rules. She told SoonerPolitics that the 'dark money' in politics is so bad that something must be done. the problem is that her ideas do not in any effective way address the excuse she claims to be driven by. Namely, the 'dark money is almost completely coming from out of state entities which will never have to comply with these rules. But churches likely will be very suppressed, instead. |
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Sooner Politics
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