| The Speaker of the House, Charles McCall; and the Senate President Pro temp, Mike Schultz; are currently pondering the next steps needed to take charge of the state government. One thing is clear,.... they can no longer wait and defer to the governor to hand them a road map for a special session. Last Friday the many members of the legislature were ready to go home. They'd spent 8 weeks wrestling with a budget shortfall from a misapplication of a new tax. But an unexpected twist happened when the state dept. of health had an economic collapse from a severe mismanagement which had gone on for years. Even while the State Auditor & State Attorney General are investigating the depth & breadth of the agency's corruption and/or ineptness, The agency board turned to the former OMES director, Preston Doerflinger, to run the day-to-day operations. But the legislature needs to set it's own terms and direction in this new 2nd special session. They MUST NOT be constrained by the governor's dictates. |  House Speaker Charles McCall & Senate Pro temp Mike Schultz. |
A Special Session of the Oklahoma Legislature has special rules and constraints. Late last summer the legislature deferred to the governor to call the special session and set it's perimeters. She used those powers in a heavy-handed way, then failed to keep faith with the legislature.
The legislature tried it her way, first. They kept all bills off the calendar until Fallin's grand scheme collapsed on the House floor. Fallin had threatened an immediate veto of even the slightest legislation which was even posted to a calendar, while she pressed her massive new tax scheme.
Then the Senate pitched a remix of the Fallin plan, but with some oil industry taxes. That plan also died on the House floor.
Then the House, which historically supposed to initiate funding legislation; finally authored a bill they could get passed on the House floor. The measure was on the Governor's desk within a week of it's incarnation on the House JCAB calendar.
Had the house taken their rightful place, the special session could have completed their duty in a week, instead of 8 weeks of govt. waste.
Now the House and Senate need to circulate a petition to their membership, to acquire the needed 2/3 agreement for a call to special session. The wording of the call should address;
The legislature tried it her way, first. They kept all bills off the calendar until Fallin's grand scheme collapsed on the House floor. Fallin had threatened an immediate veto of even the slightest legislation which was even posted to a calendar, while she pressed her massive new tax scheme.
Then the Senate pitched a remix of the Fallin plan, but with some oil industry taxes. That plan also died on the House floor.
Then the House, which historically supposed to initiate funding legislation; finally authored a bill they could get passed on the House floor. The measure was on the Governor's desk within a week of it's incarnation on the House JCAB calendar.
Had the house taken their rightful place, the special session could have completed their duty in a week, instead of 8 weeks of govt. waste.
Now the House and Senate need to circulate a petition to their membership, to acquire the needed 2/3 agreement for a call to special session. The wording of the call should address;
- Appropriations & budgeting for the govt. in fiscal year 2018.
- Executive & Agency oversight & reforms needed to secure a stable operation of essential state govt.
