| Speaker Charles McCall made some key appointments known this week. Among them are two significant chairmanships of House committees. Sean Roberts will chair the Public Health Committee, and Tom Gann will chair the Administrative Rules Committee. These two conservative leaders were esteemed among the House Platform Caucus, of the last two years. But The Journal Record tells a narrative of the big picture within the 76-member Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives. Journalist Catherine Sweeney of the Journal Record reports that caucus members are now specifically banned from actively seeking the ouster of their caucus colleagues. Speaker McCall intends to enforce this rule, but details are sketchy about how that discipline would manifest. |  The Republican Caucus of the Oklahoma House of Representatives held what looks like a 'Group Hug'. But we'll see how it manifests, in just a few weeks. |
Last spring some House members organized the effort to defeat Republicans in the Platform Caucus. Rep. Leslie Osborn even went so far as to call for this campaign effort on the house floor, during her debate for the 'Step Up' tax tackage (which failed in February). McCall never did discipline her for that violation of decorum in the chamber. Grassroots conservative groups retaliated by calling for the defeat of those Republican legislators who habitually grow the size & cost of government. McCall looked the other way and the behavior incrementally ratcheted up. By the time the August runoff results were known, the hostility was very uncivil.
Sean Roberts; a quiet and calm personality by nature, will lead the effort to find resolution to the Medical Marijuana laws which the people passed last June. Sensible regulations will be needed before the summer is over, because the emergency rulemaking authority of the Dept. of Health will expire by then. Roberts is convinced that there is a medical basis for Cannabis treatment when responsibly applied. Yet Roberts will look for safeguards to prevent children from exploitation, and seek to insure public safety.
Tom Gann is an accomplished accountant and has a keen eye for efficiency. His corporate money management skills will be called upon when the Agency Performance Audit Commission(APAC) releases audits on 6 state agencies in the next couple weeks. The audits go beyond a simple fiscal accounting. They assess the operational structures and objective mandates of the agencies. The APAC laws require the agencies to implement the resulting recommendations of APAC. It will fall upon Gann's Administrative Rules Committee to stipulate these matters in specific legislation.
Tom Gann is an accomplished accountant and has a keen eye for efficiency. His corporate money management skills will be called upon when the Agency Performance Audit Commission(APAC) releases audits on 6 state agencies in the next couple weeks. The audits go beyond a simple fiscal accounting. They assess the operational structures and objective mandates of the agencies. The APAC laws require the agencies to implement the resulting recommendations of APAC. It will fall upon Gann's Administrative Rules Committee to stipulate these matters in specific legislation.
