 |  Former Florida Speaker, Daniel Webster There is a fundamental divide in legislatures. And whoever the leader of a legislative body is, will determine how the budget is developed. Oklahoma has rarely had a conservative budgeting process. It usually has devolved to a 3-month brainwashing of the legislators with a constant drip of doomsday projections. Then, in mid May the meat cleaver comes out and starts hacking away at our private sector, to determine where the blood will be drawn. Only after the clock runs out on raising new revenue, do they create a budget to spend & borrow every dime. Some other legislators have a far more proactive and responsible method whereby the budget begins earlier. Florida, for example, has been run by conservative legislators for about 20 years. They start setting agency budgets shortly after the opening day of session. Former Oklahoma Senator, Don Rubottom helped Florida's first Republican Speaker do this method. Speaker Daniel Webster said he abandoned the old ways of doing things, and instead pushed big bills to the front of the session, and allowed members and committees to pursue what they wanted. |
| Rubottom says that success made Webster a leading candidate in congress to replace John Boehner. Don was my senator in the latter 80s to mid 90s. We still visit and he stays in touch with Oklahoma politics. Don has held many office appointments in Florida government. Two years ago he arranged a short meeting with me and Jeb Bush. Jeb and Don are friends (which made it fun for me to tell Jeb embarrassing stories about Don's Oklahoma past life. One thing is clear, Oklahoma appropriations process is deliberately done in the worst possible way, and every vote in favor of that dysfunctional process just encourages all the more of it. |  Former Oklahoma Senator, Don Rubottom |
