Senate Dems Reject Term Limits Compromise, So Vote to Occur on Current Bill

State Senate Democrat leaders have refused a request to help bring compromise language for a referendum on term limits for statewide officials to a vote in the State Senate. So, the Senate will have to vote on the existing proposal, the bill’s authors said Monday.

“Senate Democrat leaders have refused to help us bring the bill out of a conference committee with the changes that were suggested by the Attorney General. So instead of sending this bill to conference, we plan to push ahead for a Senate vote on the bill as it is written. We’re not going to allow the Senate Democrat leadership to quietly kill this issue in a conference committee. There will be a vote,” stated Brogdon, R-Owasso.

“The intent of the current language is that the term limits apply prospectively, not retroactively. We have made a good faith effort to help reassure the attorney general and others that the term limits won’t be retroactive by agreeing to incorporate General Edmondson’s legislative language in our proposal. So it is very disappointing that Senate Democrat leaders aren’t interested in working with us to make that happen,” Brogdon said.

"All along we have said the intent of this bill is not for it to apply to any seated statewide office holder retroactively, and that is still the case," said Worthen, R-Oklahoma City. "We made a good faith effort to work with the attorney general to allay his concerns with the bill, but the Senate Democrats have made it clear they are not willing to continue to work on the language in conference. The people of Oklahoma deserve to have a voice on this issue, so we will move forward with a vote on the bill in its current form."

Brogdon said he is hopeful a majority of senators will support the SB 1987. Seven Democrat senators voted for the term limits bill in March.

“Term limits are good public policy, so I remain hopeful a majority of senators will agree to send this to a vote of the people. It’s hard to envision seven senators flip-flopping just to help the Democrat leadership kill term limits on a partisan, party-line vote,” Brogdon said.

Sen. Owen Laughlin, R-Woodward, was the Senate author of SB 1987, but has transferred the bill to Brogdon. It was Brogdon who authored an amendment to the bill on the Senate floor in March to include the term limits referendum. Worthen is the House author of SB 1987.

If approved by the Senate, the people would vote this November whether to apply a 12-year term limit on statewide offices such as lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor, and corporation commissioners.

Pitts: People should decide two key constitutional issues

OPINION

Pitts: People should decide two key constitutional issues

by William O. Pitts
The Journal Record
April 28, 2008

Two proposed amendments to the Oklahoma Constitution should be sent to a vote of the people at the November general election. They are SB 163, making English the official state language for the conduct of its business, and SB 1987, setting term limits for statewide elected officials. Both measures passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives last week and were returned to the state Senate for final consideration.

Party-line voting on both measures was clearly evident in the House. The vote for SB 163 (70-28) was more bipartisan. All the nay votes came from House Democrats but 14 of them voted for the measure.

By a vote of 56 to 44 the House passed a committee substitute for SB 1987 by state Sen. Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso and state Rep. Trebor Worthen, R-OKC and returned it to the state Senate, where it is expected to be brought up this week for consideration of the House amendments and final passage.

Both authors insist it is not aimed at Democrats or Republicans, but House Republicans voted 55 to one Democrat – state Rep. R.C. Pruett, Antlers – for the bill. House Democrats voted 42 to two Republicans, Reps. Shane Jett, Tecumseh, and Scott Martin, Norman, against the bill.

If approved by a vote of the people the constitutional amendment limits to three four-year terms or 12 years for the offices for the lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state insurance commissioner, state auditor and inspector, and state superintendent of public instruction. The limit set for the three members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission would be two six-year terms.

All but two of those offices currently are held by Democrats. Republicans Bob Anthony and Jeff Cloud are members of the Corporation Commission. Jim Roth, appointed by Gov. Brad Henry, is the Democrat member of the commission. He is up for election this year.
Anthony is in his fourth six-year term as a commissioner, which ends in 2012.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson is serving his third four-year term, which ends in 2010. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett is working on her fifth term in office. It expires 2010. The rest of the office holders are in their first elected term of office.

In the Senate on the first go-around seven Democrats joined all 24 Republicans in support of SB 1987. Whether that Democrat support will hold when the bill comes back for final consideration is another question. Edmondson has come out in opposition to sending the measure to a vote of the people.

To be successful, Republicans will have to hold the vote of their 24 members in the evenly divided Senate and keep at least one of the seven Democrats who voted for it the first time.

A strong argument can be made for the Legislature to submit both questions to a vote of the people that is not always applicable to other issues. First the Legislature has no power to amend the state constitution. That is reserved to the people.

More importantly, both of these issues are of wide concern among the electorate with seemingly overwhelming support. A July, 2007 Pulse Opinion Research survey of 1,000 likely voters found 77 percent of them would vote for a measure setting term limits for elected state officials. Last December a poll by the Tulsa World and KOTV showed 73 percent in favor.

On the other issue similar polls indicate 88 percent of Oklahomans favor making English the official language for state business. It broke down to 93 percent Republicans and 84 percent Democrats. Given such numbers, it is difficult to see how the Senate can deny voters the right to decide such important issues.

With so much effort being put forth by various groups to hamper the circulation of initiative petitions to get such questions on the ballot, it seems incumbent that the Legislature should give the people the chance they obviously want to decide these two.

William O. Pitts may be reached by phone at (405) 278-2880 or by e-mailingbill.pitts@journalrecord.com

Senate Demo Kill Term Limits For Statewide Officials

Senate Democrats Kill
Term Limits For Statewide Officials

Democrats on the Senate Rules Committee killed legislation Wednesday that would have sent term limits for statewide officials to a vote of the people.

SJR 33 by Senator Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, would have put a 12 year term limit on Oklahoma's statewide elected officials except the governor if approved by voters.

Governors are already limited to 2 terms (8 years) of service, and state legislators are already limited to 12 years of service.

"Senate Democrats killed the chance for the people to vote to apply the same term limits on statewide officials that currently exist for state legislators," Brogdon said.

"Term limits have brought fresh ideas to the state legislature, and I believe term limits would have a similarly positive effect on statewide offices," he stated. "The Democrats' blatantly partisan attempt to protect career politicians is very disappointing."

New Assault Launched On Legislative Term Limits

New Assault Launched
On Legislative Term Limits
By State Rep. Jason Murphey (R-HD 31)

During a recent update, I wrote about past abuses of
Oklahoma's old guard politicians. I explained how
some had earmarked money for their own pet
projects, and how this type of heavy-handed control
allowed individual legislators and their associates to
benefit directly from taxpayer dollars.

While this form of abuse is still present in the
legislature, I am confident in predicting that
the window on legislative earmarks is shrinking.
Those of us who are fighting to put an end to
earmarks face the likelihood of success, due in
part to the fact that there are many new legislators
who have taken office in the past few years. Many
of these individuals have not been corrupted by
the political process.

Unlike some of their predecessors, they are not career
politicians. Oklahoma's term limit law allows all
representatives and senators to serve only twelve
years in the legislature. After that, they are under a
lifetime ban from holding office in the legislature
again. I believe this new generation of representatives
and senators are fulfilling one of the important visions
of our nation's founding fathers - the vision in which
an average citizen dedicates a few years of life to
representing the people as a citizen-statesman. At the
end of the term of office, the legislator returns to the
normal world to live under the very laws he or she
helped to create. This helps ensure legislators will be
more representative of the people instead of becoming
a class of political elite.

As a result of the term limits
law, the legislature is very
different from just a few
years ago. Gone are many of
the old guard power bosses
who tightly maintained the
status-quo. These politicians
could have stayed in office
almost indefinitely and they
held powerful committee chairmanships where they would bottle up reform-minded legislation.

They have been replaced by a group of energetic
professionals, many of whom wish to enact
pro-growth policies (such as cutting taxes) to change
Oklahoma for the better. And, should some succumb
to the temptation to become part of the status-quo,
they will inevitably be replaced by term limits.

However, State Senator Mary Easily recently
announced that she will file a resolution as part of an
effort to repeal term limits. If the Senator is
successful, starting in 2010, members of the
legislature would no longer be limited on how long
they could serve.

In response, Senator Owen Lauglin released the
following statement. "Thanks to term limits, the
Oklahoma Legislature has attracted new
legislators who have experience in the 'real world.'
There is a different mindset because the newer
legislators have come here to serve for a finite time
and to make a difference. They don't want tomake
a career of being in the legislature."

I agree with Senator Lauglin's point of view. I think
all Oklahomans should take pride in the fact that
Oklahoma was the first state to pass a term limits law.
As your Representative, I will continue to defend this
important reform.

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State Representative Jason W. Murphey
Vice-Chairman Homeland Security Committee
State Capitol Building Room #400B
2300 North Lincoln Blvd
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
1(405) 557-7350 (Phone)
1(800) 522-8502 X 350
1(405) 962-7660 (Fax)
www.HouseDistrict31.com
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