Slam the brakes on this bill

The Norman Transcript Editorial
Slam the brakes on this bill
Published: January 18, 2008

A bill filed by Rep. Scott Inman, D-Del City, would require that previous DUI or DWI convictions be noted on driver's licenses. The press release announcing this measure cited statistics on alcohol-related fatalities and quoted Mr. Inman's denunciation of drunken drivers at length, but failed to explain how adding more information to the driver's license would help.

"This is a measure that I believe will help reduce the number of alcohol-related deaths by providing information to the drinking establishments that this person has a history of drinking and driving," Mr. Inman said in the release. "Hopefully, the establishment will stop serving the customer after a few drinks."

Has Mr. Inman ever been in a bar? They only card you to make sure you're over 21. A regular customer, one who's in the bar often enough to be a familiar face, isn't going to get carded, having already established proof of age. The drinking establishment isn't going to see that information unless our drinker switches his custom to a new bar and is under the age of 35.

And why wait until someone has a DUI or DWI conviction before taking steps to prevent that person from driving drunk? Why foist all the responsibility off on the bars? It's up to all of us, whenever we drink or serve alcohol, to make sure nobody staggers off to their car.

There's a public safety reason behind tagging a sex offender's driver's license so a stranger asking for ID -- say, a convenience store clerk -- can be on guard.

But who, asking for ID, needs to know about an old DUI? A police officer making a traffic stop -- who already has quick access to that information. If you've ever received a traffic ticket, you know the drill. The officer takes your license, calls it in and the dispatcher radios back with your driving record.

No, the point of this bill is the old high school threat, "This is going to go down on your permanent record." It's designed to embarrass the offender every time he writes a check, boards an airplane, buys a pack of cigarettes... And it's designed to make Mr. Inman look good.

So why stop with DUIs? Why not speeders, who also cause fatal accidents, along with folks who run red lights or text message on their cell phones while driving? Put everyone's past sins on there.

We hope our legislators will vote against this turkey if it gets to the floor. We're not asking them to be soft on drunken drivers, we're asking them to be hard on people who want to waste the taxpayers' money on self-serving, grandiose posturing.

A Look Back for Lawmakers... (Part 2)

Published: December 27, 2007 05:02 pm

Legislators weigh in on 2007
By Jaclyn Houghton
CNHI News Service

OKLAHOMA CITY — What challenges did you face as a freshman legislator this year?

“The biggest challenge for me as a freshman is learning the ropes … the little ways you get stuff done.” --- Rep. John Enns, R-Enid

“For any freshman legislator there’s a pretty steep learning curve in learning how many eyes get to see everything … here you are as a freshman trying to convince 100 minds in the House and 48 minds in the Senate that it’s a good idea.” --- Rep. Dennis Johnson, R-Duncan

“The biggest challenge, I would say, is getting a consensus with House members on House Bill 1804 (the immigration bill). What I was disappointed with was the veto of tort reform.” --- Rep. Charlie Joyner, R-Midwest City

“The biggest challenge was knowing what to expect, especially from a time management perspective.” --- Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie

“There’s a huge learning curve. Although I studied political science and went to law school, it’s so much more than drafting a piece of legislation and hoping it gets passed.” --- Rep. Scott Inman, D-Del City

“I think, in particular this year, the biggest challenge is trying to set the groundwork of the next 100 years for our state’s history … sometimes you get caught up in the moment, but really you have to have a long-term view of what you’re doing.” --- Rep. Scott Martin, R-Norman

“My biggest challenge is how much reading is involved. Whenever you have to read 15 to 25 bills a day it becomes a huge challenge to get them read. My other biggest surprise is how many other legislators don’t read them.” --- Rep. Brian Renegar, D-McAlester

“Coming from just a workingman background, just the (understanding the) legalese … they make the very simple complicated as far as legislation.” --- Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee

What challenges do you still face as a senior legislator with one year left to serve?

“(This year) with the tied Senate, I served as (Republican) floor leader. The challenge was trying to build relationships with not only those on our side of the aisle but those on the other side or else legislation wasn’t going to move forward.” --- Sen. Owen Laughlin, R-Woodward

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As a senior legislator with only one year left to serve, what have you noticed over the years?

“As much as things change, a lot stay the same. A lot of those overwriting issues still remain.” --- Sen. Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater


Jaclyn Houghton is CNHI News Service Oklahoma reporter