Ed's Notes

            Last week ended with the annual visit from the State High School FFA Choir.  As two of the pages and I were entering the first floor of the Capitol, the choir was in the rotunda encircled around the opening and singing.  We could hear what sounded like angelic voices coming from above when one of the pages made a very profound statement concerning the singing of the Choir, “That must be what it sounds like in heaven.”   Every legislator looks forward to the choir’s visit and only a few have dry eyes after their performance. 

             Some very emotional and blessed news comes with the knowledge that the Governor has signed the bill which names the portion of Highway  71 from the intersection of State Highways  71 and 9 extending approximately nine miles to the intersection of highway 31 as Spc Joshua Dean Sheppard Young Memorial Highway.   This dedication is the result of his combat death in Iraq in 2006.

                       I co-authored HB 2236 which took 2 hours of heated debate between those who want to discontinue the state funding portion of OETA and those of us who know the need to keep this very important state-wide quality TV services.  There are numerous people who depend on this media to receive an objective view of state news as well as more traditional and historical entertainment programs like Lawrence Welk, Masterpiece Theatre, Ag Reports, and others.  It passed on a vote of 53 yes to 28 no.  This bill extended the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority to 2014.  If this had failed, OETA would have not only lost the state’s $3 million contribution to its programming but also its legislative oversight.  I am bewildered that there is such opposition to this service that so many of our citizens, especially senior citizens, are dependent on.

             I ended the week by attending the Teacher/Leader Effectiveness Commission.  This was created by SB 2033 which required that a “state wide teacher/leader evaluation system” be selected by December 15, 2011.   We selected, by a large majority, to use the Tulsa Public School Qualitative Evaluation System as the state-wide system or default to be used by schools to evaluate their teachers.  However, State Superintendent Barresi made it public that they did not have to follow that law, SB 2033, but could choose one of three different systems.  This information provides the backdrop for our May 3^rd meeting.  As this law also required, we had to select a Leader Evaluation and we did by choosing the McRel system to be used by all state schools to evaluate their principals.   Well, here we go again!!   Superintendent Barresi had as our agenda the presentation of the Marzano Leader Evaluation even though the Commission had previously rejected it.  As I indicated in my previous Journal, Ms. Barresi seems to conclude that she is above the law and disregards specific statutory rules based on her own preferences.  This may be the reason for the rejection of her rules on the A-F formula for evaluation of school districts and sites.   This was the second consecutive Commission meeting where there was not a quorum—perhaps the reason for this is that the State Superintendent ignores the decisions made by the Commission so why should we attend? 

             As we prepare to address our state budget, I have been reminded by our County Commissioners of the impending crises in our senior citizen nutrition centers’ budget.  With the rising cost of food products, fuel, utilities, and the increase in minimum wage, the centers have had to let some of their staff go.  This decreases their ability to provide the nutritional supplement that our elderly citizens so desperately need.   Part of this is an 85/15 federal/state match so that if we do not come up with the 15% we lose the 85%.  That does not make sense to me!  It reminds me of what one senior citizen told me that if she was not at the center for lunch she would be at home in her night gown.  We need to keep focused on these folks on both their nutritional and quality of life needs.    

             It was good news to find that the federal mediator overseeing the lawsuit between the state and the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations has appointed a 19 member task force to discuss and consider possible solutions to the problem.  This will include Governor Fallin, Choctaw Chief Greg Pyle and Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby and their assistants.  Of District 15 interest, I am excited to tell you that Pennie Embry, executive director of Oklahomans for Responsible Water Policy, has been selected to serve on this Task Force.  She is a former editor/writer for the “Stigler News Sentinel”.   She is very knowledgeable on water issues and has been very helpful to me in my addressing this very important issue for the citizens of District 15.             .         

 If you would like to have my weekly Notes sent to by email each week, please contact me at the address below.  If you wish to contact me please utilize any of the following: PO Box 98, Porum, OK  74455, by email at ed.cannaday@okhouse.gov , home phone: 918 484 5701, cell: 918 448 5702 or  Legislative Assistant, Gene Fowler, at 1 800 522 8502 or 405 557 7375 and fax 405 962 7685 at the Capitol. Web Site http://www.edcannaday.com  Ed Cannaday

            The State House had the pleasure of having the assistance of Madison Cotherman as Page.  She is a senior at Gore High School.   Madison had a major leadership role in the mock legislative session serving as the Speaker of the House.  They debated bills on bullying in schools and drug testing those families on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.  We appreciate the service that Pages provide the legislature. 

            Volunteering is often one of the critical attributes of a true community that is willing to serve those less fortunate.  Stigler’s Jean Peck was selected to receive the Oklahoma Department of Human Services highest award for volunteer service.  Ms Peck volunteers with the Tamaha Senior Citizens and Haskell County Historical Society and Stigler VFW. 

            We ended last week with SB 1264 which deserved my co-authoring it because it was a total declaration of honesty and transparency in government.  This bill creating the “Oklahoma Debt Reduction Fund” makes public what I have been arguing for six years as your Representative that we are not a debt free state.  Our debt ranges between $1.5 to $2 billion which demands annual revenue of between $150 to $200 million each year.  This would require the Office of State Finance to transfer 30% of surplus funds to the Oklahoma Debt Reduction Fund.  We are constantly hearing those crying out that we need our federal government to have an amendment to our US Constitution which would require a balanced budget.  I guess since our state is so far in debt it is somewhat hypocritical for us to criticize our national government for doing the same thing as Oklahoma. 

            I was honored to represent you last week by appearing on OETA’s “The Peoples Business” with Senator Ford, R-Bartlesville.  Our topic was public education.  Several of the questions called in expressed concern with the proposed tax cuts that cuts more funding for our schools.  We also discussed the problems caused by the Department of Education when they fail to comply with laws thus causing confusion on the part of our school leaders.   A case in point is the passage of HB 2970 which states the State Board of Education shall adopt rules establishing an appeal process” for those seniors who fail to qualify under state mandates.  However, Supt. Barresi put out a press release the day the Governor signed this bill stating “the bill formalizes the process the SDE already has in place for high school seniors who do not meet the current graduation requirement…..”  This was made before the State Board met to consider the required  “appeal process.”  Prior to this the Supt. stated in an email that the SDE would use its template to consider these students.   Both of her statements indicate that this law that was passed by the House and Senate and signed by the Governor is irrelevant to Ms. Barresi. She stated that the Governor’s signing of this bill was merely validating what the State Department of Education already has in place.  Really??  The bill states that the State Board of Education shall create a process of appeal for those high school seniors who have failed to meet the graduation requirements.  How can she or the Board ignore this law with impunity?  Is she above the law?   This same disrespect for the laws passed includes SB 1797, SB 2033, and SB 222.  I challenge you to read them and see if you do not agree that our State Superintendent has demonstrated a total disregard for our laws.

            It was very impressive to have two or our local public school leaders testify before the House Rules Committee, Mr. Scott Farmer-Sallisaw and Mr. Dart Drummond-McCurtain.   Their expressed views and others helped the passage of House Joint Resolution  1125 which rejected the State Department of Education’s proposed Permanent Rule on the A-F School District/Site Grading System.   This rejection passed on a bi-partisan basis of  9 yes to 1 no.  It is seldom that we find this level of unity in rejecting a SDE Rule.  It indicates that the legislature, both Republican and Democrat, recognize that the intent of the original bill, HB 1456 was to simplify the way we identify the success or failure of our local school districts and or sites. It is very obvious to the members that the SDE failed to achieve this goal.   This will now move to the House Floor and it is my hope that you will contact Representatives to insure that this Resolution will be heard.  The very after noon that this occurred the Governor put out  a press release stating that she “approved the submitted rules by the SDE….”   She actually has no authority to approve or disapprove of these rules until the House has heard them.   Apparently this was a press release to tell people that she joins Superintendent Barresi in attempting to usurp the House’s legislative authority.         

If you would like to have my weekly Notes sent to by email each week, please contact me at the address below.  If you wish to contact me please utilize any of the following: PO Box 98, Porum, OK  74455, by email at ed.cannaday@okhouse.gov , home phone: 918 484 5701, cell: 918 448 5702 or  legislative Assistant, Gene Fowler, at 1 800 522 8502 or 405 557 7375 and fax 405 962 7685 at the Capitol. Web Site http://www.edcannaday.com  Ed Cannaday

            During week twelve I would proclaim that the citizens of District 15 were represented on a level never before achieved.  This had nothing to do with my work in the House, but that the House was served by three pages from the District during the same week.  It was such a special week to have Lori Allen--Stigler, Kameko Asamen--Gore, and Brooke Meek – Eufaula all seniors from their respective high schools. The district had another honor – Autumn Kinsey from Panama won 3rd place in the OERB Poster Contest.  One more plus for the district -- Dr. Chris Carey, a former Stigler student now practicing general surgery in OKC visited the capitol.

            Last week an interesting observation was made by Jenk’s Middle School Principal Rob Miller that the State Department of Education (SDE) has been ignoring a three year old state law, SB 222, signed by Gov. Henry in 2009.  It mandated the creation of the Educational Quality and Accountability Board that was to provide independent oversight of state mandated testing.  This can be found as statute in Title 70-3-165 which states “the Board shall hold meetings at least on a quarterly basis.”  That would be twelve mandated meetings that have been ignored.  While the SDE under both Superintendents Garrett’s and Barresi’s administration, the law was never implemented.  This is especially curious in that the Legislature, Governor, and SDE have implanted high stakes testing that has the potential of preventing numerous high school seniors from graduating this year.  The ACE End of Instruction Exams may very well be unenforceable on the basis of serious litigation since contracts have been entered in with test companies or vendors without this Board’s approval or oversight.   The law states specifically the board,  “…review processes for selection and approval of contracts and bid specifications for contracts by the SDE with vendors for administration of testing and approval  of test specifications….”  In addition the Board is to “serve as an independent auditing entity for the purpose of evaluating the systems and processes by which the Oklahoma Testing  Program Act is implemented, ascertaining the validity and reliability of information or deficiencies thereof….”   Those two items are fundamental to accurate assessment of student achievement.  Why has our State Department of Education been consistently violating this law? I wonder what would happen if your school district’s administrators failed to have monthly school board meetings?  I wonder what the Attorney General would say about that violation. Stay tuned—this may prove very interesting. 

            As an Oklahoma legislator I frequently hear my colleagues call for a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution.  However this week these same members voted 58 to 31 for SB 1535 which will place the state further in debt by committing to create a source for  a $2.4 million bond to be dedicated to the remodeling of the Capitol.  It is strange that those years when we had surplus revenue none of this was spent for that purpose.  Instead of standing up for their beliefs in a balanced budget, they voted to take the state further in debt by proposing another bond expanding the total for the state’s debt $1.5 billion with an annual mandated payment of $180 million annually. 

            Since the Oklahoma Senate, House, Governor’s Office and all executive offices are controlled by the Republican Party we have not dealt with the question of veto over-ride by the legislature.  Well that has changed.  The House by a vote of  91 to 0  and the Senate 40  to 1  passed HB 2296.  But this very popular bill was vetoed by the Governor this week.  The bill limits liability for owners of manufactured mobile home or recreational vehicle parks who provide access to the park office as a shelter during times of severe weather.  If these owners acted in good faith and the damage or injury was not caused by willful or wanton negligence or by misconduct they could not be held liable for any civil damages.  Well, to my amazement, as the House considered an over-ride vote of the veto, 50 Republicans changed their vote, therefore allowing the bill to die.  Governor Fallin stated that she vetoed the bill because it only applied to a narrow group of people. Why did they change their vote when this would place many of our citizens in harm’s way as was seen in the 6 deaths in the recent Woodward tornado that struck a mobile home park?  These same 50 Republicans would claim to be committed “pro-life” voters!! They like to talk the talk but can’t walk the walk!         

If you would like to have my weekly Notes sent to by email each week, please contact me at the address below.  If you wish to contact me please utilize any of the following: PO Box 98, Porum, OK  74455, by email at ed.cannaday@okhouse.gov , home phone: 918 484 5701, cell: 918 448 5702 or  legislative Assistant, Gene Fowler, at 1 800 522 8502 or 405 557 7375 and fax 405 962 7685 at the Capitol. Web Site http://www.edcannaday.com  Ed Cannaday

            Mia  Mayo from Stigler Grade School is this year’s State Second Place winner in the Trash Poster Contest.  Her poster was focused on “Springtime Clean-up” with the theme of “Jump in to Cleanin’ up  Oklahoma.”  It was great to recognize and honor her on the floor of the House.

            The House Democratic Caucus held a press conference this week to warn that the proposed state income tax cuts will come at the expense of our senior citizens by cuts in Department of Human Services funding for our Senior Citizen Nutrition Centers.  One of the speakers was Rebekah Williams, Outreach Representative for the Southern Oklahoma Nutrition Program.  As a single parent she also had the responsibility of caring for her aging father, a recipient of a senior nutrition program.  She stated that although her father has passed away, she sees him every day in the eyes of those she serves at the centers.  She went on to make a very profound statement that we should all reflect on as we approach the issue of budget cuts in this area.  She stated, “I believe the voices that demand validation of life at conception should have the same moral, concise compassion and personal conviction to follow that validation through to age 60, 80 or even 100 years of age, without hesitation or partisanship.”

            Continuing with the issue of the proposed state income tax cuts and ultimately eliminating them by Gov. Fallin and other Republican leaders, I appreciated Rep. John Bennett hosting a town hall meeting last week at the Sallisaw Indian Capital Technology Center Campus.   The program speaker was Dave Bond on behalf of the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs which is an organization that is promoting this tax reform plan.  It was well attended but the speaker seemed to be thrown off message when the majority of the audience reacted politely, but negatively to his views of doing away with the state income tax.  The audience was very diverse ranging from retired citizens, city, county, and state employees, members of the Chamber of Commerce, and others like myself who wanted to hear first hand what the spin on this proposal would be out in our rural communities rather than the metro areas.  There was one young lady that will graduate from college this year with a major in education who stated that if this were to become a reality she would have to consider moving to another state due to the anticipated cuts in funding for education and other core state services.  The wife of a retired military veteran stated that they had moved to Oklahoma due to the state’s having veteran friendly programs that could be done away with if this were to become a reality.  Mr. Bond stated that the plan was to cause business growth incentives for businesses to move into the state and expand employment.   I asked him how would a business be encouraged to move to this state due to their future employees not being required to pay income taxes.  While he attempted to explain this, others in the audience brought up the issue of potential increases in property and sales taxes to pay for core services that would cause businesses to think twice about moving to Oklahoma.  A recent article in the Journal Record by Sean Murphy titled “Okla. Tax cut proposals remain on life support” captures the problem this idea has run into as the legislature wrestles with the reality of the Republican leadership’s agenda which sounds better than its reality.  Perhaps several of our rural legislators should follow Rep. Bennett’s example and host rural town hall meetings on this issue before the issue is decided at the state level.  

            OETA hosted The People’s Business featuring  Rep. Mike Brown, D-Tahlequah debating against Senator Stanislawski, R-Tulsa concerning the proposed tax cuts and eventual elimination.   There were three noticeable features about the program.  First, all of the calls were hostile to the idea of eliminating the state income tax.  That was very similar to the previous event at Sallisaw.  Secondly,  I was shocked and amazed at the Republican Senator who, when asked the question about the loss of the 5% of all state income tax revenue going into the Teacher Retirement System, did not  know this even though  he had heard this debate on the Senate floor that day.  I assume he was either absent or had his mind turned off.  Thirdly, Rep. Brown captured the essence of the debate when he concluded with the following statement.  Drawing from ancient history he noted that people for years observed ships leaving an ocean port and never returning.  “Just because ships sail out of sight and some never returned, many people held the belief that one should stay close to the shore line because their voodoo science said if they sailed out too far you would fall off the edge of the ocean because the world was flat.  The sad part of this is that our Governor and her advisors have purchased tickets to be on board one of those ships.”          

If you would like to have my weekly Notes sent to by email each week, please contact me at the address below.  If you wish to contact me please utilize any of the following: PO Box 98, Porum, OK  74455, by email at ed.cannaday@okhouse.gov , home phone: 918 484 5701, cell: 918 448 5702 or legislative Assistant, Gene Fowler, at 1 800 522 8502 or 405 557 7375 and fax 405 962 7685 at the Capitol. Web Site http://www.edcannaday.com  Ed Cannaday

            There are times when we in the Legislature come together without any political agenda or posturing.  This week was such a time when the House and Senate joined together to celebrate the accomplishments and welcome home of our 45^th Infantry Division of the Oklahoma National Guard.  As a veteran of the 25^th Infantry Division, I have a special appreciation for the members of this unit and the role they have played in the post 9/11 terrorist era in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We joined together to memorialize the fourteen  45^th Soldiers who gave their lives in this effort to protect this nation and its citizens.  It was pointed out that our state’s National Guard is truly the 1% which symbolizes the greatness of our citizen soldiers of our great state.      

            This week was made special by having dinner with Cookson Hills Electric Coop’s Board and General Manager Kendall Beck to be brought up to date on issues that impact this very critical service to our area. It was good to visit with the recently appointed Board member Ronnie Pevehouse.  As a rural resident I have come to have a special appreciation for being provided electric services that are provided above our expectations.  During ice storms and spring storms when lightening strikes we have come to anticipate uninterrupted electric service due to their staff’s dedication to service. 

            Our final bill in Common Education this years was SB 1443 and it passed by a unanimous vote.  It extended for two more years until June 30, 2014 the time period for which the State Board of Education will not withdraw accreditation for school districts not meeting requirements for media materials and equipment.  School districts also will not be assessed a financial penalty for receiving a deficiency during   their accreditation for this area within the designated time period.  While this sounds good, it should be looked at with caution in that some will say that schools can get by without funding for these items and will begin to approach school funding without it being considered critical.  I realize we are in a period of transition to greater dependency on technology but we must remain focused on students’ needs to have traditional materials available to them as well as the new technology. 

            On the issue of education, I am pleased to inform you that SB 1530 which came to be called the “deregulation of common education bill” failed in Education A and B Committee and will not be heard by the full House.  It claimed to allow all public schools to become charter schools and was being promoted by Supt. Barresi.  This bill would have allowed the public schools to be dismantled and teachers and staff members to be “at will employees.”  It is a sad day when we celebrate the defeat of a bill but that is where we are in public education in the Oklahoma State Legislature. 

            We are constantly hearing on the national media about health care reform and the need to find a way to reduce the skyrocketing cost of health care while making sure that we are providing needed care for our citizens.  It is in that context that I voted for and co-authored SB 1390 in the Public Health Committee.  It instructs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to evaluate various methods of reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and ambulance usage for non-emergency transportation and develop a written plan to encourage the timely and appropriate use of primary care services in lieu of emergency room utilization among the Medicaid population.  This plan must be submitted on or before December 31, 2012.  While this is not a giant step in addressing the health care problem, it is a step in the right direction. 

            Now that the “Comprehensive” Water Study is complete, the question that must be answered is what will be the focus of the revenue dedicated annually to the Oklahoma Water Resource Board (OWRB).  In addressing this, I co-authored SB 1040 which created the Community Water Infrastructure Development and Planning Revolving Fund.  This will require that the OWRB to budget and expend 50 percent of its annual funds received from state revenue and fees and licensures for allocated water throughout the state.  In District 15 we often have needs to expand our rural water infrastructure needs.  Hopefully this will be allowed to be combined with our local water associations to address the extreme seasonal needs on the Lower Illinois River. 

If you would like to have my weekly Notes sent to by email each week, please contact me at the address below.  If you wish to contact me please utilize any of the following: PO Box 98, Porum, OK  74455, by email at ed.cannaday@okhouse.gov , home phone: 918 484 5701, cell: 918 448 5702 or  legislative Assistant, Gene Fowler, at 1 800 522 8502 or 405 557 7375 and fax 405 962 7685 at the Capitol. Web Site http://www.edcannaday.com  Ed Cannaday