Ed's Notes

            As we prepare for the second half of the 53^rd Legislative Session to begin, we are operating under a series of deadlines for bills to be submitted and then filed.  In this and the Forty Eighth Entry I will summarize the bills that I will propose in this session with a few editorial comments.  An absolute reminder is that just because I am filing these bills does not guarantee that they will be heard.  However, if they are not heard in committee we can attempt to place them on another bill as an amendment.   In the long-run a Representative has a responsibility to address certain issues that have come up during the interim period between sessions.

            The following bill was a request by a Checotah FFA student, Dalton Cantrell-Shelton, to have a bounty placed on Feral Swine due to their destruction of forage producing areas especially those adjacent to wildlife protected areas such as Corp of Engineers land.   If this is given consideration it would be subject to the approval of the County Commissioners and the bounty would be $10 based on evidence that would be furnished in the form of the lower jaw, including tusks if present and a sworn affidavit that the feral swine was killed in the county of application.  While this will not provide the single solution to the destructive activities of this species, it is one of several approaches to a major concern of many District 15 farmers and ranchers.

            Another bill that I am requesting is one that deals with the waiving of examination requirements for expired drivers license provided the person provides the Department of Public Safety with an expired driver license issued by the state or county for the same type or types of vehicles, provided the expired driver license is not more than tree years past the date of expiration.  There are two issues that resulted in my filing this bill.  One is the new requirements for state issued ID for voting which may impact some of our more senior citizens who do not drive on a regular basis and another is that as the budget has been cut there are limited areas that offer the driver examination which results in a long distance traveled for most of constituents in District 15.  This latter issue is a concern for constituents, especially for those who have moved here from other states.

            I have filed a Highway Naming Bill for the nine (9) miles of Highway 71 between State Highways 9 and 31.   If passed, this portion of highway will be signed as named after Joshua D. Sheppard-Young who was killed in Iraq in 2007 as a result of hostile action by enemy forces.   The timing of this may seem delayed, but with the official ending of US operations in Iraq, it is critical that we offer this memorial to one who gave his life fighting for his nation and state.

            Fourth and final bill for this Journal is the product of what I would refer to as “legislative lack of courage” that took place in last year’s budget.  Specifically, the House and Senate send the Department of Education a budget without specifying specific “line items.”  I am addressing an area that is identified as “flexible benefit allowance” which goes to qualified school district employees for health insurance costs.  This bill would require that this money be set aside based on a twelve (12) month basis.  Last year, without a specific line item, the State Department of Education (SDE) refused to supply two months of this allowance to our school districts.   My proposed bill will provide protection from this type of fiscal manipulation at the expense of our local districts by creating in the State Treasury for the State Board of Education and the State Board of Career and Technology Education dedicated to this specific function and will not be subject to the SDE removal of these dedicated funds.   The talk at the Capitol and Department of Education is that this will be funded for the full year.  My concern is the following:  what happens the next time we want to “pass the ball off” and let someone else make that decision.  This will prevent the legislature from dodging its responsibility to fund aspects of our government that had the commitment of previous legislative actions. 

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, Peggy Johnson, 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