Speaker Cargill & House Democrat Leader Morgan join senate leaders to craft bi-partisan agreement

As a House committee on Monday advanced an ethics reform proposal, House and Senate leaders signed on a co-authors to House Bill 2110 in an effort to craft a final bipartisan plan.

House Speaker Lance Cargill (R-Harrah) and House Democrat Leader Danny Morgan (D-Prague) said the bill is a work in progress that will change as bipartisan discussions continue.

“I’m absolutely committed to ensuring that Oklahomans have an honest and open government, and I believe we can achieve that goal within a positive bipartisan framework,” said Cargill (R-Harrah). “Over the next few weeks, we’ll be working with leaders from both parties in the House and Senate to craft a strong ethics reform package that will make the State Capitol more open and accessible than ever before.”

Speaker Cargill and House Democrat Leader Morgan said they were joining with the Legislature’s other top leaders — including Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan (D-Stillwater) and Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee (R-Oklahoma City) — to develop a bipartisan ethics reform agreement. HB 2110 passed the House Rules Committee on Monday. The measure contains a number of provisions aimed at strengthening current state ethics law.

“The prospects for a strong bipartisan agreement on ethics reform thissession are excellent,” said Leader Morgan. “I am encouraged by the bipartisan spirit on this issue. The leadership of the Legislature must work together to ensure that our government is accountable to the people of Oklahoma. This is an important first step in the process to move forward to make government more user-friendly to citizens.”

Legislation preventing elected officials from using appearances in public service announcements (PSAs) as free campaign TV time passed a committee vote Monday.

House Bill 1451, by Rep. Rob Johnson, would ban elected officials from appearing in PSAs during election years in which they are up for re-election. The measure passed a vote of the House Rules Committee Monday and now moves to the House floor.

“This practice essentially allows incumbents to have free campaign commercials,” said Johnson (R-Kingfisher). “Basically, if an elected official has a buddy who’s putting together a PSA, the official can appear in it, reaching hundreds, if not thousands of people at no charge to his or her campaign. It borders on being unethical, and certainly gives incumbents an unfair advantage. Rarely can a challenger afford such an opportunity.

“Public service announcements certainly serve a valuable purpose, and this bill is in no way an attack against them,” Johnson added. “We just want to remove this unfair advantage for sitting elected officials.”

If passed by the Legislature and signed into law, HB 1451 would be in effect for the 2008 elections, in which at least all 101 of Oklahoma’s House seats and 24 of the state’s Senate seats will be up for grabs.

Paper still has head in the sand when it comes to real scandals

We almost made it through the week without the need for issuing a “Hypocrisy Watch.” Mick Hinton of the Tulsa World, has written the talking points memo for Oklahoma Democrats’ today, under the guise of “objective journalism.” The piece reports that Speaker Cargill is “summon[ing] key lobbyists” to “special meetings” outside the capitol for fundraising activities. Now usually when one thinks of a summons, you think of a court of a law and a judge mandating you appear. Was this a deliberate choice of words Mick?

We’ve copied every quote from a lobbyist in the piece. You’ll notice a familiar, recurring theme in every comment. Remember, this is every lobbyists quoted in the piece, so we’re not purposely omitting positive quotes:

“Lobbyist Bobby Stem confirmed that he met with the speaker on Tuesday at an office outside the Capitol.”

“It was the friendliest fundraising meeting I’ve ever had, and you can quote me on that,” said Stem, a prominent lobbyist during Democratic administrations.” (What would you expect from a Democratic lobbyist?)

“Stem said there was no strong-arming for contributions, although he said it was “very pro-active” with money raising emphasized in several ways.”

“One lobbyist said he felt uncomfortable going to the “un-neutral” site, while another said it was “cheesy.” Both spoke on the condition that they not be identified.”

“After leaving the office, lobbyist Jim Walker acknowledged that he had just talked with the speaker, but said “it is no different than what used to occur at the Capitol, from time to time.”

“But others said they felt compelled to comply with the speaker’s wishes. They said that has been the case in the past, but the methods were different this time around.”

Hey Mick, how about investigating the attorney general and the poultygate scandal going on “five minutes from the Capitol?” What about the Chairman of your newspaper contributing money to the AG while his paper is endorsing him. We’ll re-use the analogy we made earlier this week regarding your paper’s lazy reporting. This piece was akin to a reporter covering the Superbowl and only writing about Prince’s new shoes! What about the fact that it was held in plain view away from the Capitol? What about the angle that it illustrates the reforms Cargill is looking to initiate?

Speaker Cargill authors eight-point plan in HB 2110 (Audio)

House lawmakers Wednesday advanced a comprehensive ethics reform measure containing strong provisions cracking down on questionable campaign fundraising tactics such as
“bundling” and “splitting.”

“Oklahomans deserve an honest and open government,” said Speaker Lance Cargill (R-Harrah), author of House Bill 2110. “The reforms we’re offering are fundamental changes that will benefit citizens, instead of more posturing by power players to protect incumbents. This is about making the Capitol more open and more accessible to the public than ever before.”

HB 2110 passed the House Elections and Redistricting Subcommittee today with unanimous bipartisan support. Cargill said HB 2110 contains an eight-point plan to strengthen the public’s trust in state government:

1. Ban Political Contributions at the Capitol: “There are plenty of places to hold political fundraisers,” said Cargill. “Our state Capitol isn’t one of them. There was a time when lobbyists were known to disperse checks to lawmakers shortly before a critical vote. We can erase this image with this simple reform.”

2. Require monthly reports of contributions: Cargill said HB 2110 will provide more frequent reports for citizens’ review, so that the public won’t have to wait for months for information. Cargill said that if the purpose of campaign finance reporting is to reveal who, and to what degree, someone is interested in the outcome of a race, then that information needs to be made available on a more frequent basis.

3. Require disclosure for lobbyist “bundling”: Lobbyists often collect several checks from different sources and deliver these bundled checks to a candidate. These coordinated efforts can involve significant amounts of money, and the public has a right to know about them.

4. Ban Honoraria: Currently, state officials can receive an honorarium for a public appearance if it is performed in their official capacity. Cargill said state officials shouldn’t receive compensation outside their salary for duties related to their office.

5. Prohibit professionals from soliciting political contributions from their clients: Cargill said it is unfair for those with professional clientele to solicit contributions from those to whom they owe a duty of trust. Cargill said that attorneys, for example, shouldn’t be allowed to shake down clients for contributions, many of whom may be subject to the mercy of their legal representative.

6. Require filing of contributor forms for out-of-state donors: Out-of-state political organizations routinely funnel money into Oklahoma races, and often those who are donating don’t even know where the money is really going. Cargill said it is important to know the identity of donors who wish to affect politics in a state that is not their own. HB 2110 will require the filing of a contributor card — with an express statement of intent to donate in Oklahoma — to ensure the legitimacy of out-of-state donations.

7. End donation “splitting”: Cargill said that some campaign organizations attribute partial pieces of the same contribution to different races in an attempt to get around the individual reporting requirements or contribution limits.

8. Require annual ethics training: Cargill said that HB 2110 would require each chamber of the Legislature to conduct annual ethics training for all members, employees, and lobbyists. “Through better education and preparation, we can prevent missteps and provide clear guidance for all involved with the process,” he said.