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I don’t know if Rep. Randy Terrill, the Republican from Moore, has ever read Thomas Friedman’s groundbreaking “The World is Flat”  but if he did, he obviously didn’t understand it. Terrill did come off as a legitimate candidate for President of the Flat Earth Society however on the most recent Flashpoint.

Friedman’s thesis is that globalization of the economy and acceleration of telecommunications and other information technology will basically render irrelevant much of the Post-World War II economic advantages the United States has enjoyed. Terrill on the other hand seems to think that having the state of Oklahoma enact its own immigration policies and prevent other languages from being spoken will stop the rest of the world economy in its tracks -- If only Oklahoma were that powerful.

Terrill often confuses talking fast and loud with thinking. His point seems to be that some people in Oklahoma might like to have the jobs in landscaping, agriculture, food service et cetera that employ new immigrants and that they should be held open for them even if that means putting the rest of Oklahoma at a national and global economic disadvantage. Oklahoma is technically at full employment and when large companies have considered Oklahoma for location their main concern has been the availability of labor force – not too many laborers. 

Fortunately companies like Dell, Google, and other high paying energy, bio-tech and aerospace  employers have been able to see that many Oklahomans are underemployed. They will leave their lower paying jobs for better employment. And similar to the prior history of immigration that has served the U.S. so well, immigrants will take jobs others don’t want or leave behind – keeping the economy humming.

Fortunately Rep. Terrill was challenged by each of the other three panelists on Flashpoint this week. Senator Harry Coates, also a Republican, has tried to point out to the demagoging Terrill that Oklahoma has a low unemployment rate, fast growing personal income, high oil prices, high cattle and wheat prices and desperately needs a labor force to take advantage of these conditions to exploit the economic advantages that now present themselves.

Mike Turpen, pointed out that the Oklahoma Bankers Association just published an authoritative economic study showing that the Terrill sponsored state immigration law (HB 1804) will actually cost the state economy more than $1.3 billion.

Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kurt Humphreys and new Flashpoint panelist, pointed out that that despite Terrill’s ridiculous claims that both his immigration legislation and his proposed English only proposal will help the Oklahoma economy, the State Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce all disagree with Terrill. 

Terrill, who seems to have a problem with selective memory, or simply the concept that he is wrong, said that bill was passed with all the Chambers’ input. Read the following excerpt from the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce legislative issue web page and make up your own mind:

     “In 2007, the state legislature passed HB 1804, a law requiring employers to verify the legal status of all new employees through a verification system. The bill became effective Nov 1, 2007 for the public sector and will go into effect July 1, 2008 for the private sector. Additional legislation (son of HB 1804) may be introduced in 2008.

     The Chamber never supported 1804 and actively worked to remove provisions of the bill which were onerous to business. The Chamber opposes any additional legislation that would place more burdens on the business community and believes any companion bill must not go forward so the impact(s) of HB 1804 on enforcement provisions, the state's future economy and constitutionality challenges can be evaluated.

     Additionally, the Chamber advocates for continuation and expansion of both temporary and permanent visa programs for highly-skilled workers, as well as programs that enable employers to access and keep the talent necessary to compete in the global market. We also urge Congress to address delays, backlogs and disruptions in immigration and border management systems that impede the movement of legitimate business travelers and tourists crossing U.S. borders.”

Wow!- that does seem awfully unclear – Those crazy anti-business wonks at the Chamber  must have written it in some foreign language that Rep. Terrill can’t read!

  

References:

http://www.okhouse.gov/Committees/Member.aspx?MemberID=69

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_is_Flat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_Society

http://www.kfor.com/Global/category.asp?C=22780

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2004/2004_10_29_rr_000?c=us&l=en&s=dfh

http://www.expansionmanagement.com/cmd/articledetail/articleid/18659/default.asp

http://www.globest.com/news/1114_1114/oklahomacity/169066-1.html

http://www.expansionmanagement.com/cmd/articledetail/articleid/15929/default.asp

http://www.expansionmanagement.com/cmd/articledetail/articleid/15947/default.asp

http://www.oksenate.gov/Senators/biographies/coates_bio.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Oklahoma

http://www.okcchamber.com/page.asp?atomid=1037

 

People love lists and rankings. Top twenty football teams, the top 64 basketball teams to get in the big dance, movies nominated for Academy Awards, Best Places to Live, Best Companies to Work For, Best Pizza in Town, et cetera.

 

Here is a new one to think about:

 

There was a time, not long ago (maybe 10-15 years) when only a handful of females were registered as lobbyists at the Oklahoma Capitol. The legislature was an old boys club and when the day was over the “old boys” in the legislature went out to Junior’s to eat, drink, smoke together and make deals. If any “ladies” were involved in the deal they were more likely to be an item negotiated in the deal as opposed to being a party negotiating the deal. 

This is thankfully no longer the case- though male lobbyists still greatly outnumber the women. While Oklahoma unfortunately has one of the lowest percentages of women in the legislature it packs a powerful punch of female lobbyists. These women are smart, professional, well organized and generally outwork their male competition. 

In any list someone deserving is bound to be left out. With apologies to that someone let me start by putting forward my list.

 

1. Otie Ann Fried : The gold standard of lobbyists – whether male or female starts with Ms. Fried. Otie Ann, along with husband and former House member Jim Fried head what many think is the most successful and powerful lobbying firm at 2300 North Lincoln -- Fried, Kilpatrick, Guinn. For those too young to remember it was Otie Ann who built the lobbying firm and Jim joined her. Otie Ann cut her teeth as a legislative staffer; then was one of the earliest and most successful women lobbyists. In the early 1980s there were some legislators than didn’t take her seriously because she was young and attractive. However, everyone has taken her seriously for the past twenty years and yet amongst her other deals she must have made one similar to Dorian Gray. 

 

1A. Claudia Kamas: Claudia has become and institution unto herself at the capitol. She is at once charming and very politically savvy.   While representing some the most powerful interests such as the pharmaceutical manufacturers, specialty medical associations, and telecommunications firms she has built a long term reservoir of trust with legislators and staff. She easily assembles coalitions on difficult issues while helping her clients not only navigate the process but actually understand much of what is going on.

 

2. Margaret Erling: Ms. Erling, after a distinguished career as an innovative educator, has turned her considerable talents on the state Capitol where she watches over the interests of the Cherokee nation and the richest man in Oklahoma among others. Margaret sets a standard for both color coordination and impeccable organization.

3. Tammie Kilpatrick: Ms. Kilpatrick is a partner with Otie Ann and also married to a former lawmaker and Tax Commissioner Don Kilpatrick. Like Otie Ann, Tammie made her way on her own before associating with her well connected spouse. Tammie is a former Deputy Insurance Commissioner and specializes in some of the most technical and arcane insurance legislation. 

 

4. Lynne White and Patti Davis – a powerful lobbying duo for the Oklahoma Hospital Association. Lynne has tremendous history of lobbying on her own and running all sorts of campaigns and causes. Patti is former hospital administrator who does double duty helping Lynne lobby hospital issues and as V.P. of OHA.

 

 

 

Lisette Barnes: Lissette is another powerhouse with clients ranging from financial interests like Capital West Securities to health care interests such as the College of Emergency Physicians. She is well known for her efforts to advance the causes of Oklahoma Youth Services.

 

Jan Loftis - Has done an excellent job over the years lobbying for clients as diverse as Oklahoma City Public Schools to the Malt Beverage Association to the Academy of Physicians Assistants just to mention a few.

 

Vicki White Rankin-  a former State House member (and member of the T-Bar 12) who has a diverse client base in health care, aging and counseling services. Vicki is known for the passion of her convictions to client’s causes. 

 

Jamie Longacre-Jamie, who started at the Capitol as an OSU agricultural economics intern with the Senate Staff has stayed true to her Ag roots by representing the Pork Council and the Agricultural Educators Association. Though she has certainly diversified by adding clients like Cox Communications and Spirit Bank to those she represents.  She is certainly on the cusp of moving into the top rankings.

 

Tonya Lee- Ms. Lee was the junior partner of former Speaker of the House Jim Barker when Barker died during the legislative session a few years ago. Tonya has not only held together the former Barker clients but has managed to make herself into a formidable lobbying presence. She has clients ranging from pharmaceuticals, to telecom to insurance.

 

New/Up and Comers: 1. Megan Benn, a former White House Aide, Senate Staffer and partner with her father, former State Senator Don Williams, 2. Lisa Smaligo, former State Regents for Higher Education Government Relations Aide and wife of former legislator and current Tulsa County Commissioner John Smaligo., 3. Emily Hall with the Oklahoma State Medical Association and daughter of former Tulsa Mayor and Secretary of State Susan Savage.

 

 

There are a number of other women who head health care, trade and social service associations as executive directors and also lobby as part of their jobs that deserve a mention. These women represent physicians groups, long-term care, nursing groups, and chambers of commerce. Similarly a number of impressive women are the legislative liaisons for their state agencies. They also deserve mention but maybe those should wait for another blog entry.

 

Wow- I know I have missed someone and I am sure that many will disagree with my rankings. That’s ok- I don’t claim they are scientific in any way. Write a response and tell me how they should really be.

 

 

 

I hear there will soon be a link on www.ecapitol.net ‘s  ISpeak that will take you directly to NCSL’s blog pages as well as links to other Oklahoma and national blogs. NCSL has a nice collection of political blogs by state if you want to keep up with what is going on around the country. The two current ones that are highlighted for Oklahoma are:

 http://www.okiefunk.com/

 http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/

 

If you know of additional good blogs about Oklahoma Politics send them to ISpeak to have them included.

The President of the Oklahoma Academy of Science has issued the following sttatement regarding HB 2211 currently under consideration by the Oklahoma House of Representatives:

 

“The Oklahoma Academy of Science is seriously concerned about threats to the quality of science education in our public schools.  The members demonstrated their concern by adopting a Statement on Science, Religion, and Teaching Evolution at their recent Annual Meeting.  HB 2211 is a major threat to the quality of science education and should not be adopted.

A basic understanding by all citizens of what science has learned over decades of observation and experimentation about how the natural world works is crucial for continued prosperity of our nation and our state.  Equally important for the future is training in the scientific process.  This process, of posing hypotheses, testing the hypotheses and logically evaluating the results, was central to US preeminence in the world.  Oklahoma, if it wants to be competitive nationally in science and technology based industry, cannot afford to dilute or hamper the science education of its citizens.

Enactment of HB 2211 will poison education in science.  Teachers will be prohibited from guiding students into understanding how the natural world works.  They will not be allowed to guide students into scientific analysis of subject matter.  For example, in class discussion of natural variation in populations of individuals and selective forces acting on those populations, a student will be allowed to raise ideas derived from creationism.  These ideas are non-scientific.  They can not be tested and have no place in a science class.  Yet, the teacher will be prevented from explaining that such ideas have no scientific support.  The bill further requires the teacher to give full credit to non-scientific ideas when they are part of a student’s homework assignment or part of an examination. 

HB2211 may seem attractive to some individuals because it also supports many other activities of religious groups in the public school setting that are already possible and legal.  There is no need to adopt HB 2211 to allow these ongoing activities.  Inclusion of the provisions allowing the inclusion of religion in all classes appears to be a means that the drafters of the resolution have used to gain support for the assault on science they are engaged in.  The bill has been likened by others to a Trojan Horse, introducing undesired clauses into a palatable, but unnecessary, package. 

The Oklahoma Academy of Science believes that “Science and religion can coexist harmoniously if people understand the strengths and limitations of each field.“  Many of its members have learned to allow religion and science to coexist in their world-views.  They assert that “science teachers should not be required to teach ideas, models, and theories that are extra-scientific” as they would be under HB 2211.”

It’s easy to find information regarding the backgrounds the Speaker of the House, the Co-Tems or the Senate Appropriation Chairs. Their official positions are often available in the form of statements or press releases on the House and Senate websites – www.oksenate.gov or www.okhouse.gov .

 

 Go to http://www.okhouse.gov/OkhouseMedia/PressRoom.aspx to get official press releases issued by the House. Go to http://www.oksenate.gov/news.htm for links to official Senate press releases. For more in-depth information about their votes or their positions on specific pieces of legislation you probably need to go the www.ecapitol.net and look at the “legislators” link where you can get member profiles and links to legislation that also has news stories about the legislation and what particular members said about a bill.

 

For biographical information about the leaders you can go to members section of the House and Senate web sites. Go to http://www.okhouse.gov/Committees/Member.aspx?MemberID=39  to look up Speaker Benge for instance. That site will tell you everything from his church home - View Acres Baptist Church to his term limit date -2010.

 

If you want the same for Senate leadership go to http://www.oksenate.gov/Senators/biographies/morgan_bio.html to learn about Senate Pro Tempore Mike Morgan. Morgan’s bio will, among other things tell you that he went to Tulsa Public Schools, loves to run and golf and that his law practice in Stillwater specializes in business transactions and real estate.

 

Co-Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee’s bio is at http://www.oksenate.gov/Senators/biographies/coffee_bio.html  . It will give you useful information such as that Senator Coffee is very proud to have eliminated an outdated vehicle inspection system from the law books and that he was the first Republican to hold the title of Pro Tempore – for one month last summer. Coffee is a member of the Phillips, McFall law firm in Oklahoma City and practices in the areas of business, commercial and electronic commerce law.

 

Much of this information is also in a condensed form in the profile section of www.ecapitol.net . 

 

 But what if you want to find out the real scoop?

 

One good way is to go the State Ethics Commission web page at http://www.state.ok.us/~ethics/ . There you can find out all sorts of information about what makes these guys tick (and they are all guys right now). 

 

For instance you can find out the Senate Pro Tempore Mike Morgan can have pretty down to earth tastes. The Oklahoma Restaurant Association bought him lunch at Applebees for $19.39. On the other hand if you want to get through Morgan’s gatekeeper and really discuss your issues with him you may have to buy a $150.00 round of golf for Senate Leadership Assistant Vic Thompson like Electronic Data Systems did.

 

Also at the Ethics Commission site you can find that Speaker Benge received a $100 honorarium for speaking to an education-related association, that AT&T treated him to a round of golf and that another association donated a mailing list to him valued at $220.

 

The Ethics Commission also reports that Glenn Coffee, like most other members of the legislature received a $100 centennial watch courtesy of the Chickasaw nation. 

 

But you also need to know that if you want to spend some quality time with him you will need to treat him and his key staff person – a Senate contractor – Fred Morgan to a round of golf like Dunlap and Associates.

 

But now that you know a little about where they went to school, where they work, and that they like to eat out you may need a little more information before you make a big pitch for something you need. You need some really inside information that only Capitol gym rats can provide.

 

 You may think that Mike Morgan will listen to you if you take him to Applebees but you would make much better inroads if you knew he was one of the few heterosexual males in the world that likes musical theatre. Don’t waste your time talking about tort reform though – not even front row seats on Broadway is going to affect those deep held beliefs.

 

Speaker Benge lists in his current bio information that he has a business degree from Oklahoma State University. But what you might not know is that he only recently earned that degree. Knowing that might let you understand he could be interested in promoting getting adults to go back to school and complete their educations. His former job as A&B chair and his new duties as Speaker certainly make him aware of how hard it is for working adults to return to school. Find something he is interested in and maybe your bill can be magically resurrected after it has “died” in subcommittee.

 

Lets say you have some K-12 education reforms in mind. It may be important for you to know that while Senate Co-President Pro Tem Glen Coffee lives in the Putnam City School district and graduated from Putnam City North High School he does not care much for that district’s administration or policies. He ships his kids to Bethany Schools for their education. 

 

Getting those last bits of information is often expensive. Hiring the Capitol gym rats (lobbyists) that know that sort of thing runs anywhere from $30,000 to $80,000 per session. It also helps to search the Ethics Commission site and see which lobbyist have what kind of relationship to legislators.