TRANSCRIPT
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Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher, Shawn Ashley. We are now in the final month of the regular legislative session and the legislature has been sending bills to Governor Kevin Stitt for his consideration. Shawn, the governor has signed some bills and allowed others to become law without his signature of approval. How does that work?
Shawn Ashley: When the legislature is in session, whether that's a regular or a special session, the governor has five days after he receives a bill, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto it. If he neither signs nor vetoes the bill, it becomes law absent the governor's signature. Now in past years, Governor Stitt has even allowed the budget bill and its supporting bills to take effect without his signature. He's probably done this more than any other governor I've covered. And he has already allowed five bills to become law absent his signature this session.
Dick Pryor: Why is he doing it this way unlike so many previous governors?
Shawn Ashley: Well, signing or vetoing legislation is about the only power the governor has in the lawmaking process, and most governors have not wanted to give up that power. But Stitt has tried to use allowing a bill to become a law without his signature to his advantage by filing statements with the Secretary of State's office explaining his reasoning. In this case, the bills extended four boards and commissions, but Stitt said, quote, “year after year, sunset bills are passed in rote fashion with little debate, no meaningful scrutiny, and no tough questions. It's become a ritual of rubber stamping, not governance. That's not acceptable.” And he went on to challenge legislators to take sunset reviews seriously.
Dick Pryor: We often talk about bills dying, but bills can lead many lives in the legislature. An example of that just happened, Senate Bill 224 that creates a new education and workforce data system. It failed twice before it passed. How does that happen?
Shawn Ashley: It's called a notice to reconsider. When a bill fails, the author can serve notice that he may ask that the vote on the bill be reconsidered at a future time. And there are time limits during which he can do that. Senate Bill 224 failed Tuesday and its author, Representative Chad Caldwell, a Republican from Enid, served notice to consider the bill. It appears between Tuesday when the bill failed and Thursday, when he exercised his notice of reconsideration, that he had spoken with members and secured enough votes for the bill to pass. Caldwell's motion to reconsider was approved and the bill was put up for a second vote, but it failed again.
According to members we've spoken with, the presiding officer may have closed the roll too early, not giving enough time for the bill’s supporters to cast their votes. Caldwell served a second notice to reconsider, which he exercised immediately as House Speaker Kyle Hilbert took over the presiding officer's duty. That motion to reconsider passed, and the bill passed on its third vote, 51 to 36, and that's the minimum number of votes needed to pass the bill.
Dick Pryor: And so it goes in the legislature. Two weeks ago, the House passed and sent to the Senate a concurrent resolution that proclaims “Christ is King” in recognizing the spiritual heritage of Oklahoma. What is the effect of concurrent resolutions that have to be approved by the House and Senate?
Shawn Ashley: Concurrent resolutions express the sentiment of the legislature, both the House and the Senate, and that's why they need to be passed by both chambers. But the Senate has not taken up that resolution. I asked Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton on Thursday why the Senate had not heard it. He said, quote, “I don't need a resolution to bolster my Christianity. We just don't feel the need to take that up in the Senate. I always tell people rather than proclaiming what you are, act what you are.”
Dick Pryor: Meantime, the Senate did pass a bill that purports to regulate obscene performances in public places, which is already the subject of existing law. House Bill 1217 practically invites court cases, and it drew fascinating debate.
Shawn Ashley: Yes, part of that debate was that it was already part of existing law, which is actually cited in the bill. And Senator Carri Hicks, an Oklahoma City Democrat, said the bill had one purpose that had been explicitly stated by supporters - to end drag performances - specifically drag story times at public libraries. Senator Dave Bullard, the Republican Senate author of the measure, argued the bill does not refer to the way a person may dress, but to their actions. The bill now goes to Governor Stitt for consideration.
Dick Pryor: What's coming up over the next few days?
Shawn Ashley: Thursday is the deadline for bills to be heard in the opposite chamber. House bills in the Senate and Senate bills in the House.
Dick Pryor: And that's Capitol Insider. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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