Home Stretch

As we near the final month of session the intensity continues to build as it usually does this time of year. We are close to a decent budget; we are still waiting for the income tax number. We don’t know what percent reduction we will see and that will have a great deal to do with the final budget numbers. We are probably a week or so out from being able to talk with any accuracy on that subject but here are some highlights of some bills that have been approved by the House in the last week or so. Lawmakers Target Drug Crime Legislation approved by the House this week would allow a larger group of law enforcement officials to participate in anti-drug efforts. Senate Bill 1544 exempts state officers who are also reserve special agents for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control from the prohibition against dual office holding. As a result, the legislation would allow a county officer to be dual commissioned his employer and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, giving local authorities greater ability to be involved in anti-drug efforts. Senate Bill 1544 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 65-22 vote today and now goes to the Governor’s desk to sign. House Approves Improved Data Gathering Legislation that would help lawmakers with appropriation and policy decisions was approved unanimously this week by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Titled the Oklahoma Program Performance Budgeting and Accountability Act, Senate Bill 1451 would require state agency strategic plans to include an analysis of the appropriated level needed to achieve certain listed measures for each of the five fiscal years of the plan. The legislation will now return to the Senate. If House amendments are approved, it will continue onto the governor’s desk. House Approves Bill to Increase Career Tech Opportunities Legislation that would help increase trade-specific industry certifications was approved unanimously by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Senate Bill 1056 would allow technology center school districts to establish pilot programs to increase the number of students obtaining trade-specific industry certifications. The districts would be able to spend general funds to cover the costs of trade-specific industry certification examinations and licenses related to the program of study. The legislation now proceeds to the governor’s desk. Severe weather liability policy in development House lawmakers are developing a comprehensive liability protection policy for Oklahomans who offer shelter to others during severe weather. House Bill 2296, which would offer liability protection to mobile home park owners who allow residents to seek shelter in their offices during severe weather, was recently vetoed by Gov. Mary Fallin, who cited concerns about possible unintended consequences. To address the governor’s concerns, House lawmakers are working on a more comprehensive liability protection policy that will be included in an amended version of House Bill 2419. The amended version of HB 2419 will offer liability protection to any individual who offers shelter to another during severe weather rather than offering protection only to mobile home park owners. The proposed compromise measure will offer more protection to more people. If you would like to contact me at the Capitol please feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road: One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.~ Sidney Howard.

What’s Your Major?

Former Senator Owen Laughlin from Northwest Oklahoma had a favorite saying that I have borrowed on numerous occasions. He would always say “Being in the Legislature is like going to college and majoring in EVERYTHING.” I’ve thought about that many times in my tenure as a State Representative. To be an effective Statesman you have to be willing to learn about a lot of different subjects, some of which may not interest you in the least, but all kinds of different issues are important to someone. I started my career with special interests in agriculture, Ag. youth programs like FFA and 4-H, rural issues in general and while many of those issues have kept me grounded, I’ve also had to learn a great deal about education, even though I was a teacher, healthcare, transportation infrastructure, public safety, and a whole host of assorted issues that spin off from each of those areas. It requires a great deal of time and energy to become somewhat knowledgeable in a host of various areas and I think to truly represent an area like District 63 which can be as cosmopolitan and culturally diverse as we are around Lawton/Ft. Sill and can transition into one of the State’s leading agriculture regions as you head Southwest to Tillman County you must be pretty open minded as you learn the multitude of issues that can affect an area with tremendously diverse interest. It’s an area with three hospitals, an Army post, a Federal wildlife refuge, a tremendous amount of large and small schools, 1500 square miles of interstate highways as well as County roads. A single issue Legislator won’t survive long in a district like this one. I believe that to truly serve an area with as much diversity as this one, the learning curve is steep and you must be prepared to listen to a wide variety of constituents with a huge variation of issues. Being in close proximity to Ft. Sill there are also a great many Veterans who retire in our area and have issues facing them that are very important. There again you must be open minded and as well versed as you can be to care for a constituency as diverse as this one. This Ag. guy has had to major in everything. I’ve had to study and learn and that process never sleeps. The issues vary as much as the terrain from the mountains to the flat lands all the way to the river bed. I don’t think you can be an effective legislator and have a one track mind. I brought no agenda to the table when I started this job other than to stand up for the voters in my district. I think you can tell from this brief conversation that they certainly don’t all look the same or have the same needs. I think that to serve this district well, one needs to be as comfortable in a business suit as you are in a pair of jeans. This job requires walking into a lot of circles with a variety of hats and the willingness to learn and more importantly a willingness to serve. Open mindedness is paramount and this is way bigger than any single issue. I’ve spent ten years of my life doing my dead level best to be a Statesman and I intend to finish the job.

If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please feel free to call me at 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. ~Abraham Lincoln

Cancer Doesn’t Care

The last several days I’ve lost two friends who both made a huge difference in the world around them to one of our society’s most dreaded diseases, cancer. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that cancer doesn’t care who you are, how much money you make, your social status, or anything else. Cancer comes to people from all walks of life; it does not discriminate and is absolutely ruthless. One of my friends was a local business man and racing quarter horse breeder Terry Bell. Terry was a stand up guy! Several years ago when I approached Terry, who lived near Cache on his horse ranch, to ask if he would be my campaign chairman, he didn’t bat an eye. He said “absolutely, you’ve stood with us in the horse industry and I’ll stand with you.” Terry Bell was well respected locally as well as the State and National horse racing scene. He was a second generation businessman and entrepreneur. His father Cyrus ran Bell Transfer and Storage for many years after growing up in the moving and storage business Terry later established Affiliated Van Lines in 1973. He was a very good business man, knew how to make money and had the deepest respect of everyone he dealt with. I remember a story that was told to me by a mutual friend and I hesitate to tell it but for the fact that it tells a story about who Terry really was. I vaguely remember Cy Bell, he was very flamboyant and the best remaining example of that is his old parade saddle that for many years Terry displayed in his office. I’m not sure if I’ll get this totally right or not but apparently, in his later years, he had run up some local debt. It could’ve been his declining health, I’m not really sure how that went down but according to the local legend his dad owed some people around town and after his passing Terry went around to the different businesses and squared every account. That may not seem like much but it is just one of the little things that made Terry Bell who he was and the fact that he made everyone whole spoke volumes about his impeccable character. The best way to describe Terry was that he was solid. If he shook your hand, you could take it to the bank.

Terry Bell was also a very accomplished horse breeder. We shot numerous Billingsly Ford TV spots at his ranch over the years and he was known throughout the country as a premier breeder of racing quarter horses. He knew how to breed a good one and how to make sure that animal had a chance at greatness. He was a good friend and he will be missed. Terry was 77 when he lost his battle with cancer.

Ironically enough the next friend I’ll speak of was a lady that I served with in the House of Representatives for ten years, Representative Sue Tibbs, also 77, from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sue was a true Statesman. They don’t make people with a moral character any higher than that of Sue Tibbs. Sue was a devout Christian and took it upon herself for many of the years that she served at the State Capitol to hold a weekly devotional luncheon at the Capitol, always brining in a new and different preacher and making sure that the Capitol flock was spiritually fed. Her dedication to her district and the State of Oklahoma was second to none. Sue had a wonderful heart and as deeply as she loved people, she’d fight to the death on an issue she believed in. I’ve seen Sue take many shots from those who disagreed with her, always standing her ground and never wavering, for as big as her heart she had even more toughness than just about anybody I’ve ever met. Right was right to Sue, there was no gray. I’m not sure that she couldn’t have whipped a tornado when she got her dander up but the one battle Sue couldn’t win was her battle with cancer. Cancer claimed Sue last Friday night. There will be an empty spot in the Capitol Chamber for the rest of the session and for many years to come and Sue will be missed

So it’s true, cancer doesn’t care and that what makes this dreaded disease such a terrible plague on the world. It doesn’t just thin out the weak, but also the strong. As our family heads into my mother’s own battle I know that it’s uphill and we continue to pray for a good outcome. As my girls and I traveled home from our Easter visit with my mother over the weekend, my daughter Kelsey was jokingly talking about one of her daredevil friends and she said “yolo” which means you only live once. We don’t know how long we have on this earth so we all need to get right with God and by all means live. Don’t put off the things on your bucket list. Spend that time with your family even when it may seem inconvenient because none of us know. Rest in peace Terry and Sue and thank you for all you did to make all of our lives better. We are all better people for having known you.

If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road: Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. ~ Flavia Weedn

Half Way Home

A lot of you have followed my musings and ramblings about life in office and have heard me describe the legislative process sometimes as a series of gates. I also use the analogy of a series of filters. Not every idea that hits the Capitol is a good one, sometimes the ideas are good and with more than one pair of eyes can be made better, sometimes the ideas are just plain bad and the filters need to catch the idea. We have now reached the half way point which means that the first major deadline of this year’s legislative session has passed. All the bills that came through the House have either made it through that series of filters or were stopped and did not become reality. The next step is for us to send our House bills over to the Senate for further scrutiny and we have now started the process of running the Senate’s ideas through our filters. This process seems very cumbersome to some and in some ways it is, but as frustrating as it can be for myself and my colleagues and as unorganized as it looks to the casual observer, I really am a believer in the process as a whole. It’s still one of the best methods in the world and as an old buddy of mine used to say “you can sure get a snoot full of it.” But I still think that it’s good that 149 people basically have to look at an idea and consider its merits and shortcomings and passes through the final gates where the Governor has the power of the pen to either sign it into law or veto it.

This past Monday a very important bill passed through the last gate and is headed to the Governor for a signature and that was SB447. This bill addressed several concerns raised by the murder of Diane Dye. Our Comanche County treasurer Barbara Burk and her husband Larry were on hand to see that Senate bill passed in the House. The bill was actually a Senate bill from last session and in my mind it did some very positive things that may help curb domestic violence by shortening the days before a hearing when a protective order is issued and several other tweaks to the law that may well prevent the tragedy like the one we saw in Elgin Oklahoma and hopefully can prevent more of the same. Senator Barrington started the process last year and it has taken two sessions to get this bill passed and headed to the Governor. The vote was unanimous in the House and we don’t anticipate any trouble when it gets to Governor Fallin’s desk. I was proud to do my part in carrying the water and as I said on the House floor Monday afternoon, it’s too late for Diane Dye but her mother Barbara Burk took up the torch, pushed through her grief and helped change a law that hopefully will prevent another family from having the same kind of tragedy.

We are now back in the committee process and have just started to get our first look at the Senate bills. It’ll be interesting to see how many House bills survive the Senate and vice versa.

Probably the weightiest issue still facing us is the discussion on the elimination of the State income tax. I’ve talked about this issue many times and we know that we must proceed with extreme caution. I can’t speak for any other member but I can tell you my position and that is we can’t do income tax reduction on the backs of our seniors or our veterans and probably my favorite way to state it is that we must have enough fuel to run the train. I represent one of the largest agriculture regions in the state and I can tell you from the calls that I’ve received that land owner’s are leery of anything that might increase property taxes and I think it is wise to continue to discuss this very important issue and I truly believe we must proceed with extreme caution. We’ll keep you posted on developments that relate to one of the biggest issues we’ve seen in many years.

If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. –Henry Ford.