Open Door Policy — April 2, 2012

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***(Editor’s Note: Joe Dorman is the Oklahoma House District 65 Representative and ‘The Lawton Town Crier’ appreciates Mr. Dorman’s many contributions to our site, most notably his “Open Door Policy,” and his guest appearances on the “Lawton Town Crier” podcast. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lawton Town Crier, or other contributors.)***

The legislature has been working on bills from the opposite bodies over the past two weeks, so I have been interested to read some of the ideas sent over by my senate

Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson with Rep. Joe Dorman

Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson with Rep. Joe Dorman

colleagues.  I am currently carrying a bill which would enact consumer protections on persons who take out a loan through a deferred deposit lender, also known as a payday lender.  Currently, these records are not required to be kept confidential, so Senator Roger Ballenger, D-Okmulgee, filed Senate Bill 1082 and asked me to carry this bill in the House.
I am also working on legislation with Senator Don Barrington, R-Lawton, which would increase the waiver limits for municipal employees to be allowed to submit bids for contracts to work on projects within the municipality.  These limits have not been modified in several years and there have been some issues where only local contractors have submitted bids to work on projects in their area.  I am hoping this will also allow us to retain some businesses locally.  I amended the bill, with suggestions from the Oklahoma Municipal League and the Oklahoma Press Association, to include provisions to allow persons to review all bids submitted after a selection has been made.  This will allow for public scrutiny to ensure fairness in bidding process.
I did receive bad news that House Bill 2002, my bill dealing with generators in assisted living facilities, was not given a hearing.  I will attempt to file this legislation again next session and I would certainly appreciate any suggestions or stories which would help this cause be further promoted.  I am pleased that my legislation regarding hospital liens and school background checks will be heard in senate committees soon.  I will keep you posted on these issues as they progress.
It has been a busy couple of weeks around the area as Temple had their annual Wild Hog Festival and their Chamber of Commerce banquet on the same evening.  It was a pleasure to meet so many new constituents at these events and I even picked up a few new projects to work on for residents of the area.  I also spoke to the Southwest Oklahoma Emergency Management Conference in Duncan and updated them on legislative issues.  It was nice to see my three county emergency management directors when it is not during a disaster.
On Friday, I had the chance to work with the Oklahoma YMCA Youth in Government 8th Grade program all day on Friday at the State Capitol.  This was an amazing group of well-educated students who made very compelling arguments on their issues which they presented.  If you have any questions about starting up a local group for YMCA Youth in Government, contact Stan Barton, the state director, at:  stanymca@gmail.com
I was honored to serve as the Democratic Co-host for Flashpoint on KFOR Channel 4 in OKC last weekend.  It was a privilege to interview Congressman James Lankford and debate issues with him and Kirk Humphreys, the other co-host.  I am hoping I will have the opportunity to visit the show again in the near future.  You can see the segments on my website at www.joedorman.com in case you missed it and would like to see what was discussed.
We were pleased to have several guests at the Capitol last week, including teachers who have received National Board Certification status, area individuals from youth and family services programs who are working with the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and the leadership classes from area Career Technology programs.  I’m especially proud of one attendee, Josh Carlisle from Canadian Valley Technology Center, as he was selected the Post Secondary Vice-President for the Business Professionals of America State Executive Council.  I also helped host a delegation of high school students from Japan who were in Oklahoma with a Rotary exchange program.  This is a program where Senator Randy Bass and I get the chance to visit the students at the Capitol and host them for the day as they learn about our state government. The legislature also honored Runner-up Miss America & current Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson for the great job she did representing our state in the pageant this year.
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol.  If you wish to contact me to discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305.  My email address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work.  My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK  73082 and my website is www.joedorman.com on the Internet.  Thank you for taking the time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.

From Joe Dorman…

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Oklahoma House of Representatives

Media Division

March 26, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: State Rep. Joe Dorman

Capitol:  (405) 557-7305

E-mail: joedorman@okhouse.gov

Roland Nee speaking to the Oklahoma House of Representatives

Roland Nee speaking to the Oklahoma House of Representatives

House Honors Pearl Harbor Veteran from Rush Springs

OKLAHOMA CITY – A Pearl Harbor veteran from Rush Springs was honored on the House floor today for his service to the country.

Each Monday during session, the Oklahoma House of Representatives honors a veteran by inviting him or her to come to the Capitol and open session by leading the House of Representatives in the Pledge of Allegiance. The veteran also receives a citation and a flag that has been flown over the Capitol.

U.S. Army First Sgt. (Ret.) Roland Nee, 90, was enlisted Jan. 41, 1941 and received an honorable discharge on July 27, 1945. He was present for the Pearl Harbor bombing, serving as a gunner at the time.

State Rep. Joe Dorman, who represents Rush Springs at the Capitol, said it was an honor to host Nee.

“Oklahomans hold our veterans in the highest esteem and it was an honor to recognize Roland Nee for his service and sacrifice,” said Dorman (D-Rush Springs). “Roland served this country with honor and lawmakers enjoyed this opportunity to recognize him.”

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Open Door Policy — March 19, 2012

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***(Editor’s Note: Joe Dorman is the Oklahoma House District 65 Representative and ‘The Lawton Town Crier’ appreciates Mr. Dorman’s many contributions to our site, most notably his “Open Door Policy,” and his guest appearances on the “Lawton Town Crier” podcast. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lawton Town Crier, or other contributors.)***

 

Rep. Joe Dorman (D)

The deadline was met last Thursday evening as all bills which were going on in the

legislative process were passed on to the opposite bodies. We met into the late hours of the evening, with several bills not finding consensus, and therefore not passing. One bill which was of concern to many groups, House Joint Resolution 1087, did not come to the floor, so that legislation cannot be heard this year. There are other bills which have different approaches on how to deal with ad valorem reimbursement for economic development projects and their funding which is directed to schools, libraries, ambulance services and other programs which receive property tax funding. The author has good intentions, but a majority of the legislators would like to see other avenues on how to deal with the problems created with this program and the reimbursement rates.
Another economic development bill which was not heard was my legislation, House Bill 3069. This bill was a request bill by the Department of Commerce with sections added to the original bill to help retain existing businesses in Oklahoma. I am hoping we can find another piece of legislation with similar intent so as to add this wording. I am worried some businesses will leave Oklahoma without this incentive provided through the necessary change in the law, but I will work with the economic development groups towards some solution.
There were other bills I authored which were not heard, such as House Bill 3070. This was a change in the administrative hearing process to remove conflict of interest over hearings conducted by agency officers who could benefit the agency. House Bill 3073 would have created a program to teach educators on how to deal with dyslexia issues, but it was not considered. A good bit of news is there is a similar bill coming from the Senate, so hopefully it will proceed. A final bill not considered which was a request was House Bill 3075. This would have brought resolution to the problem of adverse possession in Oklahoma. I will attempt each of these next year when new bills can be filed.
Several of my bills did move along in the system, so this willl keep me busy. House Bill 2002 would require assisted living facilities to have a generator in case of disasters, along with filing disaster evacuation plans with local fire departments and county emergency management directors. House Bill 3076 was another bill passed, but it was significantly amended to make the program completely a local control issue where schools would determine which volunteers must submit to a background check, along with making the school responsible for the cost of the check. I can live with the changes as it was something needed to allow schools to do checks under the law and I feel the school boards will do the responsible thing and help better protect students. House Bill 3074 also passed, which is good for local hospitals as they will be allowed to collect on an issue with uninsured motorists. Hospitals will be allowed to file liens against property of the person causing the wreck. This request from the Oklahoma Hospital Association should help them keep overall costs down with another avenue to recover on these instances.

LaKayla Whitmore of Elgin & Taylor Schettler of Sterling serving as pages for Rep. Joe Dorman at the House of Representatives

LaKayla Whitmore of Elgin & Taylor Schettler of Sterling serving as pages for Rep. Joe Dorman at the House of Representatives.

I want to extend my congratulations to Robb and Jill Brinkley with their wedding occurring this past weekend. I was pleased to be a part of their celebration and enjoyed a fun weekend with them, their friends and families. I also want to thank LaKayla Whitmore of Elgin & Taylor Schettler of Sterling for paging for me at the Capitol last month. They did an excellent job and I was proud of the work they did in the mock legislature. I look forward to working with the rest of the students from our area as they serve as pages and office aides at the Capitol over the remaining two months. One final note I would like to mention is that I will serve as a co-host for Flashpoint this Sunday on NBC, so if you get the chance, I hope you get to watch.
It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me to discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My email address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559, Rush Springs, OK 73082 and my website is www.joedorman.com on the Internet. Thank you for taking the time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.