Coffee Strips Laster's Committee Selections
By Mick Hinton/Capitol Bureau, Tulsa World ~ In a power play Thursday at the state Capitol, the new Republican chief of the Senate erased three key committee appointments announced just hours earlier by the minority Democrats.
President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said the Democrats had no business announcing their appointments because they can only make recommendations to the head of the Senate.
Coffee said Sen. Charlie Laster, the Democratic leader, "knew exactly what he was doing. The Democrats are acting like they are in charge."
Laster said he was relying on tradition in the Senate for the past two decades that has allowed the minority party to make its own committee appointments. Each side said the other was getting carried away with a "power grab."
It appears that Coffee's revised appointments could prevail, because the rules have always stated that committee assignments need to be approved by the Senate, which now has 26 Republicans and 22 Democrats.
Caught in the fracas was the appointment of Sen. Tom Adelson, D-Tulsa. Laster had named Adelson to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, but Coffee stripped Adelson's name.
"The people of Tulsa ought to be outraged that the most competent member of the Legislature on health-care issues is being denied to serve for political reasons," Laster said.
Coffee responded that Adelson should not be on the committee, questioning Adelson's efforts to make an OSU Medical Center agreement work. Adelson said Coffee's comment was curious because Coffee had been reluctant to support a recent agreement to keep the Tulsa hospital open.
Laster said Coffee's actions on the committee assignments would be comparable to the coach for the University of Florida determining the starting lineup for the Oklahoma Sooners in the upcoming BCS bowl game "and not letting quarterback Sam Bradford play."
"This is disappointing after Sen. Laster talked about bipartisanship," Coffee said, adding that, "In fact, the citizens of the state of Oklahoma handed the reins to Republicans on Nov. 4."
For the last two years, the Senate has been operating under a power-sharing agreement when the chamber was split between 24 members of each party.
Coffee also ignored Laster's appointment of Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, to the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee. He also refused to allow Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, from serving on the committees that deal with judiciary and energy.
Previously, the two Democrats had chairmanship roles on those committees. Coffee also removed a few other Democrats from a few committees, saying Laster had been allotted a certain number of slots but exceeded them.
President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said the Democrats had no business announcing their appointments because they can only make recommendations to the head of the Senate.
Coffee said Sen. Charlie Laster, the Democratic leader, "knew exactly what he was doing. The Democrats are acting like they are in charge."
Laster said he was relying on tradition in the Senate for the past two decades that has allowed the minority party to make its own committee appointments. Each side said the other was getting carried away with a "power grab."
It appears that Coffee's revised appointments could prevail, because the rules have always stated that committee assignments need to be approved by the Senate, which now has 26 Republicans and 22 Democrats.
Caught in the fracas was the appointment of Sen. Tom Adelson, D-Tulsa. Laster had named Adelson to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, but Coffee stripped Adelson's name.
"The people of Tulsa ought to be outraged that the most competent member of the Legislature on health-care issues is being denied to serve for political reasons," Laster said.
Coffee responded that Adelson should not be on the committee, questioning Adelson's efforts to make an OSU Medical Center agreement work. Adelson said Coffee's comment was curious because Coffee had been reluctant to support a recent agreement to keep the Tulsa hospital open.
Laster said Coffee's actions on the committee assignments would be comparable to the coach for the University of Florida determining the starting lineup for the Oklahoma Sooners in the upcoming BCS bowl game "and not letting quarterback Sam Bradford play."
"This is disappointing after Sen. Laster talked about bipartisanship," Coffee said, adding that, "In fact, the citizens of the state of Oklahoma handed the reins to Republicans on Nov. 4."
For the last two years, the Senate has been operating under a power-sharing agreement when the chamber was split between 24 members of each party.
Coffee also ignored Laster's appointment of Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, to the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee. He also refused to allow Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, from serving on the committees that deal with judiciary and energy.
Previously, the two Democrats had chairmanship roles on those committees. Coffee also removed a few other Democrats from a few committees, saying Laster had been allotted a certain number of slots but exceeded them.
Labels: Charlie Laster, Glenn Coffee
posted by Mike McCarville @ 11:01 AM
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