Angry House Democrats Stage Walkout

Angry House Democrats today walked out of the chamber to protest the refusal of Republican committee chairmen to allow those with whom they disagree to speak.

Rep. Chuck Hoskin, head of the House Democratic caucus, said it was bad enough that members of the public were not allowed to speak, but elected representatives also are being denied the right to ask questions in committee and on the floor.

Thursday morning, Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City, asked to be recognized on the House floor because he wanted to speak with House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, about how committee meetings are being conducted. But he was not recognized.

"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," said Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa.

House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, D-Prague, huddled with Benge and others in the speaker's office. Morgan said Benge agreed to review committee rules and will have an answer on Monday.

Morgan (pictured) said his members also are angry over the the refusal by Rep. Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow, to let supporters of a measure that would require insurance companies to cover costs associated with autism speak before his committee.

About 30 supporters showed up the past two weeks to speak to Peterson's committee, but Peterson killed the measure and denied supporters a chance to speak.

Last week Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, was not allowed to speak before a House committee that took up a bill that would make English the official language of the state. The chairman of that committee, Rep. Guy Liebmann, R-Oklahoma City, restricted comments to House members. The measure passed out of committee and is awaiting action on the House floor. House Speaker Chris Benge later apologized to Smith and said he should have been allowed to speak.

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Speculation Increases About McMahan Probe Panel

With certain House approval next week of a resolution calling for an investigation of Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan that could result in his impeachment, there's speculation today about those who might serve on the committee.

New House Speaker Chris Benge of Tulsa will name the eight committee members, four Democrats and four Republicans, with a member of each party serving as co-chairman.

Rep. Mike Reynolds, Oklahoma City Republican, authored the resolution and is said by some to be able to cite line-by-line from the lengthy, nine-count federal indictment of McMahan and his wife, Lori. He told Oklahoma City radio station KTOK he would like to serve on the committee. His problem is that he's viewed as a maverick always on the outs with his own party's leadership and he's butted heads with Benge in the past.

Others mentioned as possible members are all attorneys and include Reps. Rex Duncan of Sand Springs, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; T. W. Shannon of Lawton, assistant majority whip; Dan Sullivan of Tulsa, assistant majority floor leader and chairman of the Civil Justice Committee; and John Trebilcock of Broken Arrow, whose resolution authorized the panel that investigated former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher.

Capitol sources say that while the Benge appointments won't be certain until they are announced, three top members of Democratic Leader Danny Morgan's team, and a highly-respected former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, are possible members of the committee. They are Reps. David Braddock of Altus, James Covey of Custer City, Paul Roan of Tishomingo and Dale Turner of Holdenville. Covey is the minority floor leader and Braddock and Turner are deputy minority floor leaders. Roan is a retired OHP trooper and the former deputy sheriff of Pontotoc County. He's also a former first vice president of the Oklahoma State Troopers Association and is vice chairman of the House Civil Justice Committee.

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