Murphey Calls For End To Abstract Fees

In a time of difficulty in the housing market, Rep. Jason Murphey today called on the Legislature to enact what he believes to be one of the important parts of the recently released 100 Ideas program. The implementation of Idea number 27 would end the abstract fee that is placed on Oklahoma home owners.

Murphey said the abstracting industry, which has been known for its ties to the political-patronage machine of old-guard Oklahoma politicians, is "completely unnecessary."

Murphey believes the recent disclosure that an official with the Oklahoma Abstractors Board has been accused of making illegal contributions to an Oklahoma elected official is additional evidence that Oklahoma's abstracting industry continues to be susceptible to corruption due to its composition as an unnecessary monopoly.

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Dittman Resigns From Abstractors Board

Tulsa abstractor Randy Dittmann said Monday he will step down as a member and chairman of the Oklahoma Abstractors Board.

The announcement comes amid allegations that Dittmann, a registered Republican, made illegal campaign contributions to Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, a Democrat. Those allegations are among many contained in federal court documents in the McMahan case.

Dittmann, president of Buffalo Land Abstract Co., said the statements against him in an application for a search warrant of McMahan’s Tecumseh home are “grossly inaccurate.

“Because I do not want the board to be hampered or distracted by the loose allegations that have been tossed out, I am stepping down,” he said.

The search resulted in McMahan and his wife Lori, being indicted for conspiracy, mail fraud and bribery in connection with accepting more than $140,000 from Kiowa businessman Steven Phipps, who once owed several abstracting businesses with former Senator Gene Stipe, a McAlester Democrat, in exchange for favorable treatment.

The Legislature removed the auditor’s office from regulation over the abstracting industry when the allegations against McMahan surfaced last year. In its place, the Oklahoma Abstractors Board was formed to give the industry an independent look.

Dittman was appointed to the board by Governor Brad Henry.

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