Democrats Express Frustration With GOP House

Democrats in the Legislature today expressed their frustrations over how some of their bills have been handled in the Republican-cotrolled House.

Democrats said that bills to require insurers to provide a variety of medical coverage were killed in House committees and not allowed to be heard on the House floor.

They claim GOP House leaders are beholden to insurance companies and not the people they serve.

Senator Andrew Rice of Oklahoma City says a bill to require insurance companies to pay the routine health care costs of patients who take part in clinical trials is essentially dead.

Senator Jim Wilson of Tahlequah says his Patient's Bill of Rights would have required insurers to pay for any medically necessary procedure. It is also dead.

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Henry Stands Up Senate Democrats

Governor Brad Henry did not show for last night's fundraiser for Senate Democrats, adding to what many say is a rift between the governor and Senate Democrats under Co-President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan.

Henry's office said he attended a daughter's soccer game in Shawnee rather than the fundraiser.

Sources say Henry agreed to help headline the dinner with Morgan before the Senate Democrats joined Senate and House Republicans in adopting the budget that Henry vetoed. The invitations announcing Henry's presence were received about the time Henry, on spring vacation in Mexico, objected to the budget.

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Senate Democrats Plan Fundraiser; Will Henry Attend As Promised Given Budget Disagreement?

Originally posted 3/27/07 ~ UPDATE: Will he or won't he? No word yet from the governor about attendng the fundraiser. Spokesman Paul Sund indicates a decision isn't made yet. Developing.... Senate Democrats plan a fundraiser on April 3rd with Governor Brad Henry and Senate President Co-Pro Tempore Mike Morgan inviting supporters to join them, but there's speculation today the governor may not be there. The event, announced in invitations received this week, is at 6 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.

The invitations apparently were approved before Senate Democrats joined Senate Republicans and House Republicans to prepare a budget without Henry's input. That has soured relations between Henry and Senate Democrats, with words being exchanged and Henry describing the budget process so far as being secret. Morgan said, in essence, the governor doesn't know what he's talking about.

Whether the disagreement will see Henry spurn the fundraiser isn't confirmed, but the Capitol rumor mill says it is so. A question about it to the governor's office has yet to be answered.

The fundraiser is scheduled to last an hour and a half. Suggested donation for couples is $125, for individuals $75. For more information, call (405) 424-6889.

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Gumm Seeks Senate Leadership Post

The race is already on to become the next Democratic leader in the Oklahoma Senate, the Tulsa World's Barbara Hoberock reports.

Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, confirmed Tuesday that he is soliciting support for the Senate leader's post. The names of three others also have been mentioned.

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Senate Democrats Prove Mary Easley Lives In District She Represents; Official Locator In Error

Senate Democrats today produced proof that Senator Mary Easley, contrary to an "official" Legislative Service Bureau (LSB) locator that shows her home address in another Senate district, does indeed live in the district she represents.

The "conundrum," so described by the executive director of Oklahoma Senate Democrats, Owen Shackelford, presented itself when, following our series of stories last week about Easley's residence being listed as outside her district, Shackelford and others began digging into the district line question. Easley herself, inexplicably, refused to discuss her place of residence last week. Her reticence, perhaps, could have been fueled by the controversy during last year's election when she was accused of moving out of the district into Owasso. The move to Grand Lake Towne apparently was her second in recent months.

Shackelford today produced Easley's voter registration card, which shows she registered at 106 South Cherokee Lane, Ketchum, Mayes County, last October 2nd. But Easley herself lists the address officially as 106 South Cherokee Lane in Grand Lake Towne, a separate entity. To make matters more confusing, Easley's voting place is the Langley (another town) town hall. And Ketchum is in another Senate district and another county (Craig County, even though her voter ID card shows Mayes County).

Working with Shackelford and his associate Ward Curtin, The McCarville Report Online examined about a dozen maps and consulted with the Mayes County Election Board. Curtin and Shackelford located the state's official list of Senate and House district counties and towns within them, prepared and maintained by Republicans in the State House, and the list notes that Ketchum is in Craig County, Senate District 29 (John Ford), and that nearby Grand Lake Towne is in Mayes County, Senate District 18 (Easley).

A detailed map located by Curtin shows the county dividing line to be just north of South Cherokee Lane in Grand Lake Towne and the distance apparently is quite close; that could account for the "official" state locator site giving the wrong Senate District when asked.

TMRO asked the Legislative Service Bureau for clarification or an explanation as to why their "official" locator gives the wrong Senate district for 106 South Cherokee Lane in Grand Lake Towne, but have had no response. (In working this story today, we also encountered another instance in which an address clearly in one Senate district shows as being located in a different Senate district.)

The confusion over Easley's address, and it being shown in a Senate district other than her own, raises questions about the accuracy of the LSB locating system, to which many turn for "official" information. The LSB legislative locator is designed to provide specific Senate and House district numbers for anyone who inputs a street address.

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