Republicans Try Again On Pro-life Bill

House lawmakers on Monday passed a pro-life reform measure that would prohibit taxpayer dollars and state-operated hospitals from performing abortions. The legislation includes new language that garnered a veto-proof majority in the House Monday. By a vote of 77 to 19, the House voted to send Senate Bill 139 back to the Senate for consideration. SB 139 mirrors provisions contained in Senate Bill 714, vetoed by Governor Brad Henry in April.

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Wall Street Journal Slices, Dices Henry

From The Wall Street Journal ~ "For a case study in the political power of trial lawyers, consider Oklahoma. The public wants tort reform, the state Legislature wants it, and even Democratic Governor Brad Henry claims to want it. Yet that didn't stop Mr. Henry from recently vetoing an impressive reform bill at the urging of his plaintiff lawyer funders.

"Oklahoma sure needs something. The state is 38th on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's rankings of state liability systems. It suffers badly in comparison to neighboring Texas, which has used its sweeping 2003 tort reform to lure business across the border. Malpractice premiums are high, and rural areas in Oklahoma report shortages of such specialty doctors as obstetricians.

"The good news is that Oklahomans understand the trouble and want change. A public furor erupted in 2003, when former state Senate leader Stratton Taylor -- a partner in a personal injury law firm -- was caught inviting trial lawyers unhappy with the Texas tort reform to sue in Oklahoma. Tort reform has since become a top election issue.

"The issue helped Republicans draw even with Democrats in the state Senate in 2006 for the first time in history. It also helped state Senator Susan Paddack prevail in a Democratic primary runoff against a favorite of the trial bar. Last month Ms. Paddack became the sole Democrat to break Senate ranks and pass comprehensive tort reform on a 25-23 vote.

"The bill's reforms included a stricter definition of 'frivolous' lawsuits, a cap on pain and suffering awards, new standards for expert witnesses and the elimination of joint and several liability. Most impressive, it would have required anyone who wanted to join a class-action lawsuit to sign an agreement to actually be represented by an attorney. The bill would have gone a long way toward making Oklahoma a far more welcoming place for new business and job creation.

"Mr. Henry has been claiming to support reform for three years, and at one point he promised to "out Texas" Texas on the issue. Then again, Mr. Henry is himself an attorney and was elected with the help of trial bar donations. He may also have assumed he'd never have to act on his promises because a heretofore Democratic Senate could always be counted on to kill any reform.
Well, Mr. Henry has now shown his untrue colors. As soon as the Senate passed the bill, Democrats and the plaintiffs bar dug in.

"Democratic Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued a hastily written opinion saying the legislation would make it harder to prevent pollution in the state. Trial lawyers took their usual line, claiming many provisions were "unconstitutional." Mr. Henry used all of this malarkey as an excuse to veto the bill. Even for a politician, this was an impressive back flip with a twist off the high bar.

"Mr. Henry says he wants to work out a compromise, but he delayed his veto long enough to give the Legislature little time in this session. Meanwhile, what he wants the Legislature to abandon is the heart of the bill, including the cap on economic damages. What he says he'll accept isn't even 'Texas lite.'

"Having won re-election last year, Mr. Henry now faces no electoral pressure to stick to his campaign promises. But we hope Oklahomans keep reminding him that his double cross is hurting everyone who wants to do business in their state."

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Jones: Follow Henry's Money

Republican State Chairman Gary Jones said today that should anyone doubt where Brad Henry’s loyalty lies, look no further than his weekend veto of the lawsuit reform legislation, SB 507, and cross check that with the campaign finance watchdog, FollowTheMoney.org.

"It’s crystal clear that Brad Henry’s trial lawyer friends got a return on their investment this past weekend," said Jones. "According to the non-partisan website, FollowTheMoney.org, the trial lawyer industry is far and away the top contributor to his 2002 and 2006 campaigns. "It looks like they finally got what they paid for."

In Henry’s first campaign for governor in 2002, Jones said, lawyers accounted for over 27% of Henry’s receipts, far outpacing his second most lucrative source, a category referred to as "Self." Health Care Professionals were a distant third. See http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200236&c=23729.

In 2006, trial lawyers came through again, with 20% of his contributions, outpacing the number two category – health care – by an almost 4-1 margin, Jones said. See http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200636&c=416243.

"Clearly, Brad Henry has put the interest of his friends and colleagues in the courtrooms ahead of the better interest of economic development and business prosperity in Oklahoma," Jones said. "Our governor, without the specter of a re-election facing him, is showing his true liberal stripes."

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Henry's Legal Reform Bill Veto Criticized

National and state business leaders are calling Governor Henry's weekend veto of the comprehensive lawsuit reform measure a killer for Oklahoma's economic climate.

"This is a mistake on his (Henry's) part that will have serious consequences for the state's business climate," stated the National Association of Manufacturers on its "ShopFloor.org" blog this weekend. The NAM posted the comments Saturday after Henry vetoed Senate Bill 507, an omnibus lawsuit reform measure that contained nearly all of the provisions the governor himself has repeatedly claimed to favor.

Though it's difficult to assign a specific dollar number, economic experts say the veto is likely to have far-reaching harmful implications for Oklahoma, a statement from Speaker Lance Cargill's House claims.

"Certainly states that neglect tort reform will fall behind states that enact lawsuit reform," said Rex Pjesky, Ph.D., an assistant professor of economics at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. "Lawsuit reform is important because it sends the message that Oklahoma is open for business. The tort reform bill would have helped everyone know that we want them to come to Oklahoma to create jobs, raise their families, and join us in prosperity."

The governor claimed in his veto message that, "SB 507 did little to help innocent business owners who rack up costs fighting a frivolous complaint that is ultimately thrown out of court."

Oklahoma's conservative legislative leaders say the governor's contention is absurd, and that business leaders were overwhelmingly in favor of SB 507.

Oklahoma's State Chamber reacted to the governor's veto with dismay: "Even though small business owners and large Oklahoma corporate citizens came together in their effort to communicate the importance of his signing of the lawsuit reform elements he himself called for, the plain fact is that he chose to listen to his trial lawyer friends," said Mike Seney, senior vice president of operations for The State Chamber.

According to the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank in favor of lawsuit reform, Oklahoma ranks among the 15 worst states overall in terms of a poor lawsuit reform environment. Oklahoma is ranked 38th for problems ranging from lawsuit threats to monetary losses from harmful verdicts.To make matters worse, surrounding states like Colorado, Kansas and Texas have all passed strong lawsuit reform measures and rank among the top 10 states with the best lawsuit reform laws, while Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana each rank far ahead of Oklahoma in terms of reform efforts.

Just across the Red River border, Texas ranks number one among all states for the best lawsuit reform. Even California, known for its litigious environment, ranks better than Oklahoma.

One respected Oklahoma legal scholar who has worked on lawsuit reform efforts agrees that the governor's veto is bad news for the state. In a recent post on the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs' "Under the Dome" blog, Oklahoma City University constitutional scholar and law professor Andrew Spiropoulos noted that, "Our leading lawyers ... ought to prefer the common good to their litigation success. We deserve better, but we won't get it, unless we are willing to demand it from our officials and ourselves."

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Henry Vetoes Lawsuit Reform Bill

Governor Brad Henry announced Saturday he has vetoed Senate Bill 507, the lawsuit reform bill passed by the House and Senate. Speaker Lance Cargill (R-Harrah) and Senate President Co-Pro Tem Glenn Coffee (R-Oklahoma City) both reacted to the veto.

"After campaigning for re-election as a moderate, this session we're seeing the reemergence of the liberal Brad Henry we all knew in the State Senate. If the governor isn't careful, he's going to get the nickname 'Governor No,' with all of the vetoes he has issued lately.

"It is ridiculous for the governor to claim he is trying to protect businesses. Business owners know the truth, and they wanted this reform. The governor spent the last two days attempting to water down this legislation.

"Where has the governor been the last four months? To renegotiate a complex and lengthy bill at the eleventh hour ignores the fact that this has been a topic at the Capitol for months.

"We know defenders of the status quo will come up with a long list of excuses to stop Oklahoma from moving forward. As House Republicans continue to champion much-needed reforms in areas like education, tax and civil justice, the governor has become a powerful defender of a detrimental status quo.

"In just the past several weeks, the governor has vetoed a conservative bipartisan budget, he's tried to stop important tax relief in its tracks, he killed pro-life reform, he opposed an independent outside audit of the Department of Corrections and now he has thwarted lawsuit reform.

"We want Oklahoma's second century to be better than its first. While the governor may want to keep us tied down with the failed policies of the past, we will double our efforts to move our state forward."

Coffee said, “This is one of the biggest flip-flops in Oklahoma political history. Today, the governor ignored his own promises by vetoing the genuine reforms he called for in 2004,” stated Senate Co-President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City. “To paraphrase Groucho Marx: If you don’t like Brad Henry’s stated principles on an issue, don’t worry, he has others,” he said.

“The governor missed a grand opportunity to send a message to the nation that Oklahoma is pro-jobs, pro-doctor, and pro-business,” Coffee continued. “Instead, he sent a message that millionaire trial lawyers are still running the show.”

In 2004 Henry promised to bring “Texas-Plus” lawsuit reform to Oklahoma – and even campaigned in favor of lawsuit reform during last year’s governor’s race. SB 507 contained 18 of the 28 areas of lawsuit reform Henry called for in 2004.

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