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Mike
Super Moderator
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Posted: Wed Oct 21st, 2009 01:53 pm |
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NOTE: Sign the petition for Oklahoma at http://www.petitiononline.com/oc4ok/petition.html
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http://www.tulsabeacon.com/?p=1690
SNIP
Good bills can die in bad committees
by Robert McDowell
The rules of legislative bodies, including Congress, often provide for those in leadership roles to have the virtual power of dictators in deciding the fate of the various bills introduced by the members each session.
There are many examples of this situation in past years which, if known by those who elected them, should have caused the individuals involved to be, at the least, censured and ultimately replaced.
. . .
Also this year, Rep. Mike Ritze, D.O., R-Broken Arrow, submitted House Bill 1414, the “open carry law.” This bill would have made Oklahoma law comply with the Second Amendment by allowing law-abiding citizens to openly (visible) carry firearms (keep and bear arms).
The Speaker of the House, Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, assigned the bill to the Public Safety Committee which is chaired by Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa. Rep. Tibbs has refused to allow the bill to even be read, let alone voted on, in the committee, and since the deadline for bills to be voted on the floors of the originating house passed on March 6, it is dead for this session.
Unfortunately, there are some parts of the Concealed Carry Permit law that are blatantly in violation of the Constitution, so HB 1414 would have been a real benefit to a majority of Oklahoma citizens. There have been conflicting reports as to her reasoning for this action or lack of it. In any event, it seems to me that there is something wrong in the rules that allow one person to deny a hearing and vote on such important bills.
Last edited on Wed Oct 21st, 2009 01:54 pm by Mike
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Superlite27
Regular Member
| Joined: | Thu Jul 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 357 |
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Posted: Wed Oct 21st, 2009 05:04 pm |
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Same thing happened last legislative session here in Missouri.
A bill to allow CCW on Missouri college campuses was introduced, cosponsored, read three times in the house, sent to committee.......
...where it sat for three weeks (while other bills sent to committee at the same time were approved or denied for a Senate vote).....until the legislative session ended.
College campus carry, which might have passed here in Missouri, was effectively killed in committee.
It would have been a close call in the Senate, and would have probably failed in the long run because it would definately have been vetoed by the governor and there's no way it would have received enough votes to override that....
...but it never even got an inkling of a chance.
Last edited on Wed Oct 21st, 2009 05:06 pm by Superlite27
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WCrawford
Regular Member
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Posted: Fri Oct 23rd, 2009 05:20 am |
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We, in Tennessee, had many, many years of such dictatorship. Our former Speaker of the House (Jimmy Naifeh) would kill or have killed any pro-2A bill that surfaced. It took a while, but a change in power structure ensured he would not be in charge during this session, at least.
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Gulf Coast Gunman
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| Joined: | Tue Oct 6th, 2009 |
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Posted: Fri Oct 23rd, 2009 05:52 am |
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OK here is a thought for all of you in Oklahoma... get another bill introduced next year..
If there is any way to follow the bill as it is assigned to committee, (I can do this in Florida through the House website as well as the Senate website), email everyone that has signed the petition to email each person on the committee to get it through. Voice your support each and every step it takes through the legislative process.
You have to understand. There is ONE currency that legislators use.. it is votes.. get enough registered voters sending emails, letters, making phone calls... and you will see results.
Better luck next year..
Gulf Coast Gunman
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Alexcabbie
Regular Member
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Posted: Fri Oct 23rd, 2009 06:08 am |
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Here in Virginia this is a blessing, as the Washington Post and other State-controlled Media have been kvetching for years that "Sensible" gun-control bills have disappeared ito the black hole of the Militia and Police Committee.
There is a lot of whining about how much revenue NOVA liberals supply to the Commonwealth so why can't they get their way with say an exemption to pre-emption on CHP and open carry? Yet the very same gang is just bombs-away for higher taxes. The latest bright idea is forcing people to have a GPS in their car so they can e taxed per mile at about a dime per.
No wonder they don't want the voters to be armed!!
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KBCraig
Regular Member
| Joined: | Tue Aug 7th, 2007 |
| Location: | Northeast Texas |
| Posts: | 1676 |
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Posted: Fri Oct 30th, 2009 01:06 am |
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No matter whether it works for you (Virginia) or against you (Oklahoma), it's my opinion that the committee system is inexcusable.
I like the New Hampshire system: every single bill that is introduced, gets voted on by the entire body. Committee chairmen can't squash bills. The committees study bills and discuss fiscal impacts, then vote to label the bill either Ought to Pass (OTP) or Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL), or make no recommendation at all.
Most bills are then placed on the "consent calendar", grouped together by OTP/ITL status, and then voted on in batches. This serves to cut down the number of votes, and makes sure every bill gets voted on. But, any legislator has the power to demand a separate vote on a bill if he doesn't like the committee recommendation. There have been bills where the committee overwhelmingly voted ITL (against it), they were placed on the ITL consent calendar, but a single rep would pull it out, argue for the bill, and have it pass.
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Alexcabbie
Regular Member
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Posted: Fri Oct 30th, 2009 01:54 am |
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| Damn good idea. Words fail me. Damned good idea.
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oklaccer
Regular Member
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Posted: Fri Nov 20th, 2009 02:55 pm |
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Gulf Coast Gunman wrote: OK here is a thought for all of you in Oklahoma... get another bill introduced next year..
If there is any way to follow the bill as it is assigned to committee, (I can do this in Florida through the House website as well as the Senate website), email everyone that has signed the petition to email each person on the committee to get it through. Voice your support each and every step it takes through the legislative process.
You have to understand. There is ONE currency that legislators use.. it is votes.. get enough registered voters sending emails, letters, making phone calls... and you will see results.
Better luck next year..
Gulf Coast Gunman
I talked to Rep. Ritze about this issue. It will definitely be introduced again at the start of the next legislative session.
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Grapeshot
Founder's Club Member
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Posted: Sun Nov 22nd, 2009 01:19 am |
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Alexcabbie wrote: Here in Virginia this is a blessing, as the Washington Post and other State-controlled Media have been kvetching for years that "Sensible" gun-control bills have disappeared ito the black hole of the Militia and Police Committee. Then there is the other wonder of our GA - the "Death Star" committee where nothing good is allowed to see the light of day.
Yata hey
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