Reports reflect Cargill’s diminished role
Lance Cargill, no longer in the speaker’s chair this year, received a small percentage of meals and other things of value from lobbyists during the first six months of 2008 compared with the same time period last year, reports show.
During the first six months of 2007 – the only year that Cargill served as House speaker – Cargill received received $2,063 in things of value from lobbyists. The legislative session runs from the first week of February through the last week of May.
This year, Cargill, who stepped down a week before the start of this year’s session because of personal tax problems, received $91 in gifts, according to lobbyist reports.
Though he kept his legislative seat, Cargill didn’t serve on any House committee and appeared mostly in the House chamber simply to cast a vote.
It was quite a change from a year ago when Cargill, R-Harrah, had lobbyists line up in an office building outside the state Capitol complex to meet with him over suggested contributions to his and other political action committees.
Lobbyists in the first six months of this year reported spending much less on House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, than on Cargill a year ago. Lobbyists reported giving Benge, qho took over the House leadership duties on the first day of the session, $377 in gifts – or about 18 percent of what Cargill received a year ago.
Reports filed with the state Ethics Commission show lobbyists gave nearly three times more in gifts to Senate co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee than Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater. Reports show Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, received $1,478 in gifts and Morgan received $536.
A new rule that took effect Juy1 reduces from $300 to $100 the amount spent on gifts for legislators and elected officials by a “lobbyist principal” during a calendar year. Lobbyist principals are companies or associations that hire lobbyists and provide the money to buy meals and other gifts for legislators.
Lobbyists who have spent more than $100 on things of value to an elected official so far this year can’t spend any more on that official for the rest of the year.
The total spent on legislators by lobbyists is difficult to know for certain. Lobbyists don’t face a fine for not filing their reports by the Ethics Commission’s deadline, which for the first six months of this year was July 21. And for this reporting period lobbyists only had to disclose gifts after spending more than $50 on a state official or aide; from now on lobbyist are to disclose gifts after spending more than $10 on a state official or aide during a six-month period.
About 38 of the approximately 380 lobbyists had not filed their reports as of midnight Wednesday.
Most of the gifts were meals, ranging from less than $10 to dinners costing nearly $170. Lobbyists also gave legislators tickets to sporting events and concerts and took a couple lawmakers skeet shooting and out on the links for a game of golf.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Coincidental timing
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was in Oklahoma City when he found out Thursday that Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator and the state’s congressman from Tulsa have tossed their support behind rival Fred Thompson, the former actor and U.S. senator from Tennessee.
Romney, making his third stop in Oklahoma this year, said he was not aware that U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, both Tulsa Republicans, officially have endorsed Thompson.
“I’ve got some senators who support me,” said Romney, 60, a former Massachusetts governor.
The timing of Inhofe’s endorsement – it was released Wednesday by the Thompson campaign – is what is interesting. It’s not surprising that Inhofe would support Thompson: He said in an article I wrote for the Aug. 22 edition of The Oklahoman that he would back Thompson if he got into the GOP primary presidential sweepstakes.
Former U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook of Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, who served in Congress with Inhofe and Sullivan and is helping Romney in his campaign, was with Romney and downplayed the endorsements.
“Everybody’s entitled to their position,” he said. “The value of endorsements is universally overstated.”
Romney, who arrived late Tuesday in Oklahoma City and jogged Wednesday morning in downtown Oklahoma City, left for Phoenix after talking to about 50 supporters at a luncheon fundraiser Thursday at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.
Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
State officials monitoring flooding, oil spill
Gov. Brad Henry today is looking at flood-ravaged areas of the state.
He left this morning aboard an Oklahoma National Guard Blackhawk helicopter to tour Washington and Ottawa Counties in northeastern Oklahoma.
The governor is expected to take a brief tour this morning in Miami. He is scheduled to meet residents affected by the flooding. He will also visit workers staffing the local emergency operations center.
Henry then will be given an aerial tour of the Bartlesville area, where more than 2,500 have been evacuated from homes, before heading to tour the Shawnee-Tecumseh region.
He’s expected to land in Shawnee and look at flood damage in the Brookridge Housing Addition just north of Shawnee.
The governor will return to Oklahoma City after his stop in Shawnee. He will be accompanied on the tour by state Emergency Management Department Director Allbert Ashwood.
Meanwhile, state environmental officials are watching an oil spill that has entered Lake Oologah, a water source for the city of Tulsa.
The oil spilled into the Verdigris River from a Coffeyville, Kan., refinery on Sunday and was headed toward Oologah Lake, a water source for the city of Tulsa.
“We are hopeful that because of the large amounts of water that are out there that the oil will be spread out and diluted and displaced and not cause a tremendous problem,” Henry said Monday.
Miles Tolbert, the state’s secretary of environment, said the oil spill, while serious, poses no threat to several Oklahoma communities that get their public drinking water from the Verdigris.
The drinking water comes from below the surface waters of the river; oil floats on the surface and should not be sucked into the drinking water systems, Tolbert said.
“They should not be impacted by this spill,” he said.
However, residents along the river should be aware that the sewage treatment plant in South Coffeyville was flooded, which will cause a danger of bacteria in the river, Tolbert said. Communities along the river are being encouraged to increase testing levels.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius called Henry on Monday to apologize.
“She’s very concerned and offered her help and assistance,” Henry said.
Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
Foreign governments more open in dissent
I just got back from a trip to Britain; my first overseas. While I was there, I was lucky enough to be able to go see the British Parliament, the equivalent to the U.S. Congress in many ways and the Scottish Parliament, or something more similar to a state legislature. The differences between the debates I saw there and what goes on here seemed stark to me.
First, the House of Commons (think U.S. House) and the House of Lords (U.S. Senate, though different in many ways) are quite a raucous bunch. When I was there, global warming was the issue of the day, and the members were not afraid to express (sometimes loudly) what they thought of the questions or responses given. Often members were booed, or cheered, depending on the opinion expressed. After each answer, members must stand up hoping for a chance to be recognized to ask the next question. In the House of Commons, much like Congress and often the Oklahoma Legislature, many members aren’t in the chamber during debate unless there is a vote. In fact, all of the 646 Members of Parliament (they are called MPs) cannot even fit into the Commons chamber, which only sits 427 people at any one time.
As for the House of Lords, it is a group of unelected members, many of whom are there because of their last name and the title that comes with it. In recent years, lords can also be appointed for their life, and the numbers have swelled to 750 members. Again, not even a quarter of the members were there the day I saw them debating.
On the days I saw the proceedings in both England and Scotland, government officials were called before the members to answer pointed questions about their performance and budgeting. I think the Oklahoma Legislature, and state officials, could stand a little more of this type of open questioning.
Overall, the atmosphere was adversarial, with clear divisions between the government (or what they call the majority party) and the other minority members. Some things in politics are universal I suppose.
Jennifer Mock
Capitol Bureau
Capitol workers to get lunchime treat Monday
Workers at the Capitol won’t have to bring their lunch or go elsewhere for lunch Monday, thanks to a state employees group.
The Oklahoma Public Employees Association will provide free sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday on the 4th-floor rotunda to the approximately 250 workers at the Capitol.
A snack bar at the Capitol has been closed since May 25. It’s expected a new vendor could be in place by the end of this month, state officials have said.
Snack bar operators are selected by the Business Enterprise Program, a part of the Rehabilitation Services Department. The program provides employment opportunities for people who are visually impaired to independently run their own businesses in government buildings.
Snack bars in the basement and on the fourth floor of the Capitol are open during the legislative session; the fourth-floor operation usually shuts down when legislators are not in session.
The previous operator quit suddenly May 24, the day before legislators adjourned this year’s session.
She came in hurriedly when Lee Hutsen, who had operated the snack bars for 14 months, was booted out of the Capitol in late January just before the start of this year’s legislative session because of a dispute with a customer over chicken salad. The customer wanted the item, but Hutson said he no longer served it.
Hutsen now runs the snack bar in the Hodge Building, a couple blocks north of the Capitol.
He and his wife, Mary, said last week they’ve picked up about four or five customers since the Capitol snack bars closed.
Hutsen, a visually impaired vendor in the Business Enterprise Program for seven years, said he’s increased business at the Hodge Building since starting up shop there in February – from about $425 in daily sales to about $600.
Lee Hutsen said whoever is selected as vendor at the Capitol will be starting during a slow period, but business will pick up noticeably during the four months legislators are in session.
“It’s nothing to make $2,000 a day (in sales) between the two snack bars,” he said.
Daily sales in the basement snack bar when legislators are not in session usually run about $400, he said.
“Eight months out of the year, the state Capitol business is a little better than break even by the time you pay for products and pay for your help,” he said.
Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
More said to be watching presidential contenders
Are you paying more attention to the presidential candidates this year compared with four years ago?
A national campaign manager for one of the candidates says polls indicate you are.
The many big-name candidates in both the Democratic and Republican parties may be a factor why more people report watching this year’s presidential races compared with the 2004 campaigns, said David Bonior, campaign manager for Democratic presidential contender John Edwards.
Republicans didn’t have a presidential primary race in 2004, and several states have moved up their primaries or caucuses to early 2008, which also may be a factor, Bonior said during a speech Friday in Oklahoma City to Oklahoma County Democrats.
Polls, he said, show between 50 to 67 percent of Americans are paying attention to this year’s race compared with about 25 percent during the same time four years ago.
What do you think?
Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
No free lunch – or any lunch – at the Capitol
If they’re going to eat lunch, state workers at the Capitol are getting in the habit of either going out or bringing their own.
A snack bar in the Capitol remains closed. But a new operator could be serving food and drinks in less than two weeks, a state spokeswoman said today.
The previous operator quit suddenly on May 24, the day before legislators adjourned this year’s session.
Typically, snack bars in the basement and on the fourth-floor are open during the legislative session; the 4th-floor operation usually shuts down when legislators are not in session.
Lobbyists and others spend a lot of days during the legislative session pacing the 4th-floor rotunda while legislators in their chambers. They often get something to eat or drink at one of the snack bars.
Even though legislators won’t return until February for the next session, the Capitol still is a busy place. It’s one of the state’s top tourist attractions and soon various legislative committees will take place here.
And then there’s all the state workers who are here every day.
Snack bar operators are selected by the Business Enterprise PRogram, a part of the state Rehabilitaton Services Department. The program provides employment opportunities for people who are blind to independently run their own businesses in government buildings.
Jody Harlan, a Rehabilitation Services Department spokeswoman, said efforts are under way to find an operator.
The goal is to have the basement snack bar open by June 18, she said.
“The process for replacing that person is just about like any other state government deal where they look for people who are qualified and people who are food service managers,” she said.
The state recently formed a partnership with Java Dave’s Coffee to open at least five stores in government buildings across the state. The department will find eligible visually impaired managers to run the stores. One of them, which will be a little larger than a kiosk, will sell coffees and pastries on the first floor of the Capitol. But that’s not expected to open until this fall.
Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
Political joke?
Driving south on Lincoln Blvd. this morning, astute commuters might have noticed something noticeably out of place at Republican Party Headquarters.
Sitting outside the building, flanked by President Bush signs and a Republican elephant symbol in the windows, was a large yellow papier-mache dog donning an American flag top hat and scarf. To top it off, the dog was holding a ‘Brad Henry for Governor’ sign.
Yes, you read that right, in front of the Republican party was a yellow dog holding a Henry sign. The dog was quickly removed and dismissed as a prank by party officials.
“Sounds to me that there are some Democratic operatives with too much time on their hands,” said Republican Party chairman Gary Jones. “If they want to concentrate on things like that, that is fine. We are going to concentrate on getting more Republicans elected.”
He did add that “we’ll probably have some fun with it.”
Newly elected Democratic Chairman Ivan Holmes said he does not know who is responsible for the joke. But, the dog did come from the Democratic headquarters. It had long been stationed in the party’s kitchen, Holmes said, but he decided to throw it away a couple days ago.
Apparently someone took it from behind the building and placed it in front of the Republican headquarters, he said.
Republicans, tag, you’re it.
Jennifer Mock
Capitol Bureau
Vacation plans
With legislators gone and no special session for the first time in four years, Oklahoma’s first family is making summer vacation plans.
Gov. Brad Henry plans to attend a summer meeting June 10-13 of The Council of State Goverments in Puerto Pico. Henry is president of the organization.
The governor and the first lady, Kim Henry, plan in late June to go on a mission trip with the former pastor of their church, the First Baptist Church in Shawnee. They will be distributing treated mosquito nets to children and pregnant women in Ghana, Africa.
“We’ve been wanting to go on this particular mission trip for some time and I think we’ll be able to work it out,” Henry said.
With his oldest daughter planning to start college this fall, the governor said the family will focus on spending time with her before “she leaves the nest.” Leah, 17, is planning to study out of state.
“My other two daughters will be home and we’ll just try to have some good, quality time this summer,” he said.
Before summer officially arrives, the governor and first lady will be celebrating their wedding anniversary. They will be married 21 years Thursday.
Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
Rumors fly as talk of session ending today picks up steam
The Capitol is always a rumor mill the last week of session. Well, it is a rumor mill period, but especially as the final details are sorted out and lawmakers start to feel a sense of urgency.
The Legislature has to be done by 5 p.m. tomorrow. But many are talking about finishing a day early. This would give lawmakers something to brag about. They finished their work not only on time, but early.
There are still dozens of bills in conference, and several even already on agendas. But as the clock ticks by, lawmakers are moving a little quicker today. The only bill lawmakers need to pass is a one-time funds bill that spends the rest of the $7.1 billion state budget. If that can be done, they rest may fall by the wayside. Only time will tell……..check back for updates.
Jennifer Mock
Capitol Bureau
