Social media also was the driving force in Moore’s Let’s Fix This campaign. He expected about a dozen people to join him. Instead, around 70 people participated in the inaugural event.
lobbyists
Posted inNews
Smoke up
Credit: Brad Gregg Current statute pre-empts municipalities from enacting smoking ordinances stricter than what state law has enacted. The measure to repeal that preemption was strongly backed by Gov. Mary Fallin, who had made it a key part of her legislative agenda. Sen. Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher, headed much of the committee debate against the measure. […]
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Up in smoke
On a 6-2 vote, the Senate General Government Committee rejected Senate Bill 36, which sought to repeal the state pre-emption law that supersedes local governments. SB 36 was referred to that panel after Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, had declined to grant a hearing on the legislation. […]
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Tobacco road
Credit: Mark Hancock Currently, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the only states that fully bar local governments from ordinances that restrict tobacco. And therein lies the rub. State Health Commissioner Terry Cline is on the side of local control. “We expect big opposition from this multibillion[-dollar] industry,” he said. “There are plenty of paid tobacco lobbyists […]
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Time for tax credit reform
One reason was laid bare in a recent series of legislative hearings I was privileged to chair: We waste too many of your tax dollars on unnecessary, giveaway tax credits to businesses. The tax credit task force examined how and why past legislatures had granted tax credits to specific industries. We found little rhyme or […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Inside Job
One could read its 576 pages in an attempt to understand it all, but director Charles Ferguson (“No End in Sight”) does the same thing — and certainly a better job of it — in 108 minutes, in the documentary “Inside Job.” Nominated Tuesday for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the film has […]