Tulsa World
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
Published: 11/22/20102:17 AM
Last Modified: 11/22/20105:15 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - The man expected to lead the state Senate in its next session said his priority would be job creation.
The Senate Republican Caucus tapped Sen. Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, this month for the post of president pro tem. The full Senate will vote on him in January.
Lawmakers were criticized in the last session for taking up what some considered to be obscure issues and trying to insert items into bills at the last minute.
"We need to have a jobs-oriented agenda," Bingman said. "When I look at some of this legislation, if it strays off from that, it is a decision I will have to make. Do we want to put bills outside of those boundaries on the floor? I know everyone will have different agendas."
Lawmakers likely will revisit issues from past sessions, such as lawsuit reform, workers compensation reform and the possible elimination of some tax credits and exemptions.
Bingman said he thought the state will have about $600 million less to spend in the next fiscal year than it had for its current budget, for which lawmakers tapped the state's "rainy day" fund and used federal stimulus money. Even so, state agencies took cuts, which resulted in service reductions, staff cuts and furloughs... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Mon, November 22, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski