The Oklahoma Editorials
Published: June 4, 2010
The New York Times reported recently about a proposal in Nebraska that would reduce the number of counties there by half. It's an effort to make government a little bit leaner, one of many being seen around the country. Gee, what a concept.
In Missouri, there's an effort under way to merge common education with higher education. A high-ranking official in Wisconsin is suggesting the elimination of county government altogether. Why? Because as one Minnesota legislator told the Times, all states are working off of a government model built for the 1950s and '60s, not for the 21st century.
Certainly Oklahoma fits that mold, although please don't bring up the idea of trying anything different around here. It'll fly like a lead balloon, as we saw again last week on the final day of the legislative session.
House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, proposed legislation that would have consolidated a number of state agencies. Benge's timing was awful — the bill didn't make it to the floor of the House until about an hour before lawmakers were to wrap up their work for the session — but even so, the opposition was overwhelming. So many members lined up to speak against the bill that Benge finally just withdrew it... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Fri, June 4, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski