Governor Fallin Praises Historic 2011 Legislative Session

Governor Mary Fallin

The last pieces of Governor Mary Fallin’s legislative agenda passed and were sent to her desk today, as the historic 2011 session came to a close. While the legislature will officially declare the session over next Friday (5/27), legislative leaders have indicated that no more bills are to be considered this year.

In what was one of the most productive legislative sessions in Oklahoma history, Governor Fallin signed into law hundreds of bills, and received on her desk landmark legislation focusing on:

• Creating more and better jobs by promoting a business friendly environment
• Building a smaller, smarter government that better serves our citizens
• Fighting the federal health care law while pursuing Oklahoma solutions for better health
• Improving Oklahoma schools and delivering quality education
• Protecting children and the lives of the unborn
• Protecting gun owners and defending the Second Amendment

Governor Fallin and legislative leaders also reached an agreement on a fiscally responsible, balanced budget that closed a $500 million revenue shortfall without raising taxes. While making cuts of up to 9 percent for various government agencies, the budget agreement makes lesser cuts to areas of government dealing with core services like education, health and human services, public safety and transportation.

“At the beginning of this legislative session, I asked lawmakers to focus on legislation that would bring more and better jobs to Oklahoma, make government smaller and more efficient, and improve our quality of life,” said Fallin. “I’m happy to see they responded by sending a series of important, landmark bills that accomplish these goals. This has been a historic legislative session that will lay the groundwork for long term prosperity and job creation in Oklahoma. It was perhaps the single most productive legislative session in state history, and one which every conservative lawmaker can be proud of.”

Click here to see Governor Fallin's report about the 2011 legislative session.

Rep. Jason Nelson scores 94% on pro-taxpayer legislative index

Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, earned a 94% on a legislative index created by Oklahomans for Responsible Government. After a long session, OFRG has chosen legislation to be included in the Legislative Index and Scorecard for Taxpayers (LIST) which grades lawmakers based on how they voted on issues important to taxpayers.

OFRG recently posted the results of its first Scorecard for Taxpayers on its website: www.ofrg.org. OFRG identified 21 measures that would have an impact on the average taxpayer and scored lawmakers on whether they voted for the good bills and against the bad ones.

“We feel this is the only legislative ranking that looks at policy decisions which affect taxpayers’ pocketbooks,” said Brian Downs, OFRG Executive Director. “We’ve made it easy for anyone to look up their lawmaker and see how they voted on bills that promote a more efficient and transparent government.”

In the House, the average score was 83.1%. There were 17 bills making up the LIST in the House with 15 requiring a Yes vote and two requiring a No vote.

District Attorneys Recognize Service By Nelson

The Oklahoma District Attorneys Association awarded a Legislative Appreciation Award to Representative Nelson for his support in working to improve the prosecutorial system in Oklahoma. With Rep. Nelson’s support, the public safety system has a voice at the State Capitol.

The association’s membership consists of approximately 1100 individuals, including, district attorneys, investigators, victim witness coordinators and support personnel from all over the State of Oklahoma.