Henry may set a record with vetoes
Republican leaders say Gov. Brad Henry, who has vetoed 10 bills this session, is turning his back on promised reforms for political gain.
Henry vetoed Senate Bill 834, the School District Empowerment Program, after what Republicans thought were good faith discussions on needed changes.
“We are obviously extremely disappointed in the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 834,” said Rep. Tad Jones, R-Claremore. “Over the last several years we have worked side-by-side with Gov. Henry on needed education reform like increasing teacher pay by an average of $5,000 annually and raising standards with the Achieving Classroom Excellence program.
“This legislation would have empowered local school districts to take more control over their unique educational environments with the hope of seeing improvement in our system statewide. Unfortunately today Gov. Henry endorsed more of the same with his veto of this important step needed to improve education in our state.”
“In vetoing SB 834, the governor has denied school districts much-needed freedom to meet our educational goals,” said Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. “We continue to believe those locally, including parents, teachers and administrators, know what is best when it comes to education in their local communities. We aren’t going to give up this fight for the children of our state.”
Henry vetoed 13 bills in 2008 and he could set a new personal record this session - the first session in history when the House and the Senate are controlled by Republicans.
Henry has claimed that he is doing what is best for Oklahoma without political considerations.
The House needs 68 votes to override a veto and 32 votes are needed in the Senate.
The Governor vetoed House Bill 1326, which would have made embryonic stem cell research illegal in Oklahoma. An override attempt in the Senate fell six votes short.
He vetoed House Bill 1570, a lawsuit reform measure that would have required that a negligence lawsuit have a certificate of merit from an expert before it could be filed. Henry has opposed almost all tort reform measures.
Henry also vetoed Senate Bill 609 which would have mandated Senate confirmation of workers’ compensation judges.
Henry vetoed House Bill 1601, which would have stopped the practice of deducting political donations from legal judgments. Henry said no to House Joint Resolution 1003, which affirmed Oklahoma’s sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Henry claimed the resolution would cost the state federal bailout dollars.
Senate Bill 111 would have taken testing responsibilities away from the State Department of Education but it was vetoed by Henry. Senate Bill 834 would end some state-mandated rules and give back more local control to school boards.
Henry, who is a big supporter of the Oklahoma Education Association, vetoed the bill. House Bill 1975 would place limits on legislative consideration of insurance mandates. Henry vetoed it.
Henry vetoed Senate Bill 4 that would have mandated photo identification at polling places. The Legislature instead of trying an override will put the proposition on a statewide ballot.
Henry vetoed House Bill 2167 that put restraints on state agency legal contracts. Henry has heavy support among state trial lawyers.