The chairman of the Tulsa Regional Chamber complained Friday that “nut jobs on the periphery” wield too much influence in the Oklahoma Legislature.
“We value our relationship with legislators,” Chairman Jeff Dunn said during the chamber’s annual recap of the legislative session. “(But) I would submit we need some counseling.”
The “nut jobs,” Dunn said, are preventing the rest of the lawmakers from being as productive as they might be.
Dunn, president and CEO of Mill Creek Lumber, was upset by what he called a “disappointing” legislative session, particularly in regard to education and long-term reform of the state’s finances.
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Earlier, in opening remarks, Dunn said legislators are too prone to “go off on tangents” instead of concentrating on state government’s core missions.
“When we go off on tangents, we look like North Carolina,” Dunn said. “And when we look like North Carolina, it’s bad for business.”
Dunn was referring to a new North Carolina law targeting transgender individuals, and a late-session effort to push back against what is known as a “guidance letter” from the Obama administration regarding transgender students’ access to school restrooms and other facilities.
The Oklahoma Senate passed a resolution calling for President Barack Obama’s impeachment over the issue, and legislation attempting to restrict schools’ responses to the guidance letter.
That bill died in a House committee.
Dunn’s comments were sandwiched around a question-and-answer session between Chamber President Mike Neal and Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge, a former speaker of the House.
Benge took issue with the assertion that the recently completed session was unproductive or that Oklahoma government is any more shambolic than that of other states.
“I would caution against wallowing in negativity,” Benge said during his discussion with Neal. “We hold ourselves down by thinking of ourselves as ‘The Grapes of Wrath.’ ”
Later, Benge said he thought this year’s Legislature did a good job under the circumstances.
“Given the degree of difficulty for this session, there wasn’t much chance things were going to come out rosy,” he said.
Benge said progress was made in education policy, business incentive reform and long-term revenue and budgeting.
State Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, one of the few legislators present for Friday morning’s breakfast at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center, heatedly disputed claims that the Republican-led Legislature has done nothing for education.
Dahm said billions of dollars have been put into the teacher retirement system in recent years.
“That’s not doing nothing for public education,” said Dahm, who may have been the target of some of Dunn’s anger.
A Dahm-sponsored anti-abortion rights bill intended to force a U.S. Supreme Court test case was apparently one of the “tangents” referred to by Dunn. It attracted national attention, much of it unflattering, and Gov. Mary Fallin’s veto created a split among Republican legislators that nearly caused the general appropriations bill to fail on the final day of the session.
Benge defended legislators, saying their actions typically reflect the wishes of their constituents and especially those who vote for them.
“I sympathize with legislators,” Dunn said. “They have difficult decisions … but there are huge consequences to those decisions.”
