Speaker Cargill & House Democrat Leader Morgan join senate leaders to craft bi-partisan agreement As a House committee on Monday advanced an ethics reform proposal, House and Senate leaders signed on a co-authors to House Bill 2110 in an effort to craft a final bipartisan plan. House Speaker Lance Cargill (R-Harrah) and House Democrat Leader Danny Morgan (D-Prague) said the bill is a work in progress that will change as bipartisan discussions continue.

"I'm absolutely committed to ensuring that Oklahomans have an honest and open government, and I believe we can achieve that goal within a positive bipartisan framework," said Cargill (R-Harrah). "Over the next few weeks, we'll be working with leaders from both parties in the House and Senate to craft a strong ethics reform package that will make the State Capitol more open and accessible than ever before."

Speaker Cargill and House Democrat Leader Morgan said they were joining with the Legislature's other top leaders -- including Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan (D-Stillwater) and Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee (R-Oklahoma City) -- to develop a bipartisan ethics reform agreement. HB 2110 passed the House Rules Committee on Monday. The measure contains a number of provisions aimed at strengthening current state ethics law.

"The prospects for a strong bipartisan agreement on ethics reform thissession are excellent," said Leader Morgan. "I am encouraged by the bipartisan spirit on this issue. The leadership of the Legislature must work together to ensure that our government is accountable to the people of Oklahoma. This is an important first step in the process to move forward to make government more user-friendly to citizens."

Labels: Ethics Reforms, OK Legislature, Rep. Danny Morgan, Spkr. Cargill

Posted at 3/06/2007 10:50:00 AM