Legislative Work Continues with Interim Studies
By Senator Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant
While the 2008 session of the Legislature is still more than five months away, legislative committees are beginning to work on issues that will be before us next year. This process is called “interim studies,” and is the time we in the Legislature use to look at issues without the enormous time pressure of the regular four-month session.
The idea is to gather as much information as possible. That way, when crunch-time arrives in February, we will be better prepared to make decisions in the best interest of the people we represent.
As the Democratic chair of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, my co-chair and I are in the process of looking at study requests assigned to our committee. Jointly, we will decide how to conduct the investigation.
Five studies have been assigned to the Energy Committee; in addition, the committee – along with the House Energy Committee – will serve as a statutory task force to examine regulation of the state’s electric utilities. All of that will lead to a number of meetings during the fall and early winter.
The list of studies assigned to the Energy and Environment Committee includes:
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Giving Oklahoma Students A Chance
By Rep. Jason Murphey
One of the most exciting and encouraging events of my first year in the legislature occurred this week as I was privileged to visit the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) and meet with KIPP principle Tracy McDaniel. KIPP is an inner city charter school located on the second floor of the F.D. Moon Academy at 13th and Martin Luther King Blvd. in Oklahoma City.
A few years ago, I visited the F.D. Middle School to speak to the students. I remember thinking how deplorable the conditions of the school were and observed the lack of discipline in the students. The school was the lowest-performing in the state. Principle McDaniel explained that in the past, the school was handicapped by inadequate staff, making it difficult to achieve success. He indicated that of approximately 50 teachers, he believed 45 were simply not up to the task of providing a quality education. As a result, F.D. Moon remained one of the lowest performing schools in the state. That is when McDaniel took action. He spent a year out of state in training with the KIPP program and then returned to Oklahoma and the F.D. Moon school, where he now runs the KIPP Charter School.
Read more...Labels: OK Legislator's Blog, Rep. Jason Murphey, Sen. Gumm
Posted at 8/22/2007 12:08:00 PM
