For Immediate Release:
January 29, 2004
Senate
President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson talks to reporters about
the upcoming legislative session..
Hobson: Converging Forces Could Create
Perfect Storm For Health Care Solutions
State
Senate President Pro Tempore Cal
Hobson said Thursday he hopes the second session of
the 49th Oklahoma Legislature will be remembered in the
future as the session when lawmakers made the health of
Oklahomans their top priority.
“There could be a perfect storm brewing, with all
the elements coming together in one place at one time to
allow us to do something important for the health of our
state,” Hobson said. “We’ve got a health
crisis, a governor with a vision and leaders in both the
House and Senate willing to do something about it. And we’ve
got a relatively low cigarette tax that can be increased
to fund this historic initiative.”
Meeting with members of the State Capitol Press Corps to
discuss his goals for the coming session Thursday morning,
Hobson said the 2004 session of the Legislature could go
down in history as “the health care session.”
Hobson, who advocated an increase in the tax on tobacco
products to fund health programs and development of a world-class
cancer treatment and research center last year, will be
backing Governor Brad Henry’s plan to raise the tax
on a pack of cigarettes by a net of 52 cents and to use
the money to develop a cancer center and help fund health
insurance for nearly 200,000 uninsured Oklahomans.
“People are probably sick of hearing me say this,
but Oklahoma is the only state in the nation that got sicker
statistically in the 1990s and the life expectancy in our
state is less than the life expectancy in Guatemala. That’s
unacceptable. The governor’s plan will make Oklahoma
healthier. It will save lives,” Hobson said.
The 26-year veteran of the Legislature said, however, that
opposition to the plan has already surfaced.
“It’s hard to imagine how anyone can be against
making Oklahoma a healthier place to live, especially when
we can fund this bold initiative by raising a tax more than
two-thirds of Oklahomans support raising,” Hobson
said.
A survey conducted earlier this month by a pair of Washington
D.C. research firms for the Oklahoma Alliance on Health
and Tobacco showed that 68 percent of the registered voters
in Oklahoma support raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes
by $1, a slightly higher percentage said they would support
a 50 cent per pack increase. The survey showed broad based
support from men and women, Democrats and Republicans and
in all sections of the state.
“The people of our state get the picture. Let’s
hope the lawmakers who represent them will too,” Hobson
said.
The other key healthcare issue facing Oklahoma, Hobson said,
is making sure the state has available care for the most
serious of medical emergencies. He said he is anxiously
awaiting the details of Governor Henry’s plan to support
a statewide trauma system.
The Senate leader also said he will again seek to rescue
the state’s ailing horse industry by sponsoring legislation
allowing electronic gaming in three pari-mutuel horse racing
facilities. The games allowed would be the same as those
played at the more than 80 Native American tribal casinos
across the state.
“There are 50,000 jobs in the horse industry that
are saddling up and getting ready to ride out of our state.
There are more jobs at stake in this issue than in all of
the economic development initiatives that have come before
the Legislature in the last decade combined.
“We can stick our heads in the sand and try to pretend
we don’t have electronic gaming casinos in Oklahoma
or we can step up to the plate and save this vital industry,”
Hobson said.
The Second Session of the 49th Oklahoma Legislature will
convene at noon Monday, Feb. 2.
For
more information contact:
Senate
Communications Division
- (405) 521-5605
