For Immediate
Release: August 31, 2005
Rep. John Trebilcock, Chairman of the House Public Safety &
Judiciary Committee, and Republican
Floor Leader Glenn Coffee respond to the morning's special session.
Senate GOP Leader: Now That Dems’
Theatrics Are Over,
Real Work Can Begin on Public Safety
Senate Republican Leader Glenn
Coffee made the following comments regarding today’s
meeting of the Oklahoma State Senate in special session:
PUBLIC SAFETY
“Now that the Senate Democrats’ theatrics
are over, the real work can begin on properly funding public safety,”
stated Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.
“Instead of putting on a political sideshow
by forcing the Senate to meet in a meaningless special session,
Senate Democrats would have better served the public by working
with Republicans to develop a bipartisan agreement,” he
said.
“In today’s session we saw the Senate
Democrats’ true feelings about public safety. We heard over
and over from Democrats today that Oklahoma puts too many criminals
in prison, and we heard that the Democrat preferred solution is
putting these criminals back on the street. The public can rest
assured that Senate Republicans will never go along plans by Senate
Democrats to put Oklahoma families at risk by bringing back their
early release program,” Coffee concluded.
CENTENNIAL FUNDING
“The Senate Democrats promised that their
bill would provide centennial funding for projects in Tulsa, Oklahoma
City, and rural Oklahoma. But their bill did not include a list
of projects nor did it guarantee that funding would go to the
areas they promised in their news release.
“We wish that Senate Democrats had worked
with Senate Republicans to delay consideration of this bill until
these problems could be worked out. Instead, they tried to ram
the bill through and lost on a bipartisan vote against the bill.
We hope they will abandon their ‘my-way-or-the-highway’
approach and work with Republicans on this important issue,”
Coffee said.
For
more information contact:
Senate Republican
Assistant's Office - (405) 521-5654
