OKLAHOMA CITY (April 14, 2009) – Oklahomans will have the option to stop politicians from becoming entrenched in office following House passage of statewide term limits legislation today.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 would let the people decide whether to limit terms of office for most statewide elected officials. The change, which would amend the state Constitution, requires a vote of the people. Following passage in the House today, and the Senate previously, the legislation now proceeds to the Secretary of State for ballot assignment.

“The people decided overwhelmingly more than 15 years ago to limit the number of years a state legislator can serve because they believe an elected official should be a servant of the people. The voters want their leaders to make a sacrifice to serve the people, and then go and live under the laws they helped enact,” said Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie and House author of the bill with Senator Randy Brogden, R-Owasso. “Prior to legislative term limits, many career politicians were an elite class who made their life in politics. The people of Oklahoma want their leaders to be citizen legislators who stay in touch with the real world.”

Currently, state lawmakers are limited to 12 years in office, and the governor is restricted to serving two consecutive, four year terms. SJR 12 would instead limit the governor to serve no more than eight cumulative years in office.

That same eight total years rule would also apply to the Lt. Gov, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Labor, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Insurance Commissioner, all of whom serve 4-year terms.

The resolution also would limit anyone from serving as Corporation Commissioner for more than a total of 12 years.

“Since term limits were approved by the people for the state Legislature, there is increasingly a wide mix of backgrounds and careers found at the state Capitol,” said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. “This change will ensure fresh faces and new ideas are continuously entering the political process.”

The resolution passed the House today with a bipartisan vote of 69-29.

Statewide Office Term Limits Passes House Committee
3/25/2009

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 25, 2009) – Statewide office holders are one legislative step away from not being able to become entrenched in office with passage of term limits legislation by a House committee today.

Senate Joint Resolution 12 would place term limits on most statewide office holders. The change would have to be approved by a vote of the people if passed by the Legislature.

Currently, state lawmakers are limited to 12 years in office, and the governor is restricted to serving two consecutive, four year terms. SJR 12, by House author Rep. Jason Murphey, would instead limit the governor to serve no more than eight cumulative years in office.

That same eight total years rule would also apply to the Lt. Gov, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Labor, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Insurance Commissioner, all of whom serve 4-year terms.

The resolution also would limit anyone from serving as Corporation Commissioner for more than a total of 12 years.

"We know the Oklahoma people support the idea of term limits, and this legislation would ensure fresh faces and new ideas are continuously entering the political process," said Murphey, R-Guthrie.

The resolution passed the House Rules Committee today and will now be considered for final passage by the full House.

 Jason Murphey is as a third generation, life-time resident of Logan County. He is married to wife, Raleah, and they have two children, Jarod and Jarel.

 Jason Murphey is as a third generation, life-time resident of Logan County. He is married to wife, Raleah, and they have two children, Jarod and Jarel.

Background - Bio

 Murphey graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree from Charter Oak State College in May of 2006 with National Honors, is a member of the National Rifle Association, attends church at Church of God Outreach in rural Logan County and has achieved Toastmasters International's highest award for communication and leadership (DTM).

 Murphey was first elected to the State House in 2006 and was re-elected in 2008. He serves as the Chairman of the House Government Modernization Committee.

- End of Bio -

Additional Information - Elections

 In 2006, Murphey campaigned for State Representative on a platform of never accepting contributions or gifts from lobbyists or groups that employ lobbyists. He also announced his intentions to work for reduction in the size of government, elimination of the state income tax, property tax reform and refocusing state government on essential services such as paving roads. Murphey conveyed his desire to open up state government to the scrutiny of the people through televising state government proceedings.

  In 2008, Murphey engaged in a down ballot campaign supporting area Republican candidates. Murphey used his campaign to launch a voter registration drive targeted at hastening the Republican tide in House District 31. As a result of the 2008 election, local level Logan County Republican candidates won all races taking 6 of the 8 county level seats (a majority for the first time in recent history) including all County Commission seats. Murphey's 12,978 votes represented more votes than any other candidate for the House District 31 seat received since a 1960s decision by the Supreme Court resulted in the creation of the district.

Chairmanship

Legislation

 In 2008, Rep. Jason Murphey was the principal author of House Bill 2215, House Bill 2231, House Bill 3325 and Senate Bill 1398 which were all signed into law by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry.

 In 2009, Murphey served as the Chair of the House of Representative's Government Modernization Committee. He was the principal author for House Bill 1031, House Bill 1032, House Bill 1111, House Bill 1294, House Bill 1295, House Bill 1474, Senate Bill 794, Senate Bill 800 which were signed into law by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry.

 Murphey also won approval for Senate Joint Resolution 12 which will allow the people of Oklahoma to vote for term limits for statewide elected officials.

 Also in 2009, as the Chairman of the Government Modernization Committee, Murphey authored Senate Bill 980 with Oklahoma Senate Pro-Temp Glenn Coffee. Senate Bill 980, while not enacted, contained much of the language that would become law in House Bill 1170 which sought to consolidate much of Oklahoma's IT infrastructure.

 In winning approval for House Bills 3325 and 1032, Representative Jason Murphey completed a restructuring of the states' centralized purchasing system. The restructuring was designed to allow Oklahoma's central purchasers leverage the state's buying power in order to save taxpayer money. Two separate consultant audits found millions of dollars could be saved with the enactment of the reforms in House Bill 1032.

 House Bills 3325 and 1032 also called for the state to apply technological advancements in order to streamline government activities. House Bill 1032 contained a mandate to state agencies requiring that licensing and permitting processed be placed online for people to access.

 House Bill 1032 mandated the government to list a series of state employee purchases online at the ok.gov website for people to be able to review.

Honors

Murphey has won a series of awards from conservative and pro-taxpayer groups over the years. What is a summer, 2009 annoucement from one of these groups.

(Oklahoma City, OK) Oklahomans for Responsible Government is proud to announce its selection of Lawmaker of the Year for the 2009 legislative session.

Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) is the recipient as the primary author in the House of two very important pieces of OFRG’s policy agenda. Senate Joint Resolution 12 puts to a vote of the people whether statewide elected officials should be limited to just two terms in office. Senate Bill 800 is an important reform to the initiative petition process that requires legal challenges to the wording of citizen initiatives to happen before signatures are collected.

“Getting a vote on term limits has been a very important part of our agenda for the past two sessions and we’re very happy that the people of Oklahoma will have a chance to do that in 2010,” said Brian Downs, OFRG’s Executive Director. “And making it easier for average citizens to petition their government is another victory worth celebrating.”

Told of his award, Rep. Murphey said, “”It has been a privilege to work with OFRG in advancing these reforms and I look forward to working with them for even more reforms in the future.”

OFRG is also announcing the creation of a new Taxpayer Advocate Award. It will be given periodically to an individual or group that has made a mark in protecting tax dollars. Rep. Leslie Osborn (R-Tuttle) gets the inaugural Taxpayer Advocate Award for her work in writing House Joint Resolution 1014 and getting it passed so it will be on the ballot in 2010. It asks voters whether a calculation for state spending should be used based on what other states are spending.

“Representative Osborn should be applauded for taking this step to protect the state coffers from ideas like the proposed HOPE Initiative that would take the ability to allocate money out of the hands of the legislature,” said Downs. “Forcing Oklahoma to spend money based on what other states are spending goes against the principle of representative government.”

Osborn responded, “I am honored to be given the first taxpayer advocate award from OFRG. If I could pick one issue to focus my legislative career on it would be fiscal responsibility. The potential passage of the Hope Petition, now known as State Question 744 on the 2010 ballot, would devastate our state economy in a time already economically challenging. My intent is to make sure State Question 744 is defeated, and that no other such measure can be enacted.”

Communication

On The Issues

The Need for Transperancy in State Government

 In September, 2009, Murphey wrote about the need for more transperancy in state government.

 Murphey said he had either been involved in or closely observed some level of government for almost ten years. In that time, Murphey said he has studied a series of local, county and state government entities, as well as an array of government public trusts.

 Murphey stated that he spent a good deal of time listening to those groups argue about why they needed to continue receiving taxpayer largesse, need more taxes and fees, or want approval for new debt spending. Murphey explained he could not recall one a single time when a representative of any government group admitted to having too much money and suggested that the money be returned to the taxpayers from whom it was taken.

 Murphey said a naive person who did not maintain a healthy sense of skepticism would quickly adopt the point of view that almost all elements of government are terribly underfunded and much good would be accomplished with higher taxes and more debt spending.

 Murphey explained that those who advance the notion of more government spending usually do so in a smooth and professional manner but every once in a while, a bureaucrat mistakenly reveals the true state of affairs. This was illustrated when he recently attended a meeting in which a group of government officials listened to a very professional presentation by a representative of a government entity. The presentation communicated the need for money faced by the agency and was not unlike any number of similar presentations I have heard over the years.

 Following his sales pitch, the presenter introduced to the group a high ranking official in his agency. Apparently unaware that a few state representatives where in the room, that official announced that he had been very busy lately because his agency was nearing the end of its fiscal year and his boss had apparently discovered a few extra hundred thousand dollars and had tasked him with quickly spending the money before the fiscal year expired. After all, Murphey said, the agency wouldn’t want elected officials to discover they had overfunded the agency, and certainly the agency did not want to run the risk of facing reduced funding.

 Murphey stated that to hear a high ranking official make this comment was shocking in and of itself, especially following the recently concluded sales pitch of his subordinate. However, what Murphey found to be the most discouraging was the reaction of the audience. Instead of expressing shock or disgust at this obvious waste of taxpayer dollars, several of the government officials met the comments with applause and laughter.

 Their reaction created the distinct impression in Murphey's mind that those who celebrated these comments support taking from the taxpayer even when it is unnecessary to do so. Murphey said this speaks to the fact that they no longer consider their positions to be positions of trust in which their foremost duty is to guard the taxpayers’ money.

 Incidents like this illustrate the importance of tax reduction and much greater transparency. To this end, Murphey is planning to draft and sponsor an aggressive schedule of legislation during the upcoming session that both cuts spending and brings about greater transparency than ever before. Murphey feels the taxpayers must have the easy ability to see how, where and when the government bureaucrats are spending our money.

Local Officials Standing Up to the Legislature

 In August, 2009 Murphey wrote about opposing legislative pass-through funding.

  Murphey thinks the best form of government is one in which a citizen board sits in oversight of a government entity without having the direct authority to determine who receives money from the government by way of targeting funds directly to the recipient. When elected officials have the direct authority to determine who receives government largesse, the potential for corruption dramatically increases.

 He feels that the designers of Oklahoma’s government ingrained this important concept deep into the foundations of our government by setting up a system by which the Legislature can determine policy and budget matters but should have no control over where the money is spent. This important safeguard is supposed to help keep Oklahoma legislators from becoming powerful political bosses who can use their authority to reward the privileged few at the cost of the taxpayers.

 Murphey says legislators should certainly have the ability to expend funds in order to secure the proper support for the responsibilities of the Legislature such as hiring staff etc. They should not however be able to direct appropriated funds once those funds have been appropriated to the various agencies.

 Murphey claims Oklahoma legislators have historically been experts at getting around these restrictions. They have found ways to “pass-through” money to certain entities where it is subsequently directed to the recipients of the legislators’ choice. This allows for the possibility of corruption. In a recent federal criminal case, it has been demonstrated how legislators have used this system for their own direct financial benefit.

 Murphey claims that unfortunately, this system of inappropriate pass-thoroughs is still alive and well. However, the recent effort of some courageous local officials could send a strong message to the Legislature and win a big victory for the taxpayers.

 This year, one of the agencies chosen to pass through funding was the Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce was ordered to send money to a group known as ACOG (Association of Central Oklahoma Governments) who in turn was directed to pass through about $16 million to third-party entities. Membership of ACOG includes representatives from central Oklahoma local governments. When it came time for the ACOG board to approve the pass-through funding, some of these courageous local officials successfully managed to stave off a vote and delay action on approving the funding which means the funding will not be passed through until at least the next meeting of the board. This may be the first time that a local government entity has stood up to the Legislature and attempted to not play the same old game that has caused Oklahoma taxpayers so much grief.

 Murphey asserts it is unbelievable, that even during a down financial year, the Legislature would continue to try to spend money in this way. However, if more local officials would show this same courage, it would make the Legislature think twice about using these methods to direct funds.

Preparing to Advocate an Aggressive States’ Rights Agenda

 In July, 2009, Murphey wrote about advocating an aggressive states’ rights agenda.

 Representative Jason Murphey had previously written an update entitled, “Preparing for an Expansion of Government.” In that update, Rep. Jason Murphey referenced how that over time, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, both parties have used the expansion of federal government as a tool to accomplish their various agendas and in doing so violated the important concept of states’ rights. Murphey also wrote about the possible upcoming expansion in the size and scope of the federal government due to the recent consolidation of liberal control over both the presidency and Congress.

 Since that time, Murphey states that he has been contacted by a number of worried constituents who are desperate to know what can be done. They have contacted their U.S. Senators and Congressman but are terrified because with vote after vote, the U.S. Congress seems to be moving towards implementing a frightening new socialist agenda. They want their Oklahoma lawmakers to do whatever they can to stop this agenda.

 Jason Murphey believes these types of calls and e-mails are also being placed and sent to other Oklahoma Representatives and predicts that next year there will be a significant number of 10th amendment/states’ rights legislative initiatives filed by Oklahoma legislators.

 Murphey says several Representatives are considering filing a bill tailored after a measure that was signed into law in Montana earlier this year which seeks to keep the federal government from regulating the production and sale of firearms. Traditionally, the federal government has regulated this industry through the “Interstate Commerce Clause” in the constitution. However, the Montana law seeks to provide a means by which the producers and users of the firearms can clearly document that the product in question was made in Montana and is thus not subject to federal regulation.

 According to Murphey, this type of creative concept can likely be expanded into other areas of policy ranging from health care to energy. For instance, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming have all considered proposals to take preemptive action against the pending federal mandates tied to the ongoing socialization of health care efforts by Congress. The Arizona Legislature has passed a resolution that will allow the people of Arizona to vote on amending the state constitution to codify that no resident would be required to participate in any public health care option.

 He says as more and more of the important votes are being lost at the federal level, the fight will move to the state level and the question before our legislative leadership and the Governor will be about whether or not they will allow important states’ rights legislation to go forward.

 Murphey thinks it is important to move forward quickly with this legislation before the federal judiciary is stocked with liberal appointees who will rule against states’ rights and try to strike down these laws.

Should you have additional questions please call 405.563.0034.