2009 Legislative Session Wraps Up with Controversy

Tuesday marked the last day of the 2009 legislative session, but some of the debating has yet to cease.

Tuesday, May 26th 2009, 5:54 pm

By: News 9


By Amy Lester, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Tuesday marked the last day of the 2009 legislative session, but some of the debating has yet to cease.

Originally, the Senate agreed to adjourn last Friday, May 24th, correlating with the schedule of the House, but instead, the lawmakers met Monday to focus on one bill which caused some disagreements amongst them.

More on News9.com: Senate Abandons Early Adjournment Plan

"We took a lot of things that were still on the agenda we laid them over so we could come back to deal with this one issue," said Senator Kenneth Corn (D-District 4). "We should've been finished on Friday."

There was frustration from Democrats over the last day of session, which was held primarily for lawmakers to discuss a bill which creates a central information officer for the state's computer systems.

"I don't know that it was a waste of taxpayer dollars so much as it was an abuse of the taxpayers confidence in government," said Senator Charlie Laster (D-District 17).

Republican leadership insisted the bill, which passed, was reason enough to reconvene.

"It was important to get this measure done and start several million dollars in savings, was worth coming back after a long weekend to put this into play," said Senator Glenn Coffee, (R-President Pro Tempore).

Overall, Republicans in the House and Senate consider the session a success. They called lawsuit reform, water issues and voter identification bills major accomplishments.

"Looking back, I feel good about what we were able to accomplish," said Representative Jason Nelson (R-District 87). "There were several big ticket items that we wanted to get done and I think we did."

Democratic leaders point to the balanced budget as a highlight, but, they're still disappointed.

Republicans disagree, claiming there was plenty of compromise. At the end of the day, it's over, lawmakers can now think about next year.

Since lawmakers did not work through the whole week, the house saved taxpayers more than $60,000, and the senate $34,000.

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