Bill to rein in power of attorney general withdrawn

Tuesday, April 5th 2005, 8:14 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) â€“ A state House-passed bill to restrict the ability of Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson to file consumer lawsuits died in a state Senate committee Tuesday.

Under the plan by Oklahoma City state Representative Fred Morgan, Edmondson would have become the only attorney general in the nation without independent authority to sue.

The bill required the attorney general to get the permission of the governor or state House or state Senate before he could act.

Edmondson said the legislation was linked to his efforts to get the poultry industry to comply with water quality standards. He has threatened to sue poultry companies over the pollution of streams and lakes in eastern Oklahoma.

Henryetta state Senator Frank Shurden agreed to carry the measure in the Senate because he was asked to do so by members of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, which helped write the bill.

Shurden withdrew it in the state Senate Judiciary Committee.

Edmondson had said the bill would interject politics into his decisions and thwart his ability to take legal action against special interests who have influence over the Legislature.