Quotes of the Day

“It’s huge. It’s monumental. I can’t believe what we’ve done in under 6 months. I think it will prepare administrators and hopefully students knowing how to respond to people that have been victims of this kind of violence.”

– Yes All Daughters founder Stacy Wright, commenting on House Bill 1684, which now awaits Governor Fallin’s signature. The group formed after several Norman students reported they were raped by the same classmate, and has advocated for the bill, which adds sexual assault response and training in Oklahoma schools. (Source)

“Hands them a sack and says, ‘Give me your money.’ Under the scenario today, he gets the maximum, 20 years. Twenty years, and he’s never committed a violent crime. Under this bill the judge can look at this and say, ‘Wait a minute, 20 years makes no sense.’ “The judges need to have that discretion.”

-Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Norman, speaking about a young man who was convicted of robbing a convenience store without using a weapon. The Legislature recently passed a bill that allows judges to depart from Oklahoma’s mandatory minimum sentences when it is in the interest of justice and public safety (Source).

“The survey is currently dismissing such events as being naturally-occurring. Sooner or later, the media will pick up on the real cause and create a genuine ruckus.”

– Oklahoma Geological Survey interim director Richard Andrews, in an email to a family member last year. An EnergyWire investigation found documents revealing scientists at the survey have suspected oil and gas activity is causing earthquakes since 2007, but they decided against going public to avoid offending the industry (Source)

“We’re not going to see any significant changes done to tax credits, and at the end of the day, we’re going to put the burden of all these tax cuts on the backs of working families, educators, health care providers, corrections employees. There’s all kinds of bad fiscal mismanagement taking place.”

-House Minority Leader Rep. Scott Inman, who said the Legislature’s approach of planning a tax cut while looking at a $611 million budget hole is wrongheaded (Source)

“One thing I’ve learned here in Oklahoma is: If you need a bed in a jail cell, there’s always one available. But you can’t get a treatment bed just because you need one today.”

– A Mental Health Association of Oklahoma (MHAO) staff member, speaking to his colleagues on his first day back to work following substance abuse treatment, as related by MHAO Executive Director Mike Brose (Source)

“Seeing the notices of all the babies who died from unsafe sleeping arrangements made me think about what we could possibly do to prevent these needless deaths. Our child welfare workers are already in homes across the state checking on the safety and well-being of children. I wanted our workers to have the ability to help families they encountered who did not have or could not afford cribs for their infants.”

-Oklahoma Department of Human Services Director Ed Lake, speaking about why the Department has recently purchased 1,000 cribs to provide to families in Oklahoma (Source)

“I am calling for a cease and desist of all saltwater disposal wells in those 16 counties. The governor and Legislature have said all along they were waiting for the science to come in. It’s been in for a long time, and now we’re having state-sponsored science come in. It’s time to act.”

-Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, calling for a moratorium on oil and gas wastewater disposal wells in parts of the state after the Oklahoma Geological Survey linked the wells to the state’s ongoing earthquake swarm (Source).

“He was not properly carrying the weapon. Period. They have produced no training, no records, no certifications and no qualifications for Mr. Bates’ use of a .357.”

Attorney Daniel Smolen, who is representing the family of Eric Harris (http://bit.ly/1IC4AZS)

“‘Ferguson’ happens all the time—a lot more than it gets covered. That’s a strong African American community that has a very loud voice. I wish the African American community in Tulsa had a stronger voice. But their voice has been systematically shut down for years.”

– Tulsa attorney Dan Smolen, which is representing the family of Eric Harris in a suit against the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department (Source)

“Historically, federal dollars funded (psychiatric) hospitals, and then there was this movement to deinstitutionalize. Before that, it still wasn’t appropriately funded, but when we lost those dollars, they didn’t come from any other source, so no, it’s been decades of neglect. I don’t know of a time when mental health was appropriately funded in the state of Oklahoma.”

– Terri White, commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, explaining her department’s funding needs in a Senate appropriations hearing on Tuesday. White says that without $10 million in additional funding, an estimated 14,722 will lose mental health and substance abuse treatment services (Source)