If we want change in next year’s Legislature, there’s work to be done now (Capitol Updates)

Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.

Will the current deterioration of state government become a crucible for change? Starting with passage of unsustainable tax cut policies a decade ago, then driven by a national recession followed by more unfortunate fiscal policies, and finally accompanied by an oil and gas downturn, we are caught in a race to the bottom. You will know whether things can change soon by what happens in the eight months between the end of the last legislative session and the beginning of the next session in February 2017.

I’m not talking about the elections. There will an election, and there will be some new faces in the legislature, if for no other reason because 30 House members and 12 Senators are not running for re-election, mostly because of term limits. But our form of representative democracy does not naturally produce rapid, sweeping change. The leadership in both Houses of the next Legislature and the governor are already in place. Those who are on the leadership teams, in many instances, already know who they are. Who goes to the Capitol to work with them is important, but their impact will be gradual. And that’s only part of the story.

[pullquote]“If we want to improve education or mental health or expand Medicaid or enhance public safety or stop child abuse, there need to be pressure groups and committees and studies and research and plans and ideas and reality checks going on between now and next February.”[/pullquote]

We need to work with the leaders we have between now and next legislative session to help them begin turning things around. Having seen in the past what it takes to make big changes, any seasoned observer could have predicted it wouldn’t happen in the last session. One of the few things that was ready for lift off in the last session was the change in the liquor laws. That was a battle, but it got done. Legislators need the expertise and the creativity and the support of citizens and citizen leaders. Otherwise they’re shooting blanks when the fight begins.

When civil rights groups went to see LBJ about passing civil rights legislation he said, “I agree with you. Now you need to make me do it.” If we want to improve education or mental health or expand Medicaid or enhance public safety or stop child abuse, there need to be pressure groups and committees and studies and research and plans and ideas and reality checks going on between now and next February. We can’t wait until the first Monday in February to start thinking about it. There are plenty of good legislators who want to leave things better than they found them, but our system is not intended for them to do it alone. If we want change, there’s work to be done.