Fallin says she's considering special session for Oklahoma legislators

Source: Tulsa World, Okla.迷你倉庫July 13--Gov. Mary Fallin said Friday that she has spoken to Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon and Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman about the possibility of a special legislative session to address lawsuit reform and "maybe some other issues.""A special session is an option I am looking at," Fallin said in response to an audience question at a Tulsa Regional Chamber luncheon. "I've talked to the speaker and the pro tem about the possibility of a special session to fix what I consider one of our most important pieces of legislation."In June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled a 2009 lawsuit-reform bill unconstitutional under the so-called single-subject rule. It also tossed a 2011 law requiring expert certification of merit for professional negligence cases.Business groups, including the Tulsa chamber, described the decision on lawsuit reform as a blow to the state's business interests, but the court said the underlying bill was a clear case of logrolling -- the practice of including legislation on a number of subjects in one bill."That is certainly a possibility to go back into special session to address some of the concerns expressed by the Supreme Court," Fallin said Friday. "There may be some other issues that we might look at in special session as the year goes along if there are other challenges, possibly in workers compensation reform, the tax cuts and fixing the Capitol."Last spring's regular session produced a sweeping workers compensation bill that is being challenged on a number of fronts and a bill combining a reduction in the state income tax rate with money to pay for re儲存airs to the Capitol building that some believe violates the same single-subject rule cited by the Supreme Court in last month's ruling on lawsuit reform.Fallin touched on numerous subjects during her 40-minute address and a brief, impromptu press conference.During the news conference, she did not rule out the possibility of scaling back a set of tax preferences for horizontal gas drilling. The incentives have been widely criticized in some circles as unfair and unnecessary, and earlier this week Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger said they should be re-examined.That prompted an outcry from the state's oil and gas industry."It's important we sit down with the industry and discuss this," Fallin said Friday. "The question is, what's fair to everybody?"During her speech, Fallin reiterated her support for better science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in the state, and afterward she indicated continued support for the Common Core concept backed by state and national business groups and the National Governors' Association, which Fallin will head in a few weeks."We need a Common Core that is state-based with the governors as well as educators and businesses involved," she said.About 1,000 attended the annual governor's address to the Tulsa chamber, including U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, state Superintendent Janet Barresi, state Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones and more than a dozen legislators.Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services新蒲崗迷你倉