Out-of-state origin of some Oklahoma bills criticized
BY ZEKE CAMPFIELD
Sunday, February 17, 2013
2/17/13 at 4:51 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - A national organization criticized recently for churning out prewritten bills to state legislatures across the country has been a platform for some of the laws passed in Oklahoma in recent years.
"Model legislation" developed by American Legislative Exchange Council or shared through conferences the council has hosted, played a part in a 2006 "Stand Your Ground" law that allows Oklahomans to use deadly force when threatened in public places, a 2010 resolution that prohibits any law from compelling a person to purchase health care and a state question that same year that requires voters to show an identification card before receiving a ballot.
Several laws under consideration now - including bills that allow for covenant marriages, that would challenge the teaching of global warming and evolution in public schools and that would reject key provisions of the new federal health-care law - have identical versions that have either been passed or are also under consideration in Republican-led legislatures elsewhere.
"That's somebody out of state telling Oklahoma how we want our laws enacted and what we want," said Richard Lerblance, a former Democratic senator from Hartshorne.
Click here to read the complete article at NewsOK.com.
Oklahoman Staff Writer Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to this report.
Original Print Headline: Some bills' origins criticized
zcampfield@opubco.com
