The Oklahoma Public Employees Association issued a press release Monday decrying Governor Brad Henry's veto of SB 2052. The bill would have frozen the benefit allowance for state employees and indexed it at the HealthChoice rate over the next three years. Both the Oklahoma Public Employees Association and the Oklahoma Education Association had been in discussions with lawmakers about the provisions of this legislation for several months and modifications were made to benefit both state and education employees.
“For a Governor who wants to be known as the Education Governor, he certainly did not show it by vetoing this bill, which would help both teachers and state employees,” said OPEA Executive Director Sterling Zearley.
“We are clearly disappointed that once again special interest groups, like insurance companies were able to influence the Governor over his fellow state employees,” continued Zearley.
“In the veto message the Governor said, ‘For such a sweeping change to be enacted into law, it must be thoroughly researched and debated throughout the four-month session,’ well this idea and some of the proposals in it were not only debated during the four month session but throughout an interim session by legislators, the Insurance Commissioner and the parties affected by the legislation,” stated Zearley. “That is far more time than the Governor even suggested.”
“This is just another example of how the Governor has shown he does not care about the well being of state employees and their families,” said Zearley. “On the same day he vetoed SB 2052, he signed HB 2999, which gives the Department of Mental Health the ability to contract out state employees’ jobs at state-operated facilities.”
In a letter to legislators about HB 2999 Commissioner Terri White told legislators, “The bill does not mean you will lose services in your area, however, they may not be state run.”
“With the Governor and agency directors working to privatize state services and harming the income of state employees, it is becoming more difficult to recruit and retain quality employees,” Zearley said.
State employees have not received a pay raise in four years. With the veto of SB-2052, state employees will have less money in their pockets in 2011.
“We at OPEA believe Governor Henry has a strange way of showing that he cares about the working class of Oklahoma, when with his veto, he has possibly cost state employees between $35-$119 per month,” said Zearley. “Maybe the next governor will understand the importance of state employees and the services they provide.”
Posted on
Mon, June 14, 2010
by Trish Frazier