For Immediate
Release: August 31, 2005
Sen. Jeff Rabon, Sen. Mike Morgan and Sen. Kenneth Corn discuss
the special session.
Republicans Threaten Centennial Celebration
“No” votes by Senate Republicans Wednesday
may have doomed the celebration of Oklahoma’s Centennial
in 2007, Senator
Jeff Rabon said.
Senate Bill 5X, which would have provided $10 million in funding
for projects across the state, failed on a 24-23 vote with all
22 Republican Senators voting against the measure.
“Because they defeated this bill, its unlikely now that
there will be any state funds to finish centennial projects in
towns like Ponca City, Choctaw, Owasso, Seminole and Tinker Air
Force Base,” Rabon said.
“The Republicans have done a great disservice to their own
constituents who have worked for years to raise millions of dollars
from non-state sources to fund new museums and monuments, statues
and festivals.
“Without the state funds included in Senate Bill 5X, there
just won’t be enough money to finish the projects or to
fund others.”
Rabon, a member of the Centennial Commission, noted that the commission
was created during the tenure of former Governor Frank Keating
and was designed to insulate the Centennial Celebration from politics.
Communities and organizations across the state make application
to the Centennial Commission and the non-partisan body reviews
and selects projects eligible for state funding.
“What Republicans advocated on the floor today was for the
Legislature to pick and choose which Centennial projects and celebrations
would be funded. Everyone agreed at the outset of the planning
of the Centennial that this was the best process and I still believe
that,” Rabon said.
The Hugo Democrat held the bill over on reconsideration meaning
that should Republicans change their minds, the Senate can return
to the Capitol and approve the measure.
For
more information contact:
Senator Rabon's
Office - (405) 521-5614
