OK Senate panel passes ballot proposal to boost minimum wage

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 28, 2006 by Marie Price

A proposed constitutional amendment to increase the Oklahoma minimum wage by 50 cents per year over the next five years passed the Senate Business and Labor Committee on Monday.

Oklahoma's minimum wage is currently $5.15 per hour.

Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, panel chairman, said she authored Senate Joint Resolution 49 to remove the minimum wage from the political arena by letting the people decide its fate.

It affects them, she said. It affects their pocketbook and their households.

Leftwich said that if the minimum wage had maintained its 1968 peak value, it would be $8.69 an hour by today's dollars.

That shows how far behind we are, she said.

Leftwich said she thinks the measure has a decent chance of approval in the Republican-controlled House.

There are a lot of people talking about minimum wage and why everything else is rocketing in price except wages, she said. Rather than have us play political football with it up here, I'm saying let's put it on the ballot and let the people decide if they want to raise minimum wage in Oklahoma.

Also approved by the committee was Senate Joint Resolution 41, by state Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, which would allow Oklahoma wine growers to ship their products to customers, both in Oklahoma and out of state.

Coates said the measure would affect only wineries that produce 10,000 gallons or less per year.

Gary Butler, a Vinita winery owner and president of the Oklahoma Grape Growers and Winemakers Association, said the measure would give wineries another avenue through which they could reach their customers.

Coates' measure would require a vote of the people.

The House Agriculture and Rural Development bill also passed a wine sales bill Monday.

House Bill 2918, by state Rep. Danny Morgan, D-Prague, would allow any winemaker licensed in any state to sell wine at retail stores in unopened containers to ship wine into Oklahoma for sale to individuals at least 21 years of age. It would prohibit resale of the wine.

The Senate business and labor panel also passed Senate Bill 1991, by President Pro Tem Mike Morgan, D-Stillwater, which requires registration of interior designers.

The bill also modifies the types of building projects that require an architect.

Edmond architect Terry Kerr said the changes modernize state law by referring to certain code use groups rather than specific building types. Kerr said the revised language would not impact residential structures.

Building designer Hugh Sprague expressed concern with the changes, saying they limit the types of projects that can be undertaken on a design-build basis.

Tulsa builder Dana Hudson said the new language could mean that an individual would have to hire an architect to build an addition to a 3,000 square-foot machine shops.

State Sen. Frank Shurden, D-Henryetta, spoke against the bill, saying it would increase the price of building construction.

If you want to build an outhouse on your farm, you might have to hire an architect, Shurden said.

Leftwich said that Morgan wanted the bill moved along while the groups involved continue to try to work toward a resolution of their differences.

If there's not an agreement, you're probably not going to see this bill again, Leftwich said.

Also approved was Senate Bill 2048, the Oklahoma Municipal Employee Collective Bargaining Act of 2006, by state Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant.

Gumm said the bill is aimed at resolving problems the courts found with a previous law on municipal collective bargaining.

Last summer, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held unconstitutional the prior collective bargaining law, which covered only 11 cities with populations larger than 35,000.

Gumm said his measure contains protections for cities and their budgets, while allowing city workers to speak with one united voice.

Unlike its predecessor, Gumm's bill has no population limit.

He also said cities would be authorized to put to a vote of local residents as to whether the municipality could engage in collective bargaining.

Cities would also have the option of referring the matter to the state Public Employee Relations Board for certification of a bargaining agent or to request a certification election.

The committee also passed Senate Bill 1741, by state Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton, which would license locksmiths, and Senate Bill 1862, by state Sen. Mary Easley, D-Tulsa, which would license nightclub and bar bouncers and require them to be certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.

Also approved was Shurden's Senate Joint Resolution 47, which would lift Oklahoma's ban on sales of liquor on election days.