House Approves Storm Shelter Measure After Second Vote

Oklahoma House reverses course, approves storm shelter measure
by Randy Ellis

In a dramatic late night flip-flop, members of the state House of Representatives reversed course Thursday and approved a school storm shelter proposal backed by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin just hours after they had defeated it.

House members voted 51-39 to approve the resolution after initially voting 34-61 to reject it.

In between those two votes, Fallin lobbied House members on the House floor and issued an angry news release blaming the initial defeat of the measure on “a politically motivated and intentionally misleading smear campaign.”

“Critics of the bill said House Joint Resolution 1092 would have raised taxes. It does not,” Fallin said in her news release.

“It would have allowed local communities to increase their bonding indebtedness only if those communities voted to do so. It is a local control measure that supports decisions made by local communities.”

Read the complete story on NewsOK.com