Interning at its Best

Hello all! Last time we spoke, I urged my followers to pay attention to what the local government is doing. I mean that because yesterday while interning I was asked to help the clerk with the Education Senate meeting. I used to think that Senator's get paid to have a corner office and make faulty promises and only have their own motives in mind while making decisions. I must say, I was wrong.

Senator's regardless of parties really care about what goes on in THEIR district. For example, a Senator from the Tulsa Osage District will propose a bill that effects the people in their district, but when introduced in the committee meetings, the other Senators want answers, and that is when the debate happens. For the first time in my life during the meeting we were about to call roll and we couldn't vote because we didn't meet quorum. It was weird. I was writing down my regular notes and I noticed many Senators were walking in and out of the meeting. This confuses me when I call roll because whenever a Senator steps out of a meeting but is present during the initial roll call when the meeting begins, I have to check the "out" box during the vote. I started counting and noticed that there were 7 Senators instead of 9 and I immediately felt like a cattle wrangler. I had to call offices, secretaries, and other interns to get the Senators back to the meeting. It's interesting to see when the voting begins because it is right after the debate and if it is a heated debate, during the roll call many Senators vote with a lot of attitude.


The meeting normally start at 9:00 and they can last till 2 if they want to. It just depends on how controversial the bill is between the Democrats and Republicans in the committee. If you could see some of the passion in the Senators eyes, you would think that thy are fighting for their last breath. I read on NewsOK this morning about a bill I actually sat in the committee meeting for. The bill would replace the board's six appointed members with the governor, attorney general and secretary of state. The state schools superintendent would remain the chairman of the board. Follow the link below to follow the current standing of this bill.

Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-senate-approves-bill-to-shake-up-board-of-education/article/3542850#ixzz1EhnzmYgx

Last week, I urged my followers to keep tabs on local government by looking at bills and understanding what these bill mean for us as Oklahomans. Today I urge my followers to take time out to take time out sit in on meeting, read current bills, and speak with the Senators in your district, because they recommend bills based on what he or she observes or hears from you.

It's Time to go to the Floor...

So it is day 3 of my internship and I have been busy since day one. Although I was not in a committee meeting this morning, I forgot that the Senate meets on the floor today. Despite the fact that the day was windy, it was beginning to look like spring. It took me a million years to actually get in the State Capitol because every child between the ages of 7-14 years old was here. Once I got to the office, I immediately had to start working on research for four bills that will go to the floor next week. It’s a lot of pressure because I have to pay close attention to facts and details. It’s almost like I am a lawyer and have to plead my case to the senators in my committee. In researching these bills, it really make me mindful of our local government. If you were to see a few of these bills, you would think that some of these bills are personal wants, but not the general need. So I urge my followers to get acquainted with local government. Everything that is done in this Capitol Building will be public record sooner or later, so it is not against the law to get copies of bills to be knowledgeable of your local government. I did however get to listen in on a redistricting meeting today to basically divvy up the districts in Oklahoma after the Census last year. Very interesting-that’s all I can say. Anyways, the importance of today’s blog is to once again raise awareness on local government. My new slogan shall be,” Read to stay in the know, so you can vote on who run’s Oklahoma’s show..” Till next time….

My First Day as a Senate Staff Intern

I know my first day to intern was yesterday and you were probably wanting an update yesterday, but I must admit I was on cloud nine all day. My first act a senate intern was to assist the clerk in the roll call for the education committee. Now in my job description I am supposed to work in committee meetings and yesterday was my first day working in the education committee. My job was to hand out senate bills to all the Senators in that committee, make sure that there was iced water in the pitchers and there were plastic cups to go with them. Once the meeting began, I had to call roll, just like in class and mark who was hear and who was not. Senator Ford was kind of like the teacher and Senator Stanislawski was like the TA during the meeting.

After roll call, the meeting went like a general student council meeting from then on. The way the meeting works is Senators propose bills in the committee meetings and the rest of the Senators can pass it, ask questions, and debate it. The first bill took about an hour to vote on and it got really hot in that cold room after a few tempers flared, but that's just politics. My favorite part of the meetings that I will look forward to is when it's time to vote to pass so it can move to the floor. I call roll once again and this time they say "aye" or "nay" on the bill. Once everyone has given me an answer I get to say something like "I have 12 ayes and 3 nays," and then my speaking part in the meeting is over until its time to vote again. This went on for 12 bills which was only 2 hours, which some bills went so fast! I distinctly remember taking roll on 3 bills in 20 minutes and I thought to myself, "Is this really how easy it is to pass a bill?" The committee had a few familiar faces that knew me and I was surprised because I was under the influence that politicians were horrible with names. Now I was reminded that these meetings were going to be boring and I was prepared for the meetings to be similar to C-SPAN, but I was wrong. These politicians are really passionate about these bills and really ask thought provoking questions about a bill like, "what will this bill do for the state?" and "how much will it cost the State if we do this?" were the two questions that were asked the most. Now there were times it was boring, but I didn't nod off because I knew that we were on a live feed on the internet so I was not going to be caught sleep on camera. I looked around at the various artists in the meeting when I would pass out bills and see Senators drawing on pieces of paper, or scrolling through Facebook with their computers. I found that to be the highlight of my day so far.

After the meeting, I met with Senator Judy Eason McIntyre, who is the Senator for the Tulsa & Osage district, and anyone who knows me knows that district is where I grew up, and the first time I had ever seen her was at the Democratic watch party this past year. She is sharp! She knew what my first AND last name and where she saw me, and I must say I was flattered. I met with Senator Clark Jolley since I live and attend school in Edmond I see him around a lot. He remembered me from Lunch with a policy maker at UCO back in March of 2010 and Gov. Brad Henry's last State of the State address. Caucus was meeting after the committee meeting so I made sure all the microphones were shut off so they could have some privacy. My internship coordinator set aside 4 seats for the interns to see the State of the State Address and I must say I was impressed. For once, I got to watch and not be the camera person, although I knew a lot of news crews that were there. I'll admit I was flattered by all the attention I was getting and how many people I had come in contact with over the past 2 and half years I have been at UCO. I just have to remind myself that I was raised and was taught how to treat others and reminded that kindness doesn't cost a dime, so it is only right that I have made an impact in someones life.

Jessica is my new found buddy that will be interning with me. She is from OU and is sharp as a tack as well. She had sass just like me and was very direct. Of course thee will be heavy security at an event where the Governor will be speaking, but Jessica made sure we got our seats right on time. We sat behind Lt. Governor Todd Lamb's family, which was cool. At this particular event, there was a lot of standing! I pledged my allegiance to the flag at least four times, but I enjoyed every part of the Address. Like most Governors, the speech was about how to keep Oklahoma growing and not overspending and so on and so on, but I was impressed at Gov. Fallin's Address because she was on topic and addressed problems every social class was facing, but by far Education surpassed everyones problem because schools are being shut down and students aren't reading at grade level, and that is a major problem in the State.

After the Address, I was bold enough to ask Gov. Fallin for a picture, I mean I am an intern that is interested in politics. Blake hopped in the picture as a two for one picture because the press was annoyed at some college kids getting photos with the Governor and they couldn't get a sound bite.

The most important thing I learned my first day was how important local government is. Presidential elections are great, but it is the local government that makes the decisions for the way you live in the state you reside in, and its important to know your officials, because the Senate and House act as liaisons between state and Capitol Hill. So I urge everyone to make an effort to know your state and local government, take time to go to public meetings, and take the initiative to vote during elections because the future is in our hands. Follow the link below to watch Gov. Fallin's first state of the State Address.

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13984013

It's Been Awhile I know

I know it has been a loooooonnnnnng time since the last time I have blogged, but today I feel inspired to share my newest adventure with you. Today is my first official day as a Senate Staff intern for the state of Oklahoma, and to be quite honest, I am nervous as a sinner in church. I am excited too because the Senate committee meetings start to today. I get to watch legislation up close and personal, and learn how our government really works. There are 4 interns this semester and were all girls. I don’t know how that is going to work, but we will see. All of them are from OU and I am the only face of UCO, so I feel that I have a duty to represent the UCO brand and that is going to be the best part of my internship. So I am off to the Oklahoma State Capitol for the day, so I will have more to tell later on the today, so stay tuned!