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.