House Puts Scholarships Up for Debate
Bill to limit Oklahoma scholarships program ignites House battle
BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill to reduce eligibility for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program turned into the first all-out House floor fight of the session on Monday.
Contentious enough on its own merit, House Bill 1721 by Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, became a battleground over power and priorities when the Republican majority moved to limit debate on the measure. The Democratic minority kept the House tied up for more than an hour with a succession of motions and parliamentary maneuvers requiring 13 roll call votes until the Republicans relented.
The actual vote on the bill – 56-37 in favor with eight absent – was something of an anti-climax.
Osborn said Oklahoma’s Promise, started in the 1990s strictly for low-income families, had outgrown its original intent and needed to be trimmed back. Osborn said the cost of the program has gone from $4.5 million in 2002 to $63 million.