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February 3, 2010

Henry's merger plan facing more opposition

TIM TALLEY Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 — OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Brad Henry's proposal to save money by merging the state agencies that regulate alcohol and public safety mirrors a plan that died two years ago, and is as likely to attract opposition, a lawmaker said Tuesday.



On Monday, Henry proposed merging 16 state agencies as part of efforts to balance the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The governor's executive budget says the consolidations would save the state $5.3 million.



Henry suggested merging the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission with the Department of Public Safety, reflecting a similar measure that failed in 2008 to join the ABLE Commission with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.



"There's no way that the state is going to save money by mixing a law enforcement agency with an administrative agency," said J.P. Richard, president of the Retail Liquor Association of Oklahoma and owner of Cache Road Discount Liquor & Wine in Lawton.



Rep. Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, author of the unsuccessful 2008 merger bill, said much of the opposition to his plan came from retail liquor merchants who thought it would be bad for business to have armed police officers roaming their stores to verify compliance with state liquor laws.



"Anytime you see a police car in front of some business, normally you assume the worst," Blackwell said.



Blackwell said his proposal was also opposed by agency heads concerned that a merger might erode the effectiveness of their operations.



"They're going to come up with any number of reasons why that should not be done," Blackwell said.



It was not immediately clear how much money would be saved by such a merger. The proposed merger of ABLE and the narcotics bureau had been projected to cost $1.3 million, not including a $600,000 price tag to raise the salaries of ABLE officers to match those in the bureau.



"There has to be some payback for what you're doing," Blackwell said.



Even if lawmakers agreed to merge ABLE — a constitutional agency — with the public safety department, it would take a statewide referendum to do it, Richard said.



"You can't just arbitrarily do it. You have to amend the Constitution," Richard said.



Another of Henry's merger proposals would combine the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, an idea that has raised concerns among the state's prosecutors.



"It's not a broad brush belief that that's a good idea," said Trent Baggett of the Oklahoma District Attorney's Council. Prosecutors are concerned the merger would create conflicts of interest and raise questions about the independence of the medical examiner's death investigations.



"It is fodder for a defense attorney to argue that there is a problem with the findings of the ME's office," Baggett said.



The governor also proposes merging OBNDD with OSBI, a consolidation that prosecutors opposed several years ago because the agencies have totally different functions, Baggett said.

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