WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:05.120 Today we have Senator Julie Daniels in with this and Senator first of all, 2 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:07.879 good morning to you. Good morning Tom. Always good to be here at 3 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:11.960 Bartlesville Radio. Well, it's good to have you here. You're running again 4 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:16.320 for State Senate, a job you've helped for the past several years and seem 5 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:20.280 to enjoy it because you're running again. Tell us a little bit about your 6 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:23.960 first term in office. It truly is the job of a lifetime. It's 7 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:27.679 a great honor to serve the people of District twenty nine for those of you 8 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:33.679 listening, that's Washington Nowada and northern Rogers County dipping right down close into Claremore 9 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:41.079 these days. And I'm fully dedicated to the job. I have had the 10 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:45.840 opportunity in these past eight years to serve in a variety of roles in the 11 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:52.719 Senate and pass some significant legislation. But just tell you a quick story. 12 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:58.119 Yesterday I was out and about in the hallways and I got a text from 13 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:02.119 Kathy, my executive assistant, who helped with so many constituent things, and 14 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:03.680 she said, you need to come back to the office right now. The 15 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:08.439 government relations person from Walmart is here and the constituent issue. We took to 16 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:14.879 them. The constituent was right, and Walmart's changing all of their store policies 17 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:19.519 because this constituent brought something to us, and we thought, well, maybe 18 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:23.359 they're just confused by a state policy. Maybe we changed something in the law 19 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.560 and they're unaware of it. What Walmart is. No, Walmart did a 20 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:33.120 thorough investigation after we decided to just contact Walmart and say, this issue is 21 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:37.480 going on and we're trying to figure out it ire and is it government or 22 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:41.879 is it Walmart? Well lo and behold, he said Walmart was wrong about 23 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:45.640 the way they were treating this particular it had to do with a veteran sales 24 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:49.439 tax exemption card. Oh, and he said, and so we're changing the 25 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.799 policies throughout our stores. And he happened to be in the building that day 26 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.159 and he wanted to come and tell us. And I tell you, you 27 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:00.040 can do major legislation, and I've had the opportunity to do that, but 28 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:04.400 I went on into public safety to present a second amendment bill for a constituent 29 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:07.680 and I just sat there thinking, it's really cool. We helped one person, 30 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:12.680 and in helping one person, we helped a lot of people, and 31 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:16.599 Walmart never wants to be on the bad side of their customers. So those 32 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:21.879 are the kinds of things you get to do after several years of learning the 33 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:27.199 system, learning the politics, making relationships with people both inside and outside the 34 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:31.199 building, that I find the most satisfactory. That wasn't an instance of your 35 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:36.800 government doing something wrong. Nobody really did anything wrong. But those are the 36 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.759 kinds of things I like to work on along with the big issues. Now 37 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:46.000 another big issue. Last year, I carried the bill and literally did write 38 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:53.840 the bill out of eleven different bills that were submitted to prohibit transgender procedures on 39 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:00.560 children, not mental health, not antidepressants, not intensive counseling, but the 40 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:08.080 physical invasion of the child's body until you're eighteen. And I was standing in 41 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.840 my office alone one day and I got a text from the Assistant Attorney General 42 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:16.280 who was because we got challenged in court, and he said we prevailed, 43 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:22.560 and just stood and said a little thank you prayer because I think it's an 44 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:28.000 important policy, and also set a prayer for those families and those kids and 45 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.400 hoping that they will get the intensive mental health treatment that they need, but 46 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.680 that we're going to protect them from making these adult decisions as children, and 47 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:42.680 I think in the same vein helping their families who are so often caught off 48 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:47.240 guard, not included, rather surprised when these things happen. So we've yet 49 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:51.560 to prevail at the circuit court. We're waiting on that decision. But those 50 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:58.879 are the kinds of things that really give me great satisfaction. And then you 51 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:02.400 say amen and go on, what's the next thing that you can do to 52 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:08.360 reign in government? To lower taxes, to protect life, to protect the 53 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:13.000 First Amendment, freedom of religion, the second? What can I do each 54 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:19.240 day to make sure that the government is assisting in those areas and not hampering 55 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.160 or trying to take away or invade those rights at all. So it's a 56 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.279 full on job, but those are the days. They're bad days too. 57 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:34.040 But every time I come in and leave the capital and look up at the 58 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:40.319 Dome, I just pinch myself that the voters have been so kind to let 59 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.800 me do this job for eight years. And I would love to serve another 60 00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:47.120 foreign check some more goals off the list. Well, you know, you 61 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:51.879 brought up the thing about the veteran who had the issue with a big company, 62 00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:57.000 and that was resolved. You got kind of your start here with talking 63 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.839 to the everyday folk when you were mayor Barnesvillet. That's very true. I 64 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:08.040 had a volunteer career in Bartlesville. I'm kind of a non traditional senator in 65 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.399 that regard. When my kids were growing up, I was in the schools 66 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.480 and you know, we did the choir and the orchestra and the parent support 67 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:20.399 groups and all those sorts of things. And then I had the great honor 68 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:24.800 of serving on the city council for eight years and being a mayor for one 69 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:29.000 term. And I happened to have the honor of serving in leadership in the 70 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:32.199 Senate and have done for the past six years. And two of my closest 71 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:36.959 colleagues or classmates and they are both former mayors. And when we sit together 72 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:43.279 and go through bills, that municipal government experience, that appreciation for cities and 73 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:46.959 towns really shows itself. They go, this is a preemption bill. This 74 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:51.079 is a preemption bill. Is this a preemption that we should do or should 75 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.000 not do. But in terms of talking to people and working with people, 76 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:59.839 yes, if you have municipal government experience, that's the best training ground to 77 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:03.639 go to. The legislature. You mentioned being a parent and being very much 78 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:08.920 involved with your children when they are in school, but schools is something that 79 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:13.360 you often have to work with when it comes to legislation too, being in 80 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:16.759 state government. That's right. Public education continues to be the largest part of 81 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:23.399 the budget pie and we are talking about education all the time. This last 82 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:27.600 two years, I've been on the Education Committee. It's the first time that 83 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.920 I have served on that, and we went through last year with a teacher 84 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:38.279 pay raise. We're doing lots of teacher pipeline legislation, stipends, signing bonuses, 85 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:42.600 paying for tuition, all sorts of things to encourage people to come in 86 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:46.160 and remain in the system. At the same time increasing the resources to public 87 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.560 education. There was an additional eight hundred thousand dollars that was put into that 88 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:57.079 budget last year, so we're well over or close to four billion dollars in 89 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:02.199 public education. I have a fine relationship here with our Bartiswell Public Schools. 90 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:06.680 Once a month we sit down with Superintendent McCauley and some of the staff and 91 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:10.879 a couple of school board members. We talk about what's going on in the 92 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:15.240 capital that might affect them. They bring problems or questions or suggestions to us. 93 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:23.319 And I really appreciate that because our Barniswell Public School district is very well 94 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:29.959 run and they're always thinking ahead to how to improve how to engage kids. 95 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:34.319 We're doing that in the legislature as well, but I would say that this 96 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:41.240 year Science of Reading is something that the Education Committee has passed forward. We're 97 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.920 doing a lot more with school security. Of course here in Bartlesvielle. We 98 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:50.199 benefit from a long time, very strong relationship between our police department and the 99 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:55.720 schools, starting with the resource officers, which for a while were fully funded 100 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:01.759 through the City of Bartlesville, and now that's a shared financial responsibility. So 101 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:07.360 we're constantly looking at that any way to improve the system, engage the students 102 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:11.800 and get really good academic outcomes. And many times people say, well, 103 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.519 what about law and order? What can lawmakers do to make sure that, 104 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:18.600 you know, people are a little bit safer. You came up with something 105 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:24.040 that touched on that greatly when we talked about people who would come in and 106 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:28.279 just do all these quick burglaries and smashing grabs and everything else like that. 107 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.720 And we're finding out that those things have long lines. They kind of connect 108 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:33.440 with other people tell us a little bit about this. Well, they certainly 109 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:39.240 do. A couple of years ago we passed the a bill. I had 110 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:46.840 a bill on retail theft fleecing goods online, and we require now that the 111 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:52.039 that the server, the you know, the Googles, and the I'm trying 112 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:54.919 to think of the right words, search engines. Yeah, the search engines. 113 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.120 The people who are selling online have to provide a name and a physic 114 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.360 address. So if you're engaged to criminal activity and you're fleecing goods online, 115 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:07.000 you're not going to want to comply with that law, so you may not 116 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:13.039 be selling those goods online anymore. That now has grown this year into four 117 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:16.879 bills. I had two I think will become law. Two did not get 118 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.879 heard this week, having to do with increasing the penalty for second degree burglary 119 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:26.679 where it occurs in a c store, increasing the penalty of assault where you 120 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:31.679 jump over the counter and you assault the clerk or you follow a clerk back 121 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:39.000 into the storeroom, putting more armph behind those particular criminal activities, and letting 122 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:45.200 the prosecutors and the investigators aggregate the crimes instead of hitting the reset button on 123 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:50.600 crimes every ninety days. We will do that every one hundred and eighty days, 124 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:56.480 which allows law enforcement to build find patterns of activity, geographical patterns, 125 00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:01.399 find more organized crime if that's involved, and it isn't. We have gangs 126 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:03.399 involved in this, it's tied to the drug trade, it's tied to human 127 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:09.639 trafficking. So anything we can do to increase public safety is very important. 128 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:13.559 At the same time, we balance that with criminal justice reform, and I've 129 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:20.440 carried legislation on both those sides, breaking down barriers for people, giving them 130 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.159 second chances. If they have served their time, paid their debt to society, 131 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:30.159 where can they go to work where their past criminal activity does not affect 132 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:33.039 the nature of their work. For instance, if you've served time for embezzling, 133 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.600 we may not want you to be a financial advisor or a CPA or 134 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:45.519 something like that. But if the criminal history does not impact the actual career 135 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:50.320 path that you've taken, we need to let these people come back and join 136 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:52.600 the rest of us and become productive, tax paying citizens and be back with 137 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:56.320 their families and support their kids. So there's always that balance. Serving on 138 00:10:56.360 --> 00:11:01.519 the Judiciary Committee now for eight years, and the longer you serve on a 139 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:05.720 committee I think the better you get because you become familiar with the different titles 140 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:09.960 of law, and you see ideas come through the committee year after year and 141 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:13.039 you say, we took care of that, or the courts have said we 142 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:15.159 can't do it that way, but we can do it this way, or 143 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:18.440 no, no, no, no. You keep coming and trying that, 144 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:24.279 and I'm going to keep voting no. So anyway, public safety criminal justice 145 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.840 reform really do go hand in hand along the line of justice. We're talking 146 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:33.360 with this state Senator Julie Daniels, who's running for another term. You've popped 147 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:37.600 out with our people who take care of the courts. Judges and also prosecutors 148 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:43.120 are state's attorneys. They have had trouble with funding in the past, and 149 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:48.200 you work really hard to try to make things so that they can at least 150 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:52.639 have the materials they can do their job. There's always going to be a 151 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:54.519 demand for funding, Yeah, there is. I have been a strong proponent 152 00:11:54.679 --> 00:12:00.440 of tax cuts. I have voted for every tax cut. Was the original 153 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.519 author on the quarter sent tax cut that occurred three or four years ago, 154 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.279 and I authored another one this year, but it didn't get hurt. I 155 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:11.000 filed it in hopes that it might pick up some steam sometime if you do 156 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:15.919 that, just to be prepared if you get an opportunity to pass another tax 157 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:20.120 cut. But yes, being involved with the budget for Public Safety and Judiciary 158 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:24.240 for my entire time in the building, I have an understanding now of what 159 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:28.679 these different agencies, the das, the courts, the Bureau of Narcotics, 160 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:33.559 the Bureau of Investigation, cleat those folks, what they want, what they 161 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:37.039 need, what projects they've accomplished. Okay, now they want to go do 162 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:41.039 this, that or the other. And of course, with the increase in 163 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:48.320 the gangs and the foreign gangs and the fentanyl, and the fact that Oklahoma 164 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:52.279 really is a crossroads for a lot of this activity, we have beefed up 165 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:56.600 our funding of the Attorney General's office. A lot of this is surrounding the 166 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.679 illegal marijuana grows, trying to shut down more and more of them, beefing 167 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:07.840 up the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. So I'm able to help in those situations 168 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:11.440 because of that experience on that budget committee, and we're doing it a lot 169 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.799 more transparently now in the Senate, which is good for all of us because 170 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:18.320 it's your tax dollars. Let's put it up in public. Here's why Senator 171 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:22.120 Daniels believes we need to increase the budget of the District Attorney's Council by this 172 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:26.360 much. And I can make that argument. Now. I can also make 173 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:28.440 the argument for another one of my agencies. And then when it says we've 174 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:31.279 got to choose, well, then you have to you get a percentage of 175 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:33.360 this, you get a percentage of that. We're going to wait till the 176 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:41.080 next year for this particular project or program. I think you're more effective and 177 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:43.960 you get results the more fully engaged you are with the process. And so 178 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:50.159 I love learning new things. I love getting to know people and working with 179 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:54.080 people to solve problems. So, yes, we're working on those budgets all 180 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.919 the time, all the time. Senator Daniels is with us. We got 181 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:01.519 about a minute or so left. Heel folks how they can get a hold 182 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:03.480 of you and know more about you and if you've got something that you'd like 183 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.360 to offer on the stuff as I often call it, before we close up, 184 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:11.240 let's go with that too. Well. I want to thank the voters 185 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:15.759 for this eight years of service. I would truly love to serve you four 186 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.919 more years. It would be my final term. You can get a hold 187 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:20.960 of me at nine one eight, three, three, one seven, two 188 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:28.960 sixty seven. My campaign website is danielsokasenate dot com danielsokasenate dot com. You 189 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.600 can write to me through that website. Obviously, with a constituent issue, 190 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:37.039 you can always call the office four oh five five two one five six three 191 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:41.639 four. Follow me on Senator Julie daniels Facebook page. I'd really love to 192 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.759 have your comments, and I share every day what I'm doing in the capital 193 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:52.000 and on the campaign trail, and so to everybody in Senate District twenty nine. 194 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:56.200 I would truly appreciate your vote. I try to be responsive, I 195 00:14:56.279 --> 00:15:01.360 tackle big problems. I get results, and it's a joy to serve you 196 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:05.759 and the state of Oklahoma. Senator Daniels, thank you for being our guest.