To the editors:
Why are House and Senate legislators passing legislation that hurts blind Oklahomans — especially seniors? There is no reason to contract services out unless you can do a better job for less money. It’s now up to Gov. Mary Fallin to veto SB 733 and HB 2230.
SB 733 would fire a state agency’s highly qualified staff with master’s degrees who provide free statewide training that enables blind seniors to stay in their homes. Why? Because some legislator’s buddy wrote legislation so narrow it defines only them, even though their program bills Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and seniors’ credit cards to pay generic therapists with no experience in blindness rehabilitation.
HB 2230 would take a food-service business away from successful business owner Mike Spencer, who is blind and runs the Tulsa County jail commissary. The bill would give this citizen’s business to a corrupt sheriff’s office, which came up missing about $200,000 in funds embezzled from inmates’ accounts, according to an audit by the state auditor-inspector.
Highjacking Spencer’s business won’t help Tulsa citizens. The citizens already face property-tax increases because of the $10.25 million civil-rights judgment against the Tulsa sheriff’s office.
Fallin must protect citizens who are blind and veto these bills.
Red Goldfarb
Yukon, Oklahoma
P.S. Tell them to work on the budget, too.
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