Statement From President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee on Senator Laster's Response to Lawsuit Reform Legislation

“Senator Laster’s response to today’s historic announcement on an agreement on comprehensive lawsuit reform smacks of ‘me-tooism,” yet doesn’t pass the smell test.

“The Democrats have been in control of the Oklahoma Senate for 101 years – the first 99 years were unfettered. If they had been truly interested in passing any reform – be it lawsuit reform, education reform, corrections reform or any other improvement for Oklahoma citizens, they could have passed it without Republican support.

“Now, they claim to be the original authors of the lawsuit reform we announced today. If Democrats had been genuinely committed to passing this level of meaningful lawsuit reform in 2007 or any other year, we Republicans would have been in line to sign up as co-authors of the bill.

“The sad truth is, it took a clear Republican majority and the cooperation of all parties involved to produce the reform we introduced today.

“Senator Laster and his colleagues are more than welcome to sign on as co-authors, and prove their commitment to comprehensive lawsuit reform in Oklahoma.”