Legislative Watch 
LEGISLATIVE
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9/8/05-In hopes of easing skyrocketing fuel prices, Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan has proposed suspending the collection of motor fuel taxes in Oklahoma for the final three months of the year.
Morgan, D-Stillwater, has called on Gov. Brad Henry to expand the current special session call to address price spikes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Morgan wants to dip into the state’s constitutional Rainy Day fund to cover the $103 million in losses the Sooner State would take if it were to temporarily eliminate the state’s taxes on gasoline and diesel.
Henry called Morgan’s plan “an intriguing idea.” The Democratic governor’s administration is studying whether high fuel prices fit the definition of an emergency required for lawmakers to access rainy day money, The Associated Press reported.
“If we can legally do that, it very well may be something that we will proceed with,” Henry said.
Morgan told The Daily Ardmoreite using $103 million of the $461 million Rainy Day fund will ensure that road and bridge money is not affected.
