Weekly Opinion Editorial
OKIES SAFE TILL FEBRUARY!
by Steve Fair
The Oklahoma legislature adjourned sine die the
Thursday before Memorial Day. The state legislature
is required to complete their business by the last Friday in May and the
lawmakers just made it. After a very
public budget process instigated by Governor Kevin Stitt, the budget was
finally agreed upon at the last minute. Stitt
attempted to get public sentiment stirred up for a cut to the state income tax
by holding public negotiating sessions. Senate
President Pro Tempe Greg Treat, (R-Edmond) opposed the cuts and ultimately
Stitt agreed to back off for the cut and sign the budget. Treat termed out of the Senate. Speaker of the House Charles McCall,
(R-Atoka) is also term limited, so the legislature will have new leadership
next year. Here are three pieces of
legislation they passed this session.
First, impermissible
occupation is now a crime in Oklahoma. HB
4156, authored by Treat and McCall passed the House 77-20 and the Senate
39-8. It is similar to Texas Senate Bill
#4 which permits local police to arrest people they suspect may not have legal
immigration status. Treat and McCall say
Attorney General Gentner Drummond wanted the legislation to help crack down on
illegal marijuana grows and human trafficking.
Many of the state’s law enforcement community oppose HB#4156 because revenue
to add manpower to enforce the law wasn’t included. It is an unfunded mandate. It is set to become effective July 1st. The federal government has threatened to sue
the state if they don’t agree to not enforce the law. AG Drummond says he welcomes the lawsuits.
Second, Stitt
did get concessions from Treat. To get the
governor to sign the budget, the legislature agreed to (1) give District court
judges a +7% salary increase- from $145,567 to $155,756 annually, (2) appropriate
$20 million to the Quick Action Closing Fund, a slush fund used by the governor
to convince companies to move to Oklahoma, (3) keep funding the State-Tribal
Litigation Fund, (4) Implement a task force to potentially a business court
system in Oklahoma.
What are
business courts? Good question. Senate Bill #473, authored by Sen. Lonnie Paxton,
(R-Tuttle) creates an 11-member task force to study implementing business courts
in OKC and Tulsa. Over half the states
have business courts that specialize in resolving business disputes. Stitt contends corporations tend to not
locate to states without business courts and they are needed to compete for new
businesses.
Third,
Oklahoma will not be using ranked voting.
HB 3156, authored by Sen. Brent Howard, (R-Altus) prohibits the use of
ranked choice voting in elections at any level in Oklahoma. Nine
other states have similar laws. Ranked
choice voting is a system in which voters rank candidates in preference from
their first choice to last. Advocates
say it eliminates runoffs and saves money.
Critics point out the person who gets the most votes could actually lose
and the process itself is too complicated.
Oklahoma taxpayers
received tax relief when the legislature and Stitt agreed to eliminate the
sales tax on groceries (HB#1955). The
cut only applies to the state’s 4.5% state sales tax, so consumers will still
pay the local sales tax, which is as high as 7% in some municipalities. The cut goes into effect in November.
The 2024 legislature
failed to (1) identify government waste, (2) implement zero based budgeting, and
(3) return the excess revenue collected to taxpayers.
All in all,
the legislature earned a B. Until they
get serious about rightsizing government and remembering the taxpayer, that is
a generous grade.
Will Rogers once said about the Oklahoma legislature: “When those boys are in session, neither man, beast or property is safe.” Okies are safe until February 2025.
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