Weekly Opinion/Editorial

CHICKEN FRIED INSURANCE TAX!
by Steve Fair

Back in 1992, Oklahoma passed State Question #640. The measure prevents the legislature from raising taxes without approval from the voters, or three fourths of each house of the legislature. Last week, the Oklahoma State Supreme Court ruled a proposed one percent fee on health insurance claims (HB 2437) was unconstitutional. Six of the nine justices said it violated the constitutional provision that SQ 640 established.
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The ruling presents a challenge for state government on how Medicaid will be funded in the state. The new ‘fee or tax’ was expected to generate $78 million and create a dedicated funding source for Medicaid. The fee was to take effect last Friday. Many business interests opposed the bill because they knew the fee would be passed onto them in price increases, which they would have to pass on to their customers.
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The day the Supreme Court made the ruling, a local GOP elected official held a fundraiser. The keynote speaker for this particular fundraiser was Oklahoma State House of Representatives Speaker Designate Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee).
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After the normal ‘mutual admiration society’ ritual you see at fundraisers, Steele spoke about what the 2011 legislature will face, including budget challenges. After he spoke, he took questions from the attendees. A local Duncan physician stated, “You need to talk more about health care in Oklahoma.” An increasing large amount of health care in Oklahoma is being funded via Medicare or Medicaid, “ the doc said. A local attorney asked, “What’s the back-up plan for Oklahoma after this ruling today?” Excellent questions normally not asked at political fundraisers.
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Steele wasn’t rattled by the questions and expertly outlined a number of things the legislature has done in the past few years to enhance health care in Oklahoma. Steele and Representative Doug Cox, (R-Grove), co-chaired the Oklahoma Health Care Reform Task Force. Cox is the only doctor in the state legislature. The pair helped expand Insure Oklahoma, a program that helps small businesses provide health care insurance for their employees. Steele said, “We have to increase insurance availability to improve the state’s health picture. We’re looking at reducing the uninsured.”
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They also help put together the All Kids Act, which allows families making up to three hundred percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for government assistance in obtaining health care.
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According to a 2008 report, “America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for Individuals & Their Communities” Oklahoma’s 3.5 million residents rank 44th of states from most to least healthy. “Oklahoma has issues with increasing rates of obesity and diabetics,” Steele said. Oklahoma has actually moved up four slots since 2007, when we were 47th. The report lists among the state’s challenges a high prevalence of smoking, a high rate of cardiovascular deaths and limited access to primary care. Since 1990, obesity in the state has increased by 148 percent. Oklahomans rank 48th in smoking and 43rd in obesity. We didn’t get there overnight, so education and lifestyle changes will take time. Keep in mind that in 1988, the Oklahoma legislature named Chicken Fried Steak the official state dish.
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On the positive side, according to the report, Oklahoma has strong per capita public health funding, due to the work of many in the public and private sectors dedicated to improving Oklahoma’s health picture.
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Steele said the ‘back-up plan’ would have to be formulated in the next legislative session. He said federal stimulus monies will make up the shortfall this year, but 2012 will be a different story. Steele didn’t express a great deal of optimism about achieving a ¾ majority on the bill in the upcoming session. Three comments about health care in Oklahoma:
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First, HB 2473 should never have been passed short of the three quarters approval of the legislature (36 in the Senate/ 76 in the House). When it was apparent it did not meet that threshold, the legislative leadership should have withdrawn the proposal. This ‘challenging’ of SQ #640 was time consuming, costly to taxpayers and unnecessary.
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Second, the answer to Oklahoma’s health care problems is complicated. How do we get Oklahomans to live healthy lifestyles? How do we insure more Oklahoma have access to affordable health care? How do we reform our tort system to prevent health care professional from leaving the state because of high malpractice premiums? We didn’t get here overnight and it will take time to fix it. Because Steele is considered to be one of the experts in the legislature on health care, as Speaker he will place an emphasis on the health of Oklahomans. That is a good thing!
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Third, Oklahomans need to start taking more equity in their own health. Rising health care costs impact everyone- not just the person receiving care. When the government pays a large majority of health care costs, your medical treatment is not just ‘your business’ anymore. ‘Your business’ ends where my wallet begins.

Weekly Opinion/Editorial

TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS!
by Steve Fair

A couple of companies that operate food processing plants in Oklahoma recently sold or merged with another company. Last week, privately held Phoenix based Bar S Foods announced they were selling to a Mexican company- Alfa, S.A.B. de C.V., parent company of Sigma Alimentos, S.A. de C.V.

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Bar S operates four facilities (three manufacturing plants and one distribution center) in Oklahoma. They are located in Clinton, Altus, Elk City and Lawton. Bar S employs about 1,200 people in the state, so the sale could have significant impact if Sigma decided to move the processing south of the border. It’s highly unlikely the DC will be affected.

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Commenting on the transaction, Armando Garza Sada, Alfa’s chairman of the board, stated: “This is an important milestone in Sigma´s growth strategy. With this acquisition, Sigma will become a meaningful player in the U.S. refrigerated processed meats market with an important presence in the U.S. Hispanic market.” While it is true the Latino consumer is the fasting growing segment of the US population, it’s also true that Alfa has several plants in Mexico that produce the same products as the Bar S plants. Hopefully Alfa will see the quality of work done by the Oklahoma workers and leave the plants here.

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About a month ago, it was announced that Advance Food Company, which was founded in Enid in 1973, was merging with Pierre Foods in Cincinnati. The new company will be called Advance Pierre Foods and the new CEO will be a Pierre guy. The son of one of the founders- Greg Allen- of Advance will be on the board. Both Advance and Pierre make meat products like hamburger patties and sandwiches, mostly for the food service industry. Advance employs over 1,900 people in the state

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Advance and Pierre have a lot of duplication in production capacity. Advance President Mark Allen said, "Obviously, there is some duplication.” Allen went on to say, "Our plan is to look at those types of duplications, and we'll make the decisions as to what we end up doing as to what's best for company.” Not the most reassuring words to Advance plant workers, but unlike the Bar S/Alfa situation, several of Pierre’s plant are union. Advance’s Oklahoma plants are non-union, which should be an advantage in retaining jobs. In fact, post merger plans call for the Enid plant to produce some of the products Pierre was making elsewhere. Brian Hayden, Advance’s Vice President of HR says, “We’ll actually see fairly immediate growth in production output at our Enid facility.”

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I’m not sure if Oklahoma’s elected officials have been in contact with the management of Alfa or Pierre. If not, that should be done immediately. The executives at both companies should be educated on the advantages Oklahoma offers. We are centrally located geographically. There are a myriad of advantages from a logisitics standpoint because we are in the heartland of American. Oklahoma has a mild climate. We are close to where the raw ingredients are grown- peanuts, wheat, corn, beef, pork. We have a great workforce.

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I’m afraid with a lame duck Governor, a Lt. Governor and a Congresswoman scrambling across the state campaigning for election the important task of ‘taking care of business,’ may slip through the cracks. Three thousand Oklahomans need some quality salesmanship on the part of our elected officials.

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The consumer products/food industry isn’t the most sexy or glamorous, but it is among the most stable. If Oklahoma wants to recruit long term, stable jobs to the state, they should make a concentrated effort to go after the consumer products industry. But first, they should take care of the processors/manufacturers already here by insuring we don’t lose them to another state or country. You’ve heard the saying- ‘dance with the one that brought you’ which means that you should pay proper fealty to those who have gone out of their way to look after you. Let’s take care of business even if it is election time!

SENATOR COBURN IN DUNCAN!

On Tuesday morning, about 50 people gathered in Duncan to hear Senator Tom Coburn. In an informal town hall format, Coburn began by stating the real problem with the federal government is SPENDING. He continued that theme throughout the 90 minute meeting. One lady in attendance said the only way the US was going to get our financial affairs in order was to 'tax the rich.' "Five percent of the people pay ninety percent of the taxes," Senator Coburn responded. "We are already taxing the wealthiest Americans," he said.

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"I will never vote for a tax increase so long as I know there is over 350 billion dollars of waste in our federal budget annually," Coburn said.

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"One in nineteen Americans under the age of 65 are on Social Security disability. We have widespread fraud in our disability program," Coburn said. He related a personal story of how a man who was drawing disability asked him(Dr. Coburn) to pay him in cash or write the check to his mother for trimming trees because he was on Social Security disability. Coburn refused and said he paid him by check and sent a copy to the Social Security office which brought applause. Read the Fox News story concerning SS disability fraud at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/04/federal-workers-pocketed-fraudulent-social-security-payments-watchdog-finds/

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Coburn is a breath of fresh air to politics. After interacting with politicos for months who will say anything to get a vote, Coburn is a refreshing contrast. He projects a genuine air of confidence that reassures the listener that he not only believes what he says, but knows what he is talking about.

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America is fortunate that Dr. Tom was willing to give up twelve years of his life to serve in the Senate and six years in the House. We need 99 more like him.

Weekly Opinion/Editorial

DON’T IGNORE SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA!
by Steve Fair

At last week’s regular monthly GOP meeting, Representative Dennis Johnson, (R-Duncan) invited the current sitting Speaker of the House Chris Benge, (R-Tulsa) and the Speaker designate Representative Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee) to attend. They were in the area for a fundraiser for State Representative Ann Coody, (R-Lawton).
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Benge is term-limited, so he is essentially done in November. He is the third Republican Speaker of the House in modern history and ascended to the position when former Speaker Lance Cargill resigned after facing criticism over not paying his taxes on time. Benge isn’t as flamboyant as Cargill or as polished a speaker, but he has led the House in some of the most difficult times in Oklahoma history. From the current budget crisis to organizing the House after Cargill left so abruptly, Benge has proven he has crisis leadership skills. It’s what he didn’t do that is a disappointment.
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While Oklahomans will have eleven State Questions to vote on in November, one of them is not a proposal to reduce the annual five percent property tax increase to three percent. Benge wouldn’t let a Joint Resolution that would have put the issue on the November ballot go to a vote on the House floor. Benge’s reasoning was that he believed it was not the right time because of the current state government budget crisis.
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At Thursday’s meeting Benge was brief and gracious. He talked about the progress the legislature has made on Oklahoma roads and bridges. He talked about the current fiscal condition of Oklahoma and how despite the budget crisis, Oklahoma is not looking to the federal government to ‘bail them out.” But Benge took no questions from the Party faithful. Good thing- I doubt he could have satisfactory explained his actions on the property tax issue to those in attendance.
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Speaker designate Kris Steele graduated from Broken Bow High School and Oklahoma Baptist University. He is an ordained Methodist minister. Steele, 37, can only serve two years as Speaker because he is term limited in 2012. He is articulate and more polished than Benge. When he addressed those in attendance, he talked about health care. Steele was the author of a bill in last year’s legislative session that increased Oklahomans access to affordable, quality health care. Steele’s plan is targeted for small businesses and their employees. Similar programs have been very successful in other states.
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Steele also talked about redistricting. “One of the most important things we will do in the 2011 legislature session is redistricting. We will draw not only the Congressional district lines, but every legislative and county commission line in the state,” Steele said. Redistricting is important. In years past, lines have been drawn to protect incumbents with little common sense used. At one time, Senate District #24 ran from the Red River to OKC, bypassing cities and towns along the way. That has since been corrected, but it is still one of the largest geographic Senate districts in the State.
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Care should be taken to insure that legislature districts are drawn with more thought and logic. Citizens in those districts should have common interests and share common values and concerns. Carving out a district to protect an incumbent sends the message the elected official is more important than the people they represent.
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Steele has appointed a nine-member panel to begin preliminary work on redistricting. There is just one problem- there is no one from Southwest Oklahoma on the panel. The closest geographically is Representative Lisa Billy, (R-Purcell), but no State House member from the SW quadrant of the state is there, so unless Steele rethinks his appointments, it appears the SW quadrant of the state will not be represented on the redistricting panel. That’s unacceptable!
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It was historical to have Speaker Benge and Speaker designate Steele in Stephens County at the same time. They are both good moral, ethical, and honest men. But Oklahoma needs a transformational leader. Steele offers hope, but he can’t ignore our area of the state if he expects to be successful.

Weekly Opinion/Editorial

THE FIRST DOMINO?
by Steve Fair

Last week, Boeing announced they are relocating two programs from Long Beach, Calfornia to Oklahoma City. The move will bring 550 engineering jobs to the state. Boeing said some California employees will be relocated, while other positions will be hired locally.
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The C-130 Avionics Modernization program will move to OKC beginning in the first quarter of 2011. The move of the B-1 program is expected toward the end of 2012. Both aircrafts are part of critical defense programs for the military. Boeing is on contract to engineer a modernization of roughly 220 Lockheed Martin C-130 transporters in the Air Force fleet, and upgrade the B-1 to allow the stealth jet to simultaneously carry different weapons. The design phase for C-130 modernization is nearing an end, and actual retrofits(manufacturing) will be handled at sites in Georgia and Texas.

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In conjunction with the announced plans to move the two programs to Oklahoma, Boeing announced plans to lay off about ten percent of their total work force in the Long Beach area. Mark Bass, Boeing general manager of maintenance, modifications and upgrades, gave workers the news Monday. "Making a decision like this is never easy, but as we reviewed our anticipated operating costs for the next several years, it became clear that Boeing needs to take major actions on these programs in order to remain affordable for our customers," Bass said. "We remain committed to maintaining the excellent record of performance that our employees deliver for our U.S. Air Force B-1 and C-130 AMP customers during this transition."
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According to the Boeing website, they are the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Additionally, Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems. As a major service provider to NASA, Boeing operates the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. The company also provides numerous military and commercial airline support services. Boeing has customers in more than 90 countries around the world and is one of the largest U.S. exporters in terms of sales. Getting them to look at the Sooner state in a positive light was quite an accomplishment.

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Boeing says the reason they are moving the job to the Sooner state is to be “more competitive for their customers.” How did Oklahoma become ‘competitive?’ Senator President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, (R-OKC) says the reason is because the Republican led legislature in Oklahoma has reformed workers comp and tort reform and the people passed right to work. These three moves have made Oklahoma more business friendly and appealing to business.

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“We knew the passage of comprehensive tort reform two sessions ago, and the progress we made in reforming our workers compensation system this past session would get the attention of the business community around the nation,” Coffee said. “Today’s announcement from Boeing that over 500 high-paying aeronautical jobs are moving from California to Oklahoma City is resounding affirmation of our work.”

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I'm not sure about workers comp or tort reform, but Right to Work was very likely a factor in Boeing’s decision. In an October 30, 2009 Wall Street Journal article, Boeing picked South Carolina over North Carolina because South Carolina’s work force was non-union.

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Right-to-work laws are statues enforced in twenty-two states, mostly in the southern or western U.S., allowed under provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibit agreements between trade unions and employers making membership or payment of union dues or "fees" a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. In other words, ‘complusionary union membership.’

Oklahoma’s work force has never had a high percentage of union workers, but the union members were vocal and fought passage of right to work tooth and nail. In September 2001, Oklahoma voters passed right to work by the slim margin of 54% to 46%. Critics said it wouldn’t make a difference in recruiting jobs to the Sooner state, but would we have gotten Boeing without it? Not likely.

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The domino effect is a phenomenon best illustrated by thinking about a row of dominoes standing on end side by side. By making a small change to one of the dominoes in the row, the entire row will be altered as the change is magnified and passed along. The first domino falls and all the others fall. Is Boeing the first domino? Time will time, but it’s a great first start.

Weekly Opinion/Editorial

OPENING UP THE PROCESS!

by Steve Fair

Oklahoma House Speaker-Designate Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee) announced last week he plans to change how the conference committee process in the State House works. Steele says the procedure will make the whole legislative process more transparent and open to the public.

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A conference committee is a committee appointed by the State House and State Senate to resolve disagreements on a particular bill. The committee is usually composed of the senior members of the committee where the bill originated.
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Beginning with the 2011 legislative session, Steele said all conference committee reports will be posted online for a full day before the bill can be considered on the House floor. The current House rules require conference reports be posted on the calendar for a minimum of 24 hours for review, except for the last two days of session. Steele also plans to take away the exception for the last two days.
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"We have come so far in a few short years in making Oklahoma one of the most open and accessible governments in the country," said Steele. "These changes, and others that may come later, will make our state government more transparent while also bringing the legislative process into homes across Oklahoma so people can become more involved."
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Additionally, Steele said that next year conference committee reports posted online for member and public review will also contain a link to the previous versions of the bill so the changes can be more easily spotted.

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Representative Dennis Johnson, (R-Duncan) supports Steele’s proposal. “Making government transparent is a good thing. I believe the changes will get more people involved in the process and by putting it online, it will be accessible to virtually everyone,” Johnson said.

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Since Republicans took control of the State House in 2004, they have worked to ‘open up’ Oklahoma government. For the first time in state history, ‘committee votes’ were recorded starting in 2005. Prior to that, like Vegas-what happened in the committee room stayed in the committee room. For years, good legislation was buried in committee and because committee votes were not recorded, the public had no idea who was stonewalling good legislation.
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In 2007, the House went to an exclusively online model, where members were given lap top computers and amendments and varying versions of bills were all available online as soon as they were filed for not only the members, but the public and the press as well. This was a major improvement over the previous system which often had bills passed before the public was even aware of them.
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In 2009, the House launched a video program that allows all members to speak directly to Oklahomans through the House website about important legislation under consideration. Last year, every legislative session was live streamed, so any interested citizen can view the process from a computer anywhere.
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Oklahoma has made significant progress in ‘opening up the process,’ but Steele’s idea on giving the Oklahoma taxpayer 24 hours to see/study a conference committee bill before its voted on the floor is excellent.
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Most major legislation requires a conference committee report. Steele’s proposal will do two things.

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First, it will allow the public time to look at bills before they are voted on. The key is for concerned, engaged Oklahoma citizens to regularly monitor the website to make see what is about to be voted on. If it’s something they are passionate about, they will have time to contact their legislator before the bill is voted on.
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Second, Steele’s proposal will discourage legislators from hurrying up legislation they don’t want the public to know anything about. In the past, we’ve had legislators who believe they know what we need better than we do and they rush bills through in order to keep the public ‘in the dark.’
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We have a ‘representative’ form of government. That’s where we vote on a person and send them up there to vote on the bills. As Will Rogers said, “Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.” But that doesn’t mean we can’t influence them on a particular bill- in fact we should.

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Steele’s plan to open up the process a little more to the public will result in more public input in legislation, resulting in better legislation. Better legislation will move Oklahoma forward.