Tax Credit Task Force Update

I hope you’re all surviving the crazy Oklahoma weather! I just wanted to give a quick update on the progress of the Tax Credit Task Force that has been meeting during the legislative interim. I’ve attend most of these meetings, and I’ve found them to be extremely informative and productive. Each meeting, several tax credits are closely examined. Presenters are invited to speak each meeting on why they believe a particular credit is helpful or hurtful to the Oklahoma economy. Most meetings have involved businesspeople speaking on a credit their business or corporation has received.

The meetings have been exactly what I’d hoped for – they place each credit under the microscope. In my opinion, great progress has been made. It seems the entire task force has come to the conclusion that transferability of tax credits should be ended completely. This is something I campaigned on, and it’s also something I continue to be passionate about. We have learned through these meetings just how abused and wasteful these credits can be when the transferability allows them to be sold as commodities on the open market.

Today marked the second to last meeting of this task force. They will meet for the final time on November 30th at 10:00 in the House Chamber at the Capitol. If you are able, I encourage you to attend the meeting. However, I will be sure to keep you informed of he task force’s final findings. I am attaching below Rep. David Dank’s press release from today’s meeting. Rep. Dank is the chairman of this task force, and he has done a wonderful job of asking those tough questions on this issue that we’ve needed to ask for years.

Tax Credits Task Force Proposes Recommendations

 

OKLAHOMA CITY - Members of the Task Force on State Tax Credits and Economic Incentives today discussed how to rein in ineffective and impractical tax credits.

            The recommendations of the task force will be used to draft legislation setting up safeguards in how the Legislature creates tax credits.

            “We are not against business. We don’t oppose growth,” said state Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, who chairs the task force. “We believe that government policy can help create jobs. We don’t think all credits or incentives are bad. What I think most of us believe after all we have heard here is that far too many tax credits and other incentives enacted in the past were created for the wrong reasons and in the wrong way.”

             Dank said many of the current tax credits and incentives on the books were voted on “virtually in secret” and do not have adequate checks and balances.

            “And as we know from reading the attorney general’s opinion, a number of them were and are constitutionally infirm, which is really another way of saying they were simply illegal,” Dank said. “The simple truth is that a few of these tax credits are like the huckster who took a bucket of manure, covered the top with an inch of honey and sold the whole thing as a full bucket of honey. It wasn’t until the sucker got home with it that he found out what he had actually bought.”

            Recommendations proposed during the meeting included:

• extensively reviewing tax credits,
• ending the transferability of tax credits,
• sunsetting all tax credits,
• eliminating the practice of voting on tax incentives in the last days of session,
• making all credits and incentives subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act,
• making job creation the only acceptable justification of a tax credit,
• examining alternative job creation solutions before turning to a tax incentive,
• annually auditing every tax credit,
• requiring caps and limits on all tax credits,
• scrutinizing entities receiving tax credits and incentives.

Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me if you have questions on this or any other issue. The deadline to file bills for the upcoming legislative session is quickly approaching, so send me your ideas and proposals soon! I’ll be sending another e-mail and writing another blog post in the next few weeks about the pieces of legislation I’m planning on proposing next session. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you at the State Capitol!

Weekly Update: May 2-6, 2011

Over three months of a four-month legislative session is now behind us, and this week marked the beginning of conference committees for legislation which requires further deliberation by both chambers. When a House author rejects Senate amendments (or vice versa) the bill is assigned to a conference committee, in which both House and Senate conferees have to agree to a final version of the bill. If this agreement is reached, the bill must again travel through both chambers in order for it to be signed into law by the governor. All of these actions, including drafting a budget and a finalizing a redistricting plan, must occur by the Sine Die adjournment deadline of May 27^th.

Receiving bipartisan support this week and now in route to the governor is House Bill 2131, which makes changes to sentencing and parole policies. HB2131 will expand offender eligibility for community sentencing programs. In addition, it limits the governor’s role in the parole process for nonviolent offenders. I am very pleased that this bill has passed both chambers, and I’m hopeful Governor Fallin will sign it.

The “social promotion” bill was signed last week by the governor. This bill requires that all 3^rd graders who do not pass a reading test be held back. I have been in opposition to this bill all session for numerous reasons. It was very timely, then, that I was invited to a presentation last week by an organization called OkCEO. This organization is seeking to encourage business to invest in early childhood education. They are especially interested in education from birth to age 5. They brought up some wonderful points that they share with business leaders – employee productivity increases with quality childcare, businesses are more likely to relocate in areas that invest in early childhood education, and programs like these increase the likelihood of a highly educated workforce. Of course, there are many other reasons to invest in early childhood education, but these are the reasons that entice business leaders. On Friday, I toured a facility called EduCare in Oklahoma City. EduCare only accepts children from birth to age 5 whose families are at or below the poverty line. I am very excited about the work that is being done at this facility, and I see a bright future for early childhood education in Oklahoma. It is my hope that our investment in this area of education will prevent the need to hold children back in the 3^rd grade because of reading deficiencies.

A leading gun-control group gave Oklahoma a score of 2 out of a possible 100 points Wednesday, but the score was enough to keep the state off the “do-nothing” list. According to the fourth-annual scorecard released by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Oklahoma received its 2 points for not forcing colleges to allow firearms on campus. This year the Brady Campaign gave its awards for the “craziest gun laws” to Kansas, for allowing guns in elementary schools; Virginia, for allowing guns in bars as long as the patron does not drink; Utah, for allowing guns on college campuses; and Florida, for considering legislation that would punish doctors for talking to children and parents about guns in the home.

On Monday the House of Representatives publicly reprimanded Rep. Sally Kern, R-OKC, for disparaging comments she made against African Americans and women during a debate last week on affirmative action. Rep. Mike Shelton, one of four blacks in the 101-member House, made the motion to reprimand her. The House voted 76-16 to reprimand Kern. I was encouraged that the House sent a message to the rest of Oklahoma that Rep. Kern’s remarks and attitudes do not reflect those of the entire legislature.

House Bill 1615, titled the “Let the Troops Vote Act”, passed the House this week and will soon become law. HB1615 seeks to conform to a federal law that protects the voting rights of military personnel by requiring absentee ballots be sent to them at least 45-days before state and federal elections. Rather than eliminating primary runoffs to meet this 45-day deadline, legislation was drafted to move the candidate filing period from early June to mid-April and moving the Primary Election from late July to late June. The Primary Runoff remains in late August. Some legislators opposed this bill as it will now require candidates to file for offices during the legislative session.

The next few weeks in the legislature are sure to be contentious, as we will soon begin work on the budget. I encourage you to let me know your budgetary priorities for the legislature. My door is always open, so please do not ever hesitate to contact me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you at the Capitol!

Weekly Update: April 25 – May 2, 2011

Last week in the House of Representatives was interesting, to say the least. This was the final week in which Senate bills could be heard on the House floor, so we had some long days and nights at the Capitol. I’m sure you have heard many things about the legislative session last week, but I would just like to offer a few of my own thoughts on these issues.

A week after Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have required the political parties to provide proof of citizenship for their presidential candidates to get on the ballot, the Oklahoma House heard and passed a similar “birther” bill, which coincidently was on the same day President Obama released his long-form Hawaii birth certificate.  I voted against this bill, and I was disappointed that we spent time on Wednesday evening, the last day of our deadline week, on a bill that I feel is a solution looking for a problem. There were many important bills that did not receive a hearing on the House floor last week, and I am baffled that this bill was one that received a hearing over many other bills.

Also of note this week were the overtly racist and sexist comments one state legislator made during a debate of SJR 15, which seeks to end affirmative action programs in Oklahoma.  I voted against this bill because I believe it is also a solution looking for a problem. Also, I believe discrimination is still a major problem in Oklahoma, and one of my colleagues proved this point with her highly discriminatory statements. Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, noted that a disproportionate number of people in prison are African-American and said, “Is this just because they are black that they are in prison, or could it be because they didn’t want to work hard in school? A lot of times, that’s what happens. I taught school for 20 years, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t want to work as hard. They wanted it given to them.” Kern then went on to disparage women by saying “Women usually don’t want to work as hard as a man….women tend to think a little bit more about their family, wanting to be at home more time, wanting to have a little more leisure time.

I truly cannot express how disappointed I was in Rep. Kern’s comments. I was shocked that these beliefs could be held by a fellow female legislator. Not only were her comments simply untrue, they were very hurtful to a large segment of the population. I was asked to address the sexist comments at a press conference held by the House Democrats. Rep. Mike Shelton and Rep. Jabar Shumate addressed the racist comments. I would like to share my comments with you:

I want to express that I’m very personally saddened and frustrated by Rep. Kern’s sexist remarks. The attitudes she expressed are in stark contrast to the extremely hard working American women over the last centuries. I grew up in a home with very encouraging and supporting parents who always told me I could do anything I set my mind to. Unfortunately, not every young girl grows up in that kind of environment. Because of that, I feel it is the job of women in leadership positions everywhere to make sure all young girls know that women can accomplish anything with hard work and dedication. Rep. Kern’s remarks fly in the face of that responsibility bestowed upon us and actually are counterproductive to building future generations of trailblazing women. With that said, I would like all Oklahoma girls and women to know Rep. Kern’s remarks do not, in any way, reflect the collective attitude of the women of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Rep. Kern’s comments, and also any comments on the affirmative action bill itself would be greatly appreciated.

This week the House also passed, on primarily partisan lines, a school voucher bill in which tax credits would be established to provide money for private school scholarships. Senate Bill 969 would allow companies to donate as much as $100,000 to a nonprofit organization that would award the scholarships. Couples could donate up to $2,000, while individuals could donate up to $1,000. The measure would allow a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the total amount of contribution to a nonprofit, scholarship-granting organization. House Democrats denounced the legislation, and I issued the following statement regarding the bill: “Make no mistake about it, bills like the one heard today are all part of an effort to unravel our public education system – by labeling our public schools as failing while consistently underfunding them, by telling parents that public schools are not good and charter schools are the answer, and by advancing charter schools, which is a thinly veiled effort to privatize education under the guise of providing ‘choice’. “

I was pleased that Governor Mary Fallin took time to sign into law HB1686, the Eastern Flyer Passenger Rail Initiative. The bill is seen as a popular bi-partisan measure with the potential to replicate what has proven to be an economic development tool. The Heartland Flyer presently carries passengers from Ft. Worth to Oklahoma City, and according to studies done by the Texas Transportation Institute, small towns along the route are benefiting to the profit level of $18 million in lodging, meals, shopping and entertainment, annually.  New projects either now in development or on the drawing board for future development could benefit from exposure to the proposed Tulsa route. Chandler, Bristow and Sapulpa are directly in line to receive rail traffic. The next step will involve forming a task force to study options and opportunities and we will begin that work- unofficially- right away, and then in 90 days, form the working group.

It is truly an honor to be your representative at the Capitol. Please do not ever hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions on legislation. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you!

Public statement issued at May 2nd press conference

I want to express that I’m very personally saddened and frustrated by Rep. Kern’s sexist remarks. The attitudes she expressed are in stark contrast to the extremely hard working American women over the last centuries. I grew up in a home with very encouraging and supporting parents who always told me I could do anything I set my mind to. Unfortunately, not every young girl grows up in that kind of environment. Because of that, I feel it is the job of women in leadership positions everywhere to make sure all young girls know that women can accomplish anything with hard work and dedication. Rep. Kern’s remarks fly in the face of that responsibility bestowed upon us and actually are counterproductive to building future generations of trailblazing women. With that said, I would like all Oklahoma girls and women to know Rep. Kern’s remarks do not, in any way, reflect the collective attitude of the women of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Weekly Update – 4/18-4/22

The House of Representatives was back to long days in the chamber last week. With all bills out of committee the previous week, all work this week was done on the House floor. Although many bills were passed off the House floor, we did not hear many controversial bills in the past week. It seems that most of the controversial subjects will be dealt with this week which is the last week for bills to be heard on the House and Senate floors.

I was very pleased that Governor Fallin signed one of my bills, HB 1274, into law last week. This bill will assist school administrators and special education teachers in preparing special education students for standardized tests. The bill allows special education teachers to become certified in early childhood education and elementary education if they pass a test administered by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.  These teachers can then teach subjects included in standardized tests to their special education students instead of sending these students to a mainstream classroom to receive instruction. It is ideal for a teacher trained in special education to teach these students, and it is my hope that many school districts take advantage of this change in the law.

Several bills dealing with property tax were heard last week. The House approved a bill that would grant seniors relief from rising property taxes. I believe this bill is needed because most seniors are on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay an increasing amount every year in property taxes. I was against a bill that would lower the amount property taxes can be increased every year. Currently, the law caps the increase at 5%. A bill approved in the House last week would lower that cap to 3%. While I certainly support lowering the tax burden on all citizens, I fear that this will hurt our public schools the most because they are funded largely by property taxes. I would appreciate any comments or concerns you may have on this issue, because there are very important arguments on both sides.

The House also approved a comprehensive workers’ compensation reform package last week. This bill is not complete, however, and it is expected to be changed significantly in conference committee. This means that it will have to be approved again on the House floor before it can be sent to the governor. I supported this bill because I believe some costs in the workers’ compensation system have increased without good reason. Particularly, I was very happy that high medical costs were addressed in this bill.  It is not uncommon for a doctor to charge 400% of the Medicare reimbursement rate in a workers’ compensation case. While doctors often have to spend more time on a workers’ compensation case because of the increased paperwork and documentation involved, this increase in costs has gotten out of control. The reform bill approved by the House will limit those medical costs to 200% of the Medicare reimbursement rate.

This week will be particularly interesting and possibly quite controversial at times. If you’d like to watch the House session live, please visit www.okhouse.gov. I highly recommend watching session, especially if we are considering a bill you are concerned about. Watching the consideration of bills on the House floor is often the best way to get the facts about why a certain bill was approved or disapproved.

It is truly an honor to serve you at the Capitol, and I will never forget that it is my job to be your voice in the legislature. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions for legislation.

Capitol Update – April 11-15, 2011

This week at the Capitol was the last week that a large number of bills were not heard on the floor. The work largely remained in committees because all bills must have been heard in committee by Thursday to stay alive in the legislative process. We also saw a few bills signed by Governor Fallin, a first this session.

On Wednesday, the House and Senate saluted the Oklahoma National Guard 45^th Infantry Brigade as about 3,300 of its soldiers prepare to be deployed in June to Afghanistan. We honored our soldiers for answering their call of duty and wished them and their family well as they brace for the difficult days ahead. Our National Guard members are not only invaluable assets to our U.S. military, but to our state as they consistently step up in service to Oklahomans by helping to fight wildfires and rescuing stranded motorists in snowstorms, to name a few. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.

Senate Bill 346 by Rep. Sally Kern received a hearing on the House floor this week. This bill has been dubbed the “social promotion” prevention bill. The bill states that if a 3^rd grade student does not pass a reading test, they must be held back without input from their parents. There are a few exceptions to the requirement, but I was ultimately opposed to the bill. Reading is of course foundational to a good education, but I feel that instead of punishing students who cannot read sufficiently, we should address the problem before it begins. Reading programs in public schools should be strengthened, and problems that students may have in their home lives should be addressed. I have spoken to several teachers who have told me that some of their students who do not test well also have a negative family situation. Sometimes these students do not eat breakfast, and therefore do not perform well on reading tests. I am in full support of addressing this issue, but I cannot support this proposed solution to the problem.

A research group that studies state policy issues said this week that budget writers should consider closing income tax loopholes, eliminating some sales tax exemptions and tapping non-appropriated state revenue to prevent potentially drastic budget cuts to state-funded education, health care and law enforcement services. The Oklahoma Policy Institute said funding for public services has declined over the past two years due to the economic downturn and low energy prices and that more than half of all state agencies have absorbed funding cuts of 15 percent or more. Deeper cuts could harm seniors and persons with disabilities and mental illness who rely on state services.

Governor Fallin announced this week that she would refuse $54 million in federal funds to create a state health insurance exchange, and that she would instead pursue a “private enterprise network” which would be funded by state and private sources. House Democrat were confused by her backpedalling position given that just a weeks ago, Governor Fallin was defending her decision to accept the $54 million from the federal government to implement the state health exchange by arguing that the money was not tied to President Obama’s healthcare plan, and that the state could not afford it without these funds. Currently the state revenue shortfall is projected to be around $500 million.

The upcoming weeks of the legislative session are sure to be extremely interesting and possibly very contentious. You can watch the legislative session live at www.okhouse.gov if you would like to keep up with what’s going on at the Capitol.

It is truly an honor to have been elected to serve you in the state legislature. My door is always open, so please don’t ever hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or suggestions that you may have.