Nobody fears the coming of a new legislative session more than Oklahoma’s 1,900 local governments. Because they are legally “creatures of the state,” our counties, cities, and special districts are subject to the state’s complete control. The Legislature often exerts that control by restricting funding sources for local governments, preventing them from taking certain actions, requiring them to act in certain ways, and giving them new duties, often without funding the additional costs. Collectively, these existing and new mandates play an important role in shaping how communities provide public services.

The 2009 session was fairly calm for local governments. A later post will address some negative legislative results for local governments. Here are some that most local governments would view as positive:

• SB 431 allows counties to establish fines and to cite and prosecute alleged violators of zoning, subdivision, flood plain, and storm water ordinances. This gives counties more tools to manage the growing development that is taking place outside city limits.
• SB 487 gives state agencies and local governments sued under the Government Tort Claims Act more flexibility in working with claimants to structure settlements. This could allow local governments to reduce property tax impacts of these settlements.
• Local governments got a little more revenue flexibility and freedom from HB 1480, which expands allowable uses of lodging taxes, and HB 1048, which reduces steps counties must take in collecting delinquent property taxes.
• Counties got more management flexibility from HB 1608, which adds sheriff’s deputies and others to the list of public employees who can work shifts of more than eight hours per day, and SB 490, which raises the dollar amount where counties can award contracts to the second lowest bidder if the lowest bidder cannot fulfill the contract.
• HB 1483 gives Oklahoma water use priority over out-of-state use. Oklahoma cities support this bill since it may help them meet growing water demands.
• City governments may find it easier to hire for key positions due to HB 1753, which expands the area in which a city manager may reside to include the school district serving the city and an area within 10 miles of the city limits, and HB 1420, which lets small cities hire part-time city planners.

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Considering it was designed to be slow and messy and that it depends on elected officials who must keep us happy, the legislative process works amazingly well much of the time. At other times, though, it encourages bad habits that work against our ultimate goals. Sometimes legislators are overly responsive to the news of the day or to a loud but small constituency. Sometimes they appear to solve problems by forcing someone else to take care of it. This is the story of what happens when two bad habits merge.

On April 16th, the Oklahoma House of Representatives amended SB 1166 to cut county taxes on cellular phones by 70 percent. This action came in the wake of a large anti-tax rally the previous day. Amendment sponsor Mike Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City) said:

I think this shows that yesterday’s ‘Tea Party’ protests are already having an effect. By voting to dramatically reduce a cell phone tax, I think members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have shown they got the message and are working to rein in taxes in Oklahoma. Hopefully, Washington will get the message too.

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Right now at the state Capitol, the Legislature is working on a tough budget for the upcoming fiscal year, 2010. It often seems nothing is happening from the time the governor submits a budget in February until an agreement rises from the Capitol as if a new pope had been elected, usually in early May. What’s going on in there? An upcoming product from OK Policy will shed light on this and many other mysteries of Oklahoma budget and taxes.

OK Policy will soon release the Online Guide to Oklahoma Budget and Taxes. We’re excited about this first of its kind online guide to how government finance and policy work in Oklahoma. It’s a simple, plain-English look at government spending, revenues, budget processes, and important policy issues Oklahoma faces in  the years ahead. It will be  different from any other product on Oklahoma budget and taxes because 1) it will cover all state spending, not just appropriations; 2) it will include basics on local governments–what they do and how they are financed; 3) it will take a serious look at two major problems–our inequitable tax system and the looming  long-term fiscal deficits at every level of government–and offer serious options for addressing them; and 4) it will be online, so it can be readily updated, linked to sources for more information, and easily searchable.

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Before the Cajun culture was celebrated, largely due to the discovery of our food, my grandparents lived through a time when being a Cajun was not welcomed in this country…or even in their home state of Louisiana. I can’t help but think about that time in my family’s history when I read through SB 1156, the English as “the official language” bill. In the debate over this bill, proponents say it’s not about tribal languages. They even put a native languages exception into the bill, but all of this sounds disturbingly familiar to me.A section of the SB 1156 reads: “5. This phrase does not authorize bilingual education programs which maintain a student in a language other than English.” There was once a similar provision under Louisiana law. We may be able to learn from their past.

 In The English Only Question, Dennis Baron gives a history of how this issue came about in Louisiana. The education issue first came up in 1864, not to prohibit French but to require at least some English in all schools. At the time, there were many schools and even whole parts of the state where English was rarely used. The 1864 state constitutional convention included language that was specifically written so as to not exclude or prohibit French, but to require English: “The general exercises in the common schools shall be conducted in the English language.” Another provision was also added at that time stating that the laws and proceedings of the state were required to only be written in “the language of the U.S. Constitution”. The 1921 Louisiana Constitution once again required only English in the schools, although still being careful not to forbid French.

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Two hundred economists from 37 states–including the University of Tulsa’s Steve Steib have joined the rising chorus of voices cautioning states against solving short-term deficits by cutting budgets and public services.  They’re urging states to:

Maintain the public services that are critical to the health of the economy and the well-being of working families. Cutbacks at this time would further slow the economy and harm those already hardest hit by the downturn.

Budget cuts make the economic downturn worse, they argue, because almost every dollar of state spending–whether for salaries, supplies, or assistance–hits the local economy immediately. So budget cuts equal less overall spending, which equals an even weaker economy. The damage could be as bad, or worse, over the long run since the services state and local governments invest in–education, transportation, public safety, and a stronger social fabric–are essential to the long-term economic health of the state and the nation.

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This session, OK Policy has been involved with a coalition of organizations and individuals promoting an increase in the Sales Tax Relief credit, commonly known as the grocery tax credit.  The existing credit, intended to offset the state sales tax on groceries and other essential household goods for low- and moderate-income households, provides for $40 per household member for households that meet income qualifications (up to $50,000, if the household includes a senior, dependent, or person with disabilities, or $20,000 for other households).  The amount of the credit has been left unchanged since the early 1990′s, while eligibility was last raised a decade ago. During this time of deepening economic hardship, our belief has been that bolstering the sales tax credit should receive the highest priority if tax cuts remain under legislative consideration. We have proposed increasing the credit from $40 to $60, along with a limited expansion of eligibility. Read the rest of this entry »

SB 1070, the Charitable Solicitations Act has recently passed in the Oklahoma State Senate and has now moved to the House. The bill was introduced by Sen. Susan Paddack (D-Ada), who has worked closely with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the state’s non-profit community in an effort to draft the best possible bill for Oklahoma’s needs. The proposed legislation would modernize and improve the existing laws, which have not been updated since the 1950′s, regarding fundraising and charitable solicitations in Oklahoma. Read the rest of this entry »

Both houses of the Legislature this week passed a resolution, SJR 12,  that would allow this year’s session to adjourn sine die on May 22nd, one week earlier than scheduled. The goal, explained President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, is to wrap up business before the Memorial Day long weekend rather than return and work through the final week leading up to the constitutionally-mandated adjournment at 5:00 pm on the last Friday of May.

While the hope to get done and get home may be widely shared, there is a countervailing sense that I heard expressed by insiders at the Capitol this week that  negotiating a budget agreement this year is going to be especially long and difficult. Right now, all budget deliberations are on hold while the state awaits additional regulations and instructions from the federal government about the terms and conditions governing the use of federal stimulus act dollars.  The current consensus is that no decisions can be made about how to manage next year’s $600-million drop in available revenue until further instructions are handed down from Washington. The most eagerly-awaited guidance concerns the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which will provide Oklahoma with $578 million, subject to various restrictions (the U.S. Department of Education has provided some information here). Getting federal guidance, working through the various implications,  and reaching consensus on the appropriate mix of state and federal funds for next year’s budget may take the Legislature not only until the very end of May, but perhaps beyond.