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The Oklahoma House voted along strong partison lines to allow a scheduled income tax cut to go into effect next year, despite a $611 million budget hole. The tax cut, which will provide just $29 to middle-income households on average, increases Oklahoma’s budget shortfall by $57 million in 2016 and $147 million in 2017. House Speaker Jeff Hickman may be the last hope for resurrecting funding to complete the American Indian Cultural Center. Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said if key repairs to the Oklahoma Capitol cost more than the $120 million already authorized, lawmakers will have little choice but to provide extra money.
A week after defeating it, the Oklahoma House has passed legislation asking voters to decide whether the governor and lieutenant governor should run on a joint ticket. KGOU shared quotes and video from a panel on tax incentive reform at OK Policy’s State Budget Summit. While many tax experts and state officials acknowledge Oklahoma’s tax breaks and incentives need reform, the state legislature has taken little action to do so. Two Oklahoma Department of Corrections employees at Mack Alford Correctional Center resigned Monday after two inmates, including a convicted murderer, escaped from the facility Sunday night.
Some Tulsa Public Schools could be reorganized by a private contractor under legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Governor Fallin wrote an op-ed asking Congress to pass legislation that eliminates regulations on the insurance industry if the US Supreme Court votes to repeal Affordable Care Act subsidies. Tulsa World columnist Ginnie Graham discussed Oklahoma’s ranking as the fourth worst state for women.
Legal experts debated how far the University of Oklahoma can go to punish student members of the SAE fraternity caught on video singing a racist chant. Vox discussed OU President David Boren’s response to the video, where he said the students were disgraceful and that he’d be glad if they left the university. Governor Fallin and members of the Legislature’s Black Caucus condemned the video and praised Boren’s response. The Oklahoma State University student paper reported that the same evening that University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon came under fire, a Confederate flag was visible hanging in a window of Oklahoma State University’s SAE house.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma adults who report doing no physical activity or exercise other than their regular job in the last 30 days. In today’s Policy Note, the New York Times examined how restrictions that prevent Americans with criminal records from finding jobs is taking a toll on the broader economy.
In The News
Oklahoma House votes to allow income tax cut to proceed
A planned cut in Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate will go into effect next year as scheduled after the Oklahoma House Monday soundly rejected a proposal that would have blocked it as the state grapples with a $611 million budget hole. The Republican-controlled House voted 72-28 along partisan lines against an amendment by House Democratic Leader Scott Inman of Oklahoma City that would have set aside the reduction in the state’s income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5 percent, beginning in January.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Future of Indian cultural center may be in hands of House speaker
Last legislative session, a bill to fund completion of the long-stalled American Indian Cultural Center and Museum died when House Speaker Jeff Hickman declined to bring it to a vote, even though it had the support of the governor and the Senate. Now, he may be the last hope of resurrecting the issue this session. Blake Wade, director of the center, said he’s trying to stay optimistic about Hickman’s chances.
Oklahoma Capitol repairs could exceed $120 million price tag
If key repairs to the Oklahoma Capitol cost more than the $120 million already authorized, lawmakers will have little choice but to step up and provide extra money, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said Thursday. “I think we all realize the $120 million was a number to get us started but I think we’ve got to make sure we’re funding the basic necessities of the Capitol that need to be addressed,” he said.
House passes joint gubernatorial ticket amendment
A week after defeating it, the Oklahoma House has passed legislation asking voters to decide whether the governor and lieutenant governor should run jointly. House members Monday voted 52-44 for the measure and sent it to the Senate for consideration. The measure calls for a vote of the people on whether the governor and lieutenant governor should be elected jointly beginning with the 2018 general election. Currently, the two positions are elected separately.
Panel on Oklahoma’s tax incentive policies: “Reform is overdue”
While many tax experts and state officials acknowledge Oklahoma’s tax breaks and incentives need reform, the state legislature has taken little action to do so. A group of state officials and policy experts discussed why they believe action is necessary during a “Tax Credit Reform – From Talk To Action?” panel – part of the Oklahoma Policy Institute’s 2nd Annual State Budget Summit. Representative David Dank, chair of the House Revenue and Tax Subcommittee, said the current tax credit system is full of abuses and loopholes that will eventually bankrupt the state.
DOC workers resign after two inmates, including convicted Tulsa murderer, escape from prison
Two Oklahoma Department of Corrections employees at Mack Alford Correctional Center resigned Monday after two inmates, including a convicted murderer from Tulsa, escaped from the facility Sunday night. Lance Colbert, 40, of Tulsa, and Dewayne Motsenbocker, 54, of Oklahoma City, left through a hole in the medium-security prison’s fence around 10:15 p.m. Sunday, DOC Director of Communications Terri Watkins said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
House OKs bill to let Tulsa Public Schools contract for programming from outside agency
Some Tulsa Public Schools would be reorganized by a third-party contractor under legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives late Monday night. House Bill 1691, by Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing, would allow districts with at least 30,000 students in counties of at least 500,000 population to contract for education programs under the same rules as charter schools. Denney said the measure was requested by TPS so the district can contract for programming from a nonprofit organization called Building Excellent Schools.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Gov. Mary Fallin: If Supreme Court undermines ‘Obamacare’ exchanges, states need more flexibility
The King v. Burwell case before the U.S. Supreme Court could present both challenges and opportunities for our states. The Court will decide later this year whether the Internal Revenue Service had the statutory authority to write a rule allowing health insurance subsidies to flow through federally-facilitated exchanges. … We hope legislation will return control over health insurance to the states so we can offer our constituents a greater variety of policies and robust consumer protections without the excessive costs to comply with the ACA’s rules and mandates.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma fourth worst state to live for a woman
What is it about Oklahoma that it can’t seem to lift out of bad ratings for support of women and youth? Online lists are common and some aren’t worth more than a 2-second pause after the click of a mouse. Some intrigue – or outrage – me enough to give a complete read. One out this week by WalletHub places Oklahoma as the 48th best state for women, meaning it’s the fourth worst. How many times can Oklahomans say, “Thank goodness for Mississippi and Louisiana,” before priorities get changed?
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Can OU President David Boren discipline SAE fraternity members? Expert weigh in
The University of Oklahoma is well within its rights to discipline students involved in a racist chant on a bus, up to and including expulsion from school, two attorneys who work in the First Amendment arena said Monday. But an Oklahoma State University professor who deals in First Amendment issues said OU cannot discipline the students. A short video posted on the Internet Sunday night shows students on a bus chanting “There will never be a n- — — in SAE.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Read the University of Oklahoma president’s powerful statement on a frat’s racist song
In the wake of a racist incident involving a campus fraternity, University of Oklahoma president David Boren issued a scathing response — describing members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as “disgraceful” The controversy started Sunday, when a video surfaced showing members of the fraternity singing an incredibly racist song. This morning, Boren gave the fraternity until midnight to get off campus. He issued the declaration in an unusually forceful statement for a college administrator.
Fallin, lawmakers rip video, praise Boren’s actions
Gov. Mary Fallin joined members of the state’s Black Caucus and others in condemning the video showing several members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma using racial slurs. “The racist words chanted by the students in this video do not represent OU values or Oklahoma values. As the outrage among Oklahomans has demonstrated, we are a state that does not tolerate that kind of disrespectful behavior,” Fallin said.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
Photo shows Confederate flag hanging in Oklahoma State University SAE house
The same evening that University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon came under fire for a racially charged viral video, a Confederate flag was visible hanging in a window of Oklahoma State University’s SAE house. The OU chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was disbanded and all members were suspended Sunday night. The O’Colly reached out to members of OSU’s SAE chapter for comments on the video. Chris Bringaze, OSU SAE President, said in an email that the video did not represent SAE’s values.
Quote of the Day
“You don’t have enough money to fund core functions of government. Let’s get our fiscal house in order.”
-Oklahoma House Democratic Minority Leader Scott Inman, debating his amendment to cancel a scheduled income tax cut that is adding $57 million to the state’s $611 million budget shortfall. The proposal to block the income tax cut was voted down in a party line vote (Source).
Number of the Day
33%
Percentage of Oklahoma adults who report doing no physical activity or exercise other than their regular job in the last 30 days.
Source: United Health Foundation
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Out of Trouble, but Criminal Records Keep Men Out of Work
Michael Hugh Mirsky landed a temporary job in December rolling stacks of crated milk and orange juice to the loading docks at a commercial dairy in central New Jersey. He’s not making much, and he doesn’t know how long it will last, but after 30 months of unemployment, he counts himself lucky. Mr. Mirsky is a convicted criminal, and work is hard to find. A series of unfortunate events that began in 2012 when Mr. Mirsky lost a job as a Verizon technician culminated last year in a guilty plea for resisting arrest.
Read more from the New York Times.
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