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Today you should know that a State Question will appear on the November ballot to remove the governor from the parole process for nonviolent offenders. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt joined 9 other state attorneys general threatening legal opposition to birth control coverage. Democrats won landslide victories Tuesday to fill two vacant legislative seats.
Tahlequah lawmakers are highly skeptical of the push to eliminate income tax because it would shift the burden onto lower and middle-income Oklahomans. The OK Policy Blog corrects a false claim about Oklahoma’s tax system that has been repeated by Governor Fallin and the state’s major newspapers. General revenue sales-tax collections for January hit an all-time monthly record, but overall collections remain below what the state brought in six years ago.
The Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice is providing several programs to combat racism and bigotry in Oklahoma schools. A key Department of Public Safety executive resigned Monday, one day after a Tulsa World story detailed his firing from the Department of Corrections for excessive force and civil rights violations. A witness in the bribery trial of former Senate leader Mike Morgan said Morgan was paid more than $140,000 to block legislation that would cause problems for a proposed landfill.
The Number of the Day is how many children out of every 1,000 entered the Oklahoma foster care system in 2009. In today’s Policy Note, David Cay Johnston corrects three big lies about America’s tax system.
In The News
Oklahoma voters to decide whether to remove governor from parole process
Oklahoma voters will decide whether to remove the governor from the parole process for nonviolent offenders. The state House passed a measure Tuesday that most likely places the issue on the November ballot. Senate Joint Resolution 25 passed 81-7; the measure passed the Senate unanimously last year. “Oklahoma is the only state in this country requiring the governor to approve every parole,” said House Speaker Kris Steele, who signed on as author this year. “It’s a costly, burdensome, ineffective requirement we think voters will be happy to change. SJR 25 would amend the state constitution to give the Pardon and Parole Board the power to review and decide parole requests for nonviolent offenders. Violent crimes would still be reviewed by the governor.
Oklahoma AG Scott Pruitt joins 9 state attorneys general in opposing contraception
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is among 10 state attorneys general threatening legal opposition to the Obama administration’s new contraceptive benefits requirement. The 10 sent a letter to three Cabinet members – Health and Human Service’s Kathleen Sebelius, Labor’s Hilda Solis and Treasury’s Timothy Geithner – promising to “vigorously oppose” what they called an “unconstitutional mandate.” The rule, which becomes effective in August, is part of the federal health-care reform law called the Affordable Care Act. The rule exempts churches and closely associated organizations but not auxiliary enterprises such as hospitals, schools and universities. Under the current proposal, religious organizations would not have to pay for such benefits but their insurers would have to provide them at no additional cost. Reportedly, most insurers are agreeable to the proposal because such benefits are cheaper than paying for prenatal and obstetrics care.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Democrats win 2 vacant legislative seats
Democrats won landslide victories Tuesday to fill two legislative seats. Democrat Curtis McDaniel was elected to fill the unexpired seat in House District 1 — in a Democratic stronghold in southeastern Oklahoma, where voters in 2010 broke from tradition and elected a Republican. Rep. Al McAffrey, D-Oklahoma City, won the vacant Senate District 46 seat. With 22 of 22 precincts reporting in House District 88, McAffrey won 66.6 percent of the vote, or 1,258 votes to beat Republican Jason Reese. Unofficial results showed Reese, 34, garnered 33.4 percent of the vote, or 630 votes. In House District 1, Curtis McDaniel easily won election in a four-candidate race to fill the unexpired term caused by last year’s death of Rusty Farley, the first Republican elected to the House to represent McCurtain County.
Tahlequah lawmakers wary of tax proposal
Eliminating state income tax may, on its face, seems like a plan to save Oklahomans money, but it could hurt lower- and middle-income families. During her State of the State address last week, Gov. Mary Fallin unveiled an ambitious plan to phase out state income tax, and asked lawmakers to endorse her plan. Local lawmakers are more than skeptical about Fallin’s approach. That includes Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, who is a member of the Senate Finance Committee. “The governor’s proposal states families earning under $30,000 won’t pay income taxes,” said Wilson. “But they don’t pay now, so nothing changes. In the abstract, it’s a transfer of wealth, because tuition and fees will go up because we won’t fund education, so that will affect rural and low-income families. And we won’t have any money for roads or bridges; we’re giving up $1 million in income for that. Public education is taking a bath, and they’ve introduced a bill that would allow school districts to raise property taxes by several mills before ever having an election, which will also affect middle- and low-income families.”
Read more from the Tahlequah Daily Press.
The myth about Oklahoma’s tax system that we keep repeating
Something we often hear about Oklahoma’s tax system is that the top rate kicks in so low that it affects almost everyone. Most recently, a Tulsa World article stated: “The current comparable top rate is 5.25 percent, which kicks on net income over $15,000 a year. That’s correct: The state’s top tax bracket – and there are six other lower tax brackets – kicks in at $15,000 a year, about $80 a year less than the gross earning of someone working full time at the U.S. minimum wage.” Actually, that’s incorrect. It leaves out two major components of our tax system: the standard deduction and personal exemption. Because of the standard deduction, the first $5,800 of income for singles and $11,600 for married couples is not taxed. The personal exemption means an additional $1,000 for each person in the household is not taxed.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma’s sales tax collections for January hit record
General revenue sales-tax collections for January hit an all-time monthly record, the Office of State Finance said Tuesday. Sales tax collections generated $165 million in January, but the collection includes two weeks prior to Christmas, said Ron Jenkins, a spokesman for the office. State sales tax collections for January were up almost 12 percent from the same month a year ago. In January, general revenue fund collects brought in $524.9 million, a 7.1 increase. Income taxes to the general revenue fund brought in $235.4 million, or 12.7 percent more than the previous year.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
OCCJ programs give students an awareness of social injustices
The importance of education in the fight against racism and bigotry and the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice’s role in providing that education was the focus of Tuesday’s Tulsa Press Club Page One Luncheon. Sanjay Meshri, newly elected president of the agency’s board, said he feels that it’s important to teach kids about social injustices when they are in school. “I feel so much discrimination is often passed down or learned at home,” he said. “Educating them through the school system lets people know it’s OK to be different, that it’s a good thing.” The Different and the Same program, implemented in second-grade classes in Tulsa and Union public schools, is designed to help kids identify, talk about and prevent prejudice. Camp Anytown, the agency’s flagship program, is a summer camp where students from across the state who will be sophomores, juniors and seniors participate in programs that promote self-esteem, good citizenship, and leadership in a diverse environment.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Department of Public Safety official previously fired for civil rights violations resigns new post
A key Department of Public Safety executive resigned Monday, one day after a Tulsa World story detailed his firing from the Department of Corrections for excessive force and civil rights violations. Scott Barger, executive assistant to Public Safety Commissioner Michael Thompson, resigned Monday, according to an email from Chris West, a spokesman for the agency. Records show Barger was fired from DOC in 1995 after he oversaw and took part in beatings of handcuffed black inmates at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center prison. The state settled a federal civil rights lawsuit over the beatings. Gov. Mary Fallin, contacted by the World for comment Monday, did not request the resignation, a spokesman said. The World reported Sunday that Thompson had created a high-ranking job for Barger, whom he described as a longtime friend.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Morgan trial witness: Former pro tem did no legal work on landfill deal, was hired to block harmful legislation
Former Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan of Stillwater was paid more than $140,000 to block legislation that would cause problems for a proposed landfill in Kay County, Edith Denton of Blackwell told a federal prosecutor Tuesday. Denton said she kept books for Dilworth Development, a company formed by her and her husband Richard, along with her cousin Gaylord Ford and his wife Jolene, to seek a permit for the landfill. Denton told Assistant U.S. Attorney Vicki Behenna that Oklahoma City attorney Martin Stringer told the couples they needed to hire Morgan. She said Stringer told them they needed someone in the Senate who could “block things that were going to cause us trouble.” Behenna then asked Denton whether the $4,166 monthly payments to Morgan were for legal services. “No,” Denton said.
Read more from 23rd and Lincoln.
Quote of the Day
Oklahoma is the only state in this country requiring the governor to approve every parole. It’s a costly, burdensome, ineffective requirement we think voters will be happy to change.
–House Speaker Kris Steele
Number of the Day
5.2
Number of children out of every 1,000 who entered the foster care system in Oklahoma in 2009, compared to 3.4 children nationally and 10th most in the country.
Source: Child Trends
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Three big tax lies
If the last ten years of debt and jobs destruction have taught us anything, it’s that we must change our tax system and soon, or face economic disaster. Instead of maintaining our infrastructure, we are consuming it. Instead of investing in education and research with an eye to later wealth, we’re cutting our way to a poorer future. Yet concerning taxes, which finance our civilization and distribute the cost, three great lies permeate society, all of which delay our doing what needs to be done. Yet concerning taxes, which finance our civilization and distribute the cost, three great lies permeate society, all of which delay our doing what needs to be done. The first lie, with a nod to comedic candidate Jimmy McMillan, is that the tax is just too damn high. The second lie is that if you cut the rates, revenues will increase. The third lie is that taxes have become too complex for even an Einstein to understand. Bruce Bartlett in The Benefit and the Burden and Martin A. Sullivan in Corporate Tax Reform demolish these lies with valuable primers, as complementary in their purpose as an easy chair and a reading lamp.
Read more from The American Prospect.
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