| Friends, Well, we aren’t as speakerless as Washington, DC but we do have our own dysfunction here in Oklahoma. In this Stay in the Loop, I share a little on the recent special session (i.e. the dysfunction) and other recent and upcoming happenings. Special Session As you probably know, the Governor called the legislature in for a special session to address tax cuts that would put Oklahoma on the path to zero income taxes as well as transparency in government budgeting. You can watch the Governor’s press conference that was held prior to the legislature convening Monday. An important fact that is not noted in this press conference is the simple fact that due to State Question 640 requiring three-fourths majority to increase taxes it will be incredibly hard to restore those taxes, should we need those revenues – and we have been in need of those revenues as recently as 2018. The more interesting and informative thing to watch though is the Senate Appropriations meeting that same morning. It is a factual discussion about what dollars are truly available. The Senate invited the Governor to appear at the hearing and discuss more specifically his vision for tax cuts, he declined to attend but the meeting proceeded. Watch the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing here. After the appropriations hearing, the Senate convened per the call and promptly adjourned thereby effectively shutting down the special session. As Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) noted, “It’s… the height of irony and hypocrisy to put in a call for budget transparency and then say, ‘I’m willing to meet behind closed doors with your caucus, but I’m not willing to meet in an open meeting.'” If you missed it, you can catch up on the Capitol chaos here. At the very core of what I sense voters want from public officials and certainly our explicitly defined constitutional duty is to guard the public purse and responsibly spend the tax dollars of Oklahomans. Plain and simple. Well, these special sessions cost taxpayer dollars and with absolutely no results, the two day event seemed like a waste of time and money. I was happy to see the thorough explanation of the state’s surplus in the Senate Appropriations committee but we didn’t have to have a special session for that. I think the policy questions of should we cut taxes and for whom are critical but we can have those in regular session when the Oklahoma Constitution dictates the legislature meet. Nonetheless, not wanting to waste the moment, the Democratic caucus put forth three measures regarding taxes: increasing the earned income tax credit, eliminating the grocery tax and increasing the sales tax rebate credit. I look forward to discussing all of these in REGULAR SESSION!! Beyond the Chaos While in Oklahoma City this week, I was honored to accept an award from the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association. With the event of the award, I took a minute to remind myself what sheriffs do day-to-day and it is a lot. Our sheriffs’ departments provide patrol services, crowd control and security for special events, courthouse security, jail management, transport of prisoners and extradition, civil processes such as serving notice, warrants etc, and manage abandoned livestock. Although sheriffs are county based, funding comes from a variety of sources. I was really honored to receive this award for supporting their work. |
