Reform advocate hopeful Rep. Tammy West’s new law will advance restorative justice
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Pat McGuigan
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has signed into a new law to pilot a “victim-led restorative justice pilot program” for Oklahoma, according to a press release state House legislative staff.
House Majority Caucus Whip Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City crafted the measure, intending – in the words of the House release – “to divert non-violent offenders from traditional prosecution and incarcerations models. Instead, cases are referred to the program and trained citizen-led mediation panels help determine punishment and restoration. The goal is rehabilitation of the offender through reconciliation with the victims and the community at large.”
Rep. West explained, “I’ve looked at models from across the country where these programs have worked wonderfully. Victims of crime feel restored, members of the community feel satisfied. Perpetrators of crimes know the weight of their actions and make restitution without having to serve lengthy jail or prison sentences. This is true criminal justice reform.”
Colleen McCarty, policy counsel at Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, told The City Sentinel, "We believe in alternatives to prison and diversion programs that are equitable to all Oklahomans. Diversion from prison is the most important intervention the criminal justice system can offer because data shows once people go to prison, it is incredibly difficult for them to ever recover personally, emotionally, and financially. It is crucial that these diversion opportunities are fair and equitable to all Oklahomans.”
Senator Darcy Jech advanced the measure in the upper chamber.
In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK.com, The City Sentinel, and other news organizations, the Kingfisher Republican said, “Restorative justice programs are a great option for non-violent offenders to get the treatment and help they need without putting further strain on our criminal justice system. I’m pleased that both the Senate and House provided overwhelming support for this measure that authorizes district attorneys across the state to create these programs for qualified offenders.”
The measure emerged form an interim study Rep. West guided last year. In the staff release description of the study, “She brought in several experts from across the country where such programs have seen wide success. She said she liked the model because it was victim driven but also helped offenders be restored to their communities. Under the program, an offender’s plan could range from an apology, to repayment or replacement of a stolen item, or other recommendations aimed at repairing harm to the victim and giving the offender a chance to make things right.”
The District Attorneys Council (DAC) – approved under the new bill, “to develop and administer the five-year pilot program -- has agreed to look for grant funding.
The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the Administrative Office of the Courts Alternative Dispute Resolution Program also have agreed to provide support.”
Perry, of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform told The City Sentinel, "We believe in alternatives to prison and diversion programs that are equitable to all Oklahomans. Diversion from prison is the most important intervention the criminal justice system can offer because data shows once people go to prison, it is incredibly difficult for them to ever recover personally, emotionally, and financially. It is crucial that these diversion opportunities are fair and equitable to all Oklahomans.”
In the words of the staff press release, the DAC, under House Bill 1880, is directed to “use a deferred-prosecution agreement method, utilizing evidence-based practices and techniques to create the community-based restorative justice program.”
The final version of West’s law passed the House 89-1 (with 11 members not voting) on March 1; in the Senate the legislation sailed through 44-0 (four members absent) on April 14. Gov. Still affixed his signature, enacting the measure, on April 21.
The new restorative justice legislation will take effect on November 1.
Reform advocate hopeful Rep. Tammy West’s new law will advance restorative justice Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill to ensure Oklahomans are informed about the costs associated with a state question and where that funding could come from is now law. Senate Bill 947, by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City, was signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday (April 27).
“We’ve worked diligently to increase fiscal transparency and accountability in state government. This really is an extension of this effort,” Rosino said.
“This will simply make sure that if a state question has a cost, it has to say so on the ballot description as well as how it could be paid for. This is basic information citizens should have in order to make informed decisions when they cast their ballots.”
Under S.B. 947, ballot titles would have to include information about whether a state question would have a fiscal impact, including the amount and where the funding could come from, such as federal funding, or a legislative appropriation, which may require a new tax, an increase of an existing tax, or elimination of existing services. The requirement would apply to state questions created by the initiative petition process as well as those submitted by the Legislature.
“Before Oklahomans vote on a question that could result in new state law, they should be aware if there will be a potential cost and possible sources of funding. This bill ensures they have that information,” West said in a press release sent to CapitolBeatOK.com, The City Sentinel newspaper and other news organizations.
“I’m thankful to Senator Rosino and the governor for helping pass this common-sense legislation.”
The legislation garnered overwhelming Republican support in both the Senate and House, with Democrats in opposition.
S.B. 947 secured a 36-8 majority in the upper chamber (with three members not voting), and a 70-18 margin (with 13 not voting) in the lower chamber.
Senate Bill 947 will take effect Nov. 1, 2021.
Note: Pat McGuigan contributed to this report.
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Senator Paul Rosino’s bill to provide financial impact of state questions becomes law Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
Oklahoma City – Each year, thousands of military families are transferred to Oklahoma’s four military bases. State Sen. Frank Simpson, with Oklahoma City Rep. Max Wolfley, authored a pair of bills this session to help these families speed up the process of getting their children back in the classroom.
Senate Bills 68 and 69 were signed into law on April 20.
The first was a request of the U.S. Department of Defense to bring Oklahoma in line with other state under the National Compact on the Education of Military Children. S.B. 68 provides school district residency status to children of active military members who have been or will be transferred to a state military base.
Schools will be required to accept electronic student enrollment applications and parents must provide proof of residence within 10 days of moving to Oklahoma.
Currently, only Oklahoma residents can enroll in a statewide virtual charter school. SB 69 provides the same provisions as S.B. 68 to allow military children to enroll in virtual charters.
“We have a large military population in Oklahoma, and these bills will make it easier for those transferring in to get their children back to school as quickly as possible,” Simpson, a Springer Republican, said.
Sen. Simpson, U.S. Navy veteran and Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee chair, continued: “It’s hard enough being a military family with the constant moving and deployments. These measures will help take away some of the burden of getting their kids enrolled and back in the classroom. I want to thank my legislative colleagues for their tremendous support of these two bills to help our military families.”
Rep. Max Wolfley, R-Oklahoma City, whose district includes Tinker Air Force Base, is the principal House author of the bills.
“I believe that Senate Bills 68 and 69 will help ease the burden military families and children are facing when enrolling in virtual charter or other public schools, and I was glad to work with Sen. Simpson to carry this legislation in the House,” Wolfley said.
The measures will go into effect July 1, 2021.
Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Max Wolfley author bills, signed by governor, to speed up school transfers for military kids Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
Oklahoma City – On Monday (April 19), Governor Kevin Stitt signed legislation into law allowing law enforcement to use telemedicine assessments for those who need mental health services. Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, authored Senate Bill 3 to ensure people in mental crisis are treated as patients, rather than prisoners.
“Mental health is a growing problem in our state, and in order for those in crisis to heal, they have to get proper care and services,” Bullard said. “The hands of law enforcement have been tied when dealing with those in mental crisis because their only option was to take them to jail. Senate Bill 3 allows them to contact a mental health professional at the scene who can assess them virtually using telemedicine. The officer can then take the patient directly to the nearest mental health facility to get them the help they need much sooner and allow the officer to return to work faster.”
Senate Bill 3, which was approved unanimously by both the Senate and House, requires officers to transport individuals in need of mental treatment or subject to an emergency detention or protective custody order to the nearest facility within a 30-mile radius. The law enforcement agency that provides the emergency transport to a treatment facility will be responsible for any further transportation following the completion of the examination, emergency detention, protective custody, or inpatient services. If there is not a facility in the area, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, or one of their contracted organizations, will transport the patient.
Bullard has worked on the legislation for three years holding interim studies and collaborating with law enforcement and mental health officials as well as his legislative colleagues.
“We put a lot of work into this legislation. It may seem like a straight-forward, commonsense idea that those in mental crisis should go directly to a facility where they can receive proper treatment, but this isn’t how things have been done and we had to change that,” Bullard said.
“I want to thank my coauthor, Representative Humphrey, for his dedication to this important issue, and my other legislative colleagues, the Department of Mental Health and our many law enforcement agencies for working with me to get this law just right to assist both the patients and officers. This has been a long time coming and I’m finally glad to see it cross the finish line.”
Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, is the principal House author of S.B. 3 that will go into effect November 1, 2021.
“Senate Bill 3 is a huge win for all law enforcement, the mentally ill and all Oklahomans,” Humphrey said. “This will help those who might need mental health services when they interact with law enforcement officers. At the same time, it gives those officers better tools to help these individuals and frees them from making transports across the state. Instead, that will happen more appropriately by the Department of Mental Health.”
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Governor Kevin Stitt signs law enforcement mental health transport measure advanced by Sen. Bullard and Rep. Humphrey Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY – Intrastate crowdfunding is now legal in Oklahoma after Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 568 on Monday (April 19).
The measure, authored by Sen. John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton, and Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, allows small startup businesses to raise capital through crowdfunding, which is the practice of funding a venture by raising small amounts of money from a large pool of people.
“This measure allows investors of all sizes to participate in investing in Oklahoma businesses,” Montgomery said. “Allowing our small businesses to tap into capital investments in this capacity will be a boost to our state’s effort to diversify our economy. I’m thrilled we were able to see this measure to the finish line, and I thank the governor for his support.”
Under the bill, sales or offers to sell a security are exempt from the Oklahoma Uniform Securities Act of 2004 if:
• The issuer is a corporation or business residing and doing business in the state, the purchaser is a resident of the state, and the transaction meets the requirements of the federal exemption for intrastate officers;
• Sales are limited to $5 million, and the aggregate value of securities sold by an issuer to any person doesn’t exceed $5,000, unless the purchaser is an accredited investor;
• Commission or remuneration is not paid or given to a broker-dealer or agent; the issuer files quarterly and fiscal year-end reports to the Oklahoma Department of Securities; and
• The issuer holds funds in an escrow account.
“Senate Bill 568 cuts red tape and allows greater opportunities for start-up business growth in our state and for Oklahomans to invest in these home-grown companies,” Hilbert said.
The measure went into effect immediately upon signing.
Governor Kevin Stitt signs Montgomery-Hilbert measure legalizing instrastate crowdfunding Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report (Transcript: Sen. Lankford on Senate floor)
Editor Pat McGuigan's Note: In March, U.S. Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, spoke eloquently on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the security crisis at the Southern Border of the United States. For the sake of understanding exactly what the state’s junior senator actually said – rather than the soundbite critiques from his political foes – and the focus of his work on the border issues, CapitolBeatOK.com here offers here the transcript of his mid-March comments.
On January the 20th of this year, President [Joe] Biden declared the repeal of an emergency action at our southwest border. He withdrew that and said, ‘There is no emergency that currently exists there,’ and paused all funding for the border wall system construction. Stopped it. Wherever it was that day it ended that day.
That same day he announced a 100-day moratorium on deportations in the country. He stopped it. Now within a few days, the court stepped in and federal courts said, ‘You can’t just stop actually executing faithfully the laws of the United States,’ and so a court halted then his halt of a moratorium on deportations. In this case, his actual request for a moratorium deportation halt was for those that had actually gone all the way through the court system and a federal Court had asked them to be removed from the United States. That’s what President Biden was trying to stop. Federal courts then stepped in and said, ‘When the courts have said they have to be removed, the executive branch can’t just ignore that, they have to actually be removed.’
That opened the floodgates. Those two announcements together there that we’re not going to do any more border construction, we’re going to stop that. And then the announcement of the moratorium started the process of a stir in Central America among the human smugglers to get the word out to say this President is going to allow people in and it’s going to be different. Why would I say that and why would they say that? Because even in the time when I was sitting down with now Secretary [Alejandro N.] Mayorkas in his hearings before he was actually confirmed and I asked him in those hearings, ‘There’s a caravan coming to the United States right now with hundreds of people in it and growing. What is your message to them that if you became the Secretary of DHS, what would you want to make sure those folks heard?’ His response to me in that hearing was, ‘I would tell them to wait, not yet.’ Not yet.
The coyotes didn’t hear it that way. They’ve accelerated pushing people. So what’s actually happening on the border?
Last weekend, I spent the weekend in Arizona, just south of Tucson in Nogales, small little town of 26,000 people that sits right on the border with Mexico. Now it’s 26,000 on the American side, but on the Mexican side it’s a city of 450,000. It’s a very large community on that side and literally they have built up the community directly against the border. For the border fence, and much of that fence has been there for a very long time, they’ve literally built properties directly against that fence. As Mexicans, they can do that. That is their property to be able to do that.
That’s not the issue, but the interesting thing was to be able to visit with folks from HHS [Health and Human Services] that are taking care of the unaccompanied minors in the area. To visit with Customs and Border Protection that are actually handling the cross-border transition and with Border Patrol leadership to be able to go through that area and to be able to see.
Let me say a couple of things that I saw this weekend that might be helpful to get the context.
The folks that I visited with at HHS that are there taking care of the unaccompanied minors that are coming in, and we are seeing a significant surge of unaccompanied minors because the Biden Administration has now changed the policy and said, ‘If you’re 18 years old and up because of the pandemic, we’re not going to allow you in.’ It’s called Title 42 authority. The Trump Administration had actually put that in place. And so during the time of the pandemic, we’re trying to limit cross-border traffic. You can’t just come in. The Biden team has now changed that and said, ‘If you’re 18 and up, you can’t come in immediately. But if you’re 17 and down, you can.’
And so what are we seeing? A massive surge of unaccompanied minors right now. Literally an invitation to say, ‘You can come but don’t bring your family with you.’ When I sat down with the folks at HHS there who are doing a fantastic job doing the best they can to be able to take care of those kids, I asked them, ‘What are you seeing?’ And the vast majority of the kids that they’re seeing coming across the border are 16 and 17 year old males.
So when you hear the term, we’ve got all these kids coming across the border, sometimes as Americans we think these are five-year olds crossing the border. They’re not. The vast majority of them are 16 and 17 year old males coming across the border. They’re also being transported to individuals that are here in the country that are family members that are already present here in the country, most of those also illegally present the country. Their uncles and aunts, their cousins, brothers, and sisters that are already here, because we have separate categories in how we actually transition those kids into someone to be able to take care of them before they have their court hearing. Most of those court hearings will take two years. So they’re crossing the border, 16 and 17-year old males, being connected with an uncle that’s already here many times illegally as well. And they’ll have for the next two years to be able to be here before they have a court hearing to be able to go through the process if they come to the court hearing.
When I visited with the folks at Customs and Border Protection they were frustrated with the lack of funding that’s been given to them to be able to take care of the needs for that particular facility and helping to manage the number of people that are coming through.
They need additional assistance because in that very old facility they need additional barriers to be able to just help them manage the flow of people as they come through. And when I visited with Border Patrol, we drove just a couple of miles out into the desert just to the west of this town of 450,000 people to go see the new fence that's being constructed. Now it may be hard to be able to see in this, but miles and miles of new fencing are going in, but on the day January, the 20th, construction was halted. And in this particular area, miles and miles of fencing, except for these gaps in the fence. See those gaps were put in there to be actually gates. So if they have to take care of the fence, they can get access to both sides of it for this miles and miles and miles and fencing is done except for the gate area and literally the steel for the gates are laying on the ground. Why in the world would you do construction and have it stop to say you can build everything except close the gates?
The Border Patrol team has literally drug over some of the steel just to be able to stack in front of the gaps that are in the fence here to keep vehicles from driving through and tried to put different barriers there to try to slow down the traffic. And for every one of these gaps along this miles and miles of fence, they're having to assign a Border Patrol agent there just to be able to sit at that gap because it's the obvious place just to be able to literally walk through the fence. There's only one reason that you would have a fence like this for miles and miles and leave it open as a gap: to allow people through.
Worse than that, all the way through this construction area is just a dirt path they've used for construction. But in the contract itself, it was set up to be able to allow for the fence construction is first — because remember this is a wall system, there's technology and wall — walls are medieval, and I get that. But there's a reason we still use fences in our backyard and there's still a reason that we use fences as barriers because they work. They slow people down from actually crossing that barrier. But it's a wall system in place.
So for this for miles and miles and miles in the contract and as it's written, they put up the fence first, close up the gates second and then they finish the road, so Border Patrol can actually pass through here even when it rains in this area to have a simple road passage there and then they put in ground-based sensors, so they can detect when people are walking across, and then they put in lights and cameras, all the technology that we talk about in this room. I can't remember how many times I've heard my Democratic colleagues say, ‘Fences are old. Let's just do the technology.’ Technology can help manage this. In this situation the contract is out and done. The fence is already installed except for the gates, but no technology is there.
So literally the Biden team stopped before what even they claim is the effective part to stop people from illegally crossing the border. $1.6 billion was paused. That 1.6 goes to simply closing the gates and installing the technology. That's what remains. This is nonsensical. I understand the Biden team and some of my Democratic colleagues want a more open border. They've been clear on that. But this does not provide security for our nation. This is the result of saying, ‘I don't want any more wall.’ This nonsensical system on our southern border with literally open areas that you could drive a truck through and where Border Patrol agents have to then sit at rather than monitor large areas. They're stuck monitoring the open door.
Listen, we can have arguments about immigration, but supposedly we all agree we should have border security. At least we used to. This doesn't make sense, but this is now the reality and it will sit like this for, we don't know how long, maybe forever, until we as a nation determine this has got to change. Is it an open invitation?
Have things really changed significantly on the border? Let me give you an example that's pre COVID. Pre COVID, February of last year before COVID came through—so don't say that things have changed in COVID. February of 2020, we had under 40,000 people that were apprehended crossing our southern border that month, under 40000 pre COVID, that’s transition and an arrest process. This February with the only thing changing being the change of presidents, we had over 100,000 people illegally crossing the border.
One year later, we go from less than 40,000 to over 100,000. This is a manufactured crisis that's happening on our border, a halting of closing up the holes in the fence, statements about we're going to do a moratorium that we're not going to have anyone deported anymore, changing the rules on unaccompanied minors to basically invite them to come into the United States again in statements like, ‘Caravans. I would just tell them to pause, we're not quite ready for you yet,’ is really not going to be a pause at all. That's going to be an invitation and that's not me saying that. It’s the thousands and thousands of people that are coming to be able to connect with relatives that are already here and to be able to walk through a process to be able to go around our visa application process, to be able to go around legal immigration.
May I remind us as a country, we allow a million people a year to legally come to the United States and become citizens, a million people a year. We're not a stingy nation in engaging with legal immigration. There's a right way to do it, and we welcome people to be able to do it the right way.
This is welcoming people to do it the wrong way and that does not help our security as a nation.
U.S. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma Critiques President Joe Biden’s Border Policy Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
OKLAHOMA CITY –More of Oklahoma’s students will soon be able to take advantage of Oklahoma’s Promise, the state’s free tuition program, following Governor Kevin Stitt’s signing of Senate Bill 132 on Tuesday (April 20).
The bill’s author, Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, said it will provide students more time to decide whether they want to go to college or a career tech by allowing public and private school students to apply up through the Eleventh Grade or up to the age of 17 for home-schooled students.
“Kids mature at different rates, and while some may know in the Eighth grade that they’re going to college, others may not make that decision until they’re in high school,” Bullard said, in a legislative staff press release sent to CapitolBeatOK.com and other news organizations.
“This will provide more opportunities for Oklahoma students to pursue a higher education and fully utilize this outstanding program.”
Currently, public and private school students can apply for the state tuition scholarship program, also known as the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP) any time between their Eighth and Tenth grade years while nontraditional students can apply up to the age of 16.
The bill further expands eligibility to Eleventh grade public and private school students and 17-year-old home-schooled students. Applicants must also be an Oklahoma resident and have a federally adjusted annual gross family income of $55,000 or less, which will increase to $60,000 starting with the 2021-2022 school year.
Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, is the principal House author of S.B. 132.
“Allowing an extra year for students to sign up for the Oklahoma Promise scholarship will ensure a greater number of students are able to attend college,” Baker said in this week’s press release. “Equipping our young people with college degrees will pay dividends for our state far into the future.”
There are currently about 30,000 high school students enrolled in the program and around 15,000 students attending college on an OHLAP scholarship.
The new law will become effective July 1, 2021.
Juniors can soon apply for Oklahoma’s Promise under signed legislation Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK Bill that rolls back vital criminal justice reforms of State Question 780 passes in Oklahoma House4/23/2021
Staff Report
Oklahoma City – Kris Steele, executive director with Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, released the following statement in response to the recent passage of Senate Bill 334 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives:
“Oklahoma lawmakers have taken a step backwards on criminal justice reform today by passing Senate Bill (S.B.) 334, sending the bill back to the Senate.
"S.B. 334 (https://ift.tt/3dIHwkA)
will roll back certain parts of State Question 780, which reclassified low-level property offenses to misdemeanors. It will double the length of time in which prosecutors can aggregate multiple property offenses to create a felony offense.
"It will cost Oklahoma taxpayers about $20,000 a year to incarcerate a person convicted of stealing $1,000 worth of items. S.B. 334 will only lead to more felony charges, longer sentences and will increase our prison population. Research has shown that this will not increase public safety nor deter crime.
"The passage of S.B. 334 goes directly against the will of the voters who passed State Question 780 into law and still support it today. Recent polling from WPA Intelligence (https://ift.tt/31teoXM) shows 69 percent of Oklahomans want criminal justice reform and 76 percent continue to support State Question 780.
"Justice reform advocates across the state are deeply disappointed in the passage of this bill. The bill now heads back to the Senate, and we urge the Senate to not pass S.B. 334 and instead focus its efforts on policy that improves public safety and invests in treatment and rehabilitation.”
Introducing Steele’s comments in a press release, OCJR staff summarized the likely impact of S.B. 334, if enacted, saying the measure “damages the impact of prior criminal justice reforms that safely reduce Oklahoma’s prison population and reinvest in alternatives.”
Bill that rolls back vital criminal justice reforms of State Question 780 passes in Oklahoma House Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Staff Report
Oklahoma City -- Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, gave an update on Wednesday (April 21) about key areas of the budget as negotiations between the Senate and House continue for Fiscal Year 2022. Thompson touched on some of the items under discussion and his priorities for the budget.
Education Funding
“On the Senate side, one of the big items we’re looking at is providing additional funding for science textbooks,” Thompson said. “We always have $33 million as a line-item, but we’ve added $27 million to that for a total of $60 million.”
Thompson said education received an additional $600 million in CARES funding, and an additional $1.49 billion under the American Rescue Plan.
“I think you’ll see some bills coming out trying to define how they can use some of that money, but education remains a top priority for us. They’ll be well-funded.”
Medicaid Expansion
Thompson said the projected cost for Medicaid expansion, which was approved by voters last year, is just over $164 million. Discussions about how to cover that cost continue.
“We have several hundred million dollars coming in, much from the American Rescue Plan, but the critical point is this is one-time money. There’s a thought out there that simply says let’s use that money for Medicaid expansion. I am not for that,” Thompson said.
“I don’t care how big the pot is, you don’t use one-time money to pay for an ongoing expense. The people of Oklahoma voted that they wanted Medicaid expansion, but this will be an annual expense and it must be paid for, so we’re continuing to have discussions on that.”
Pensions
Thompson said in order to protect education funding last year, some of the apportionment directed to pension funds was redirected to education funding for two years. After the redirection for two years, those pension systems would receive a slightly higher apportionment for the next five years to repay those funds. Because revenue collections have come in much stronger than expected, the redirection is not needed.
Sen. Thompson said there are basically three options moving forward.
1. Stop the redirection for FY ’22, which would require a $133 million appropriation to education. The pension systems would be paid back the amount redirected last year, which would be $128.7 million, with a total cost of $261.7 million.
2. Stop the redirection for FY ’22 and allow the redirection from FY ’21 to still be paid back over the next five years. Total cost would be $133 million.
3. Allow the current plan to remain in place. This would result in no cost to the FY ’22 budget.
Pensions would simply be made whole by the end of FY ’27.
“Again, discussions on this are ongoing,” Thompson said.
Film Rebate Program
The Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program currently has an $8 million rolling cap per fiscal year. Rebate funds are pre-qualified for eligible applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. The rebate offers a base percentage of 35 percent on qualified Oklahoma expenditures.
Thompson said he would like to see that cap raised to $50 million, while the House has proposed a $20 million cap.
“Thanks to this rebate, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is being filmed in Oklahoma now and represents a $120 million investment in our state. This is an Oklahoma bill boosting the production of major motion pictures and streaming series, helping promote the creation of Oklahoma companies and jobs, and helping us diversify our economy,” Thompson said.
“Our investments are paying huge dividends for our state.”
Tax Cuts
Thompson said the House’s proposed corporate income tax cut would cost the state $32.3 million in the first year but would increase an additional $99 million yearly until it reached a total cost of $323 million. They’ve also proposed a .25 percent cut in the income tax, which would cost the state $71 million the first year and $180.7 the second year.
The Senate passed legislation that would reinstate the full sales tax exemption on motor vehicles and trailers, which would have an annual cost of $148 million.
“Faced with declining revenues due to downturns in the energy industry, the Legislature voted in 2017 to remove 1.25 percent of that exemption, but it was always our intention that as soon as we could, we would restore the full amount,” Thompson said. “I believe a promise made should be kept.”
Special Session
Due to the pandemic, the release of the final 2020 U.S. Census Data to the states has been delayed, which will result in a special session to be held in the fall. Because the constitution mandates the completion of legislative redistricting by the end of the 2021 session, lawmakers have utilized the estimates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau to complete this task.
“Once we get the final numbers, we can make any adjustments that may be required in special session. We’ll also complete congressional redistricting at that time,” Thompson said. “At a minimum, the special session would run five days, at a cost on the Senate side of about $10,000 per day. It is a small amount in comparison to the overall budget, but something I want people to be aware of in the interest of transparency.”
Savings
“I’d like to see us save back $600 million to $700 million in this process,” Thompson said. “The savings we had last year helped us to protect core services, and I want to make sure we have savings going forward.”
Roads Funding
Apportioned revenues were redirected to education last year, with bonds used to backfill that amount to the ROADS (Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety) program.
“We’d planned on this being a two-year diversion, but this year we could restore the apportionment to the ROADS pre-FY ’21 levels at a cost of $180 million.”
McGirt Case
“Because there are attempts to apply the McGirt ruling in a broader area of law than originally anticipated, we propose allocating an additional $10 million to the attorney general for future litigation,” Thompson said.
Closing Remarks
Thompson said meetings between himself, Appropriations Vice Chair Chuck Hall, R-Perry, and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs are occurring regularly, along with meetings with their House counterparts.
“I’ve just outlined some of the areas we’re still negotiating as we continue our work on the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Our discussions are ongoing and evolving as we prepare to finalize the framework and the details,” Thompson said.
NOTE: This overview is a snapshot of an evolving budget picture at the Legislature. The figures given about possible expenses or results could change in the next two-three weeks, as Sen. Thompson points out.
www.CapitolBeatOK.com
Senator Thompson’s budget breakdown for late April Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Ray Carter, Center for Independent Journalism
Oklahoma State senators have voted overwhelmingly to spend millions of dollars each year challenging federal actions that officials believe violate the U.S. Constitution’s limits on federal authority.
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
House Bill 1236 (https://ift.tt/2QK2zdC) by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, requires the office of the attorney general to “monitor and evaluate any action by the federal government” to determine if any actions taken by the federal government are “in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
H.B. 1236 creates a State Reserved Powers Protection Unit within the Office of the Attorney General to conduct those reviews and challenge the constitutionality of federal actions in court. H.B. 1236 also provides $10 million in funding for the newly created unit.
Supporters said the legislation is needed to protect the rights of Oklahomans.
Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, noted that President Joe Biden has issued executive orders that provide taxpayer funding for abortions, ban oil-and-gas exploration on federal lands at the expense of U.S. energy independence, and target the Second Amendment right of self-defense.
“We must push back against this type of effort to erode the rights and freedoms of our people,” Standridge said.
Critics dismissed the bill as either unnecessary or a way to sidestep bigger issues.
“I’m concerned that we’re going to set aside $10 million for political points to push back against a president when we could be using those funds to investigate fraud and protect Oklahomans directly,” said Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City. “This is a stunt.”
Sen. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, said during her time in office the Oklahoma Legislature has passed 21 bills that were “questionably unconstitutional.”
“I wish that we were actually going to start monitoring and evaluating the bills that we pass for constitutionality because I think that we should clean our own house first,” Floyd said.
Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, said he believed the attorney general “has an implied task for his job description to already do what this bill assigns him,” and that it was the role of the Oklahoma Legislature to push back against federal overreach.
“It is our job, our duty,” Hamilton said.
Treat said the legislation, as amended in the Senate, is now more likely to survive judicial challenges and dedicates real resources to the effort.
He said earlier versions of the bill would have had the Oklahoma Legislature decide the constitutionality of actions, which he said is a “clear violation of separation of powers” and embodied the discredited legal theory that states can unilaterally nullify federal actions.
Treat said the current version of H.B. 1236 avoids those legal problems and “has teeth in it.”
“We’re putting $10 million behind the Tenth Amendment annually to be able to push back on federal overreach,” Treat said. “To say that is without teeth is not only a gross exaggeration or misrepresentation of truth, it’s a complete and utter lie. Have we ever put $10 million behind a legal remedy to push back on the federal government?”
H.B. 1236 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 33-14 vote. (https://ift.tt/3sBMXGt). It was opposed by all Democratic lawmakers as well as five Republicans.
H.B. 1236 now returns to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for further consideration.
NOTE: This article first appeared on the world wide web here:
https://ift.tt/2QN3j1A. It is reposted with permission. The Center for Independent Journalism is hosted by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.
Oklahoma Senate votes to fund challenges against federal government Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK |
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