(The Center Square) – Oklahoma is working to ensure its Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund stays over a certain threshold to avoid tax increases on businesses after jobless claims surged throughout the state, creating payouts in 2020 that were more than the previous 10 years combined.

“Going forward, the agency has a few focuses that come to mind, the first being making sure the fund stays above the $25 million threshold,” Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) Director Shelley Zumwalt told The Center Square. “This past year has been extremely difficult for the business community everywhere and we are doing everything we can to limit impact on our employers.”

Oklahoma mandates that if the UI Trust Fund is projected to fall below $25 million for an upcoming quarter, the OESC must enact up to a 33.3% surcharge for employers on top of regular contributions, Zumwalt said.

“The agency has made multiple contingency plans to avoid this scenario as it would be devastating to the state business community,” Zumwalt said. “Making sure the fund stays above this threshold is one of our top priorities.”

While 22 other states have exhausted their UI Trust Funds and have taken out federal loans, Zumwalt said that is not forecast for Oklahoma.

Before the pandemic, Oklahoma’s UI fund was more than $1 billion, but is now below $100 million.

“Making sure Oklahoma manages our fund in a fiscally responsible manner is a constant at the agency,” Zumwalt said. “The agency collects employer contributions each quarter to replenish the fund. The first payment for this calendar year will be due April 1st, and at present, we do not anticipate funds will fall below the $25 million threshold between now and March 31, and it is monitored daily. I always offer the caveat that everything I am mentioning is based on current conditions, given the unprecedented year the state and nation has had, if a significant issue arose that dramatically affected claims volumes that projection could change.”

The UI Trust Fund has paid out nearly $4.3 billion in benefits since March 1, 2020.

“For perspective, that amount dwarfs the amount paid out in the decade preceding (2010-2019) which was $3 billion,” Zumwalt said. “For another snapshot, in February of 2020 [before the pandemic] the agency paid out $23 million in the entire month. In one week in June, we paid out $230 million.”

While the agency has been getting benefits to an unprecedented number of unemployed workers, it is also undergoing a $45 million digital transformation that will include upgrading a 40-year-old mainframe.

“It absolutely cripples the agency's ability to operate in a digital environment,” Zumwalt said. “Moving off that mainframe could not come fast enough and is scheduled to be complete by the end of this calendar year.”

Other improvements have resulted in reducing call wait times from five hours to less than 30 minutes, Zumwalt said, adding that when she arrived, first call resolution numbers were below 5% and are now 75%.

Significant changes also have been implemented to stop fraud and recover funds paid out on fraudulent claims, Zumwalt said.

“Every time an issue has come up that negatively impacts claimants, we have figured out the root cause and executed on changes that will positively impact OESC's claimants,” Zumwalt said.

(The Center Square) – A group of Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday asking him to rescind an executive order that halts new leases for oil and gas development on federal land, arguing that it will have a negative impact on their economies and will cost consumers.

Biden signed the lease moratorium Jan. 27 as part of a broader series of executive actions seeking to curb climate change. The executive order, which applies to offshore leases, does not apply to existing leases for development on federal lands or leases on tribal land.

The letter, which was led by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, was co-signed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

Biden’s executive order “has a negative economic effect upon western states with large tracts of federal land and upon Gulf Coast states, chasing away capital investment for long-term economic growth and undermining public services, public conservation, public safety, public education, and more,” the letter states. “Beyond directly impacted states, the Order is estimated to spike American residential energy costs by $1.7 billion per year.”

The Wyoming Legislature commissioned a report last year that estimated a federal lease moratorium would result in a $639.7 billion hit to gross domestic product (GDP) in Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, California, and Alaska by 2040. Over 48% of Wyoming’s land is federally owned, according to Ballotpedia.

The letter also argues the executive order “jeopardizes our national security interests and strips away the opportunity for Americans to be energy independent.”

“The Order inevitably shifts development away from U.S. federal lands and offshore waters to other countries with far less stringent emission controls, exacerbating concerns over greenhouse gas emissions worldwide,” the letter continues.

Most oil and gas development on federal land is overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with states receiving roughly half of the revenue from royalties and fees.

Biden has nominated U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M. for secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees BLM. Her Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

(The Center Square) – Oklahoma small businesses continue to navigate the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and two Senate bills have been put forth to offer a wide spectrum of tax relief.

Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed SB 727, which would eliminate Oklahoma's corporate income tax and franchise tax starting in 2022.

“This is a big deal for small business owners, who are already struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jerrod Shouse, Oklahoma state director with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), told The Center Square by email. “Regulations and taxes are issues that our small business owners here in Oklahoma struggle with. In fact, according to a recent survey of small business owners, taxes and regulations ranked number 4, 6, 7, and 8 as the biggest problems they faced.”

Small business survival is crucial to Oklahoma’s economic recovery, and many have closed or face permanent closure because of the pandemic’s economic impact, Shouse said.

“We need our mom and pop shops here in Oklahoma. Not only do they support the economy, they give back to their local communities,” Shouse said. “Oklahoma cannot survive without our small business owners, who are working tirelessly to protect their employees and customers during this unprecedented time.”

Dahm also filed SB 920, which would provide 10-year tax relief to any business that moves to Oklahoma from a foreign country.

“As we’ve seen in the news, Joe Biden’s recent executive orders will cost our nation tens of thousands of jobs,” Dahm told KFOR. “It appears he’s putting China first by repealing a previous order prohibiting them from working on America’s electric grid, so it’s imperative that we work to put Oklahoma first. While those in Washington D.C. seek to destroy jobs and raise taxes, Oklahomans have the opportunity to follow conservative principles to lower taxes for the creation of jobs in our state. It’s time we step up and put our people and our businesses first.”

(The Center Square) – Oklahoma’s film production sector, which the state has designated an essential business, has continued building on growth that has some industry watchers comparing it to Atlanta as a top U.S. filming destination.

“Our state has been investing in and incentivizing this sector for many years, and we have built a solid foundation and cultivated an industry that only has room to grow,” Tava Maloy Sofsky, director of Tourism & Recreation at the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, told The Center Square by email.

“In the last five years, the number of film and television productions (utilizing the state’s rebate program) has grown from an average of four movies per year to an average of three per month,” Maloy Sofsky said.

Production budgets are also increasing, translating to hundreds of jobs on any single movie or TV series, and positive economic impact on communities around the state.

While the Oklahoma Film + Music Office has helped talent and businesses to thrive, the private sector has invested in the development of workforce and permanent infrastructure. This has been done with new training programs and sound stages being built to meet the needs of the industry, Maloy Sofsky said.

While other production centers across the country were closed down amid the current pandemic, last June, Oklahoma became one of the first states to reopen its economy. In July, Gov. Kevin Stitt deemed the motion picture and recording industries essential businesses, helping avert potential shutdowns in that sector.

Maloy Sofsky said she is often asked whether Oklahoma could be the next Atlanta in terms of film production.

“We are uniquely Oklahoma, and proud of the diverse assets only our state can offer,” Maloy Sofsky said. “Oklahoma is currently evidencing industry developments similar to Georgia, as many stakeholders collaboratively work toward the same well-balanced (three-legged stool) success model.”

Georgia’s film industry generates $9 billion annually, Maloy Sofsky said, enhanced by their film tax credit program and response by the private sector. Tyler Perry Studios is among many to build permanent infrastructure with new sound stages. The Georgia Film Academy also offers industry-standard training courses, adding thousands of new jobs to the local workforce each year.

Among the hundreds of projects to film in Oklahoma over the years includes “The Outsiders,” based on the novel by Tulsa native S.E. Hinton, the television pilot “Reservation Dogs,” and the upcoming “The Killers of the Flower Moon.” MovieMaker Magazine also has ranked Oklahoma City and Tulsa among its Best Places to Live and Work for a filmmaker in 2021.

“Oklahoma offers a high quality of life for visitors and residents, and we are a destination where creativity and innovation in business can thrive,” said Maloy Sofsky, an Oklahoma, Cherokee native who recently returned to work in the burgeoning film industry.

“Whether someone is an accountant, a lawyer, a health care worker, an electrician, a caterer, seamstress, truck driver, event planner, teacher, painter or carpenter, a musician or composer, the entertainment sector offers well-paying jobs and business opportunities that can greatly diversify our state’s economy year-round,” Maloy Sofsky said.

Primaries for school board elections were held in Oklahoma on February 9. Ballotpedia is covering elections for 35 seats across 27 Oklahoma school boards in 2021. These 27 school districts served a combined total of 261,543 students during the 2016-2017 school year.

Seventeen seats were won outright by unopposed candidates. There were 13 seats where two candidates automatically advanced from the primary to the general election on April 6. The remaining five seats held primaries between three or more candidates. Elections can be won outright in the primary if a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.

In the Edmond Public School District, Margaret Best and incumbent Lee Ann Kuhlman advanced to the general election for the District 1 seat. Best and Kuhlman earned 34% and 27% of the vote, respectively.

In the Oklahoma City Public School District, Charles Henry and incumbent Paula Lewis advanced to the general election for the chairperson seat. Henry and Lewis earned 48% and 44% of the vote, respectively.

In the Owasso Public School District, Stephanie Ruttman and Rick Lang advanced to the general election for the Ward 1 seat. Ruttman and Lang earned 31% and 24% of the vote, respectively.

In the Putnam City Public School District, Judy Mullen Hopper won outright in the primary for Seat 3. Hopper earned 66% of the vote against two other candidates including incumbent Sky Collins.

In the Tulsa Public School District, Judith Barba won outright in the primary for Seat 2. Barba earned 53% of the vote against two other candidates.

(The Center Square) – Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order Monday that seeks to protect Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry from what he calls a "Washington power grab."

President Joe Biden last month signed orders prohibiting new oil and gas leases on federal lands.

Stitt's order criticizes the Biden administration’s "attack on energy producing states like Oklahoma, specifically citing the federal overreach and dismissal of Oklahoma’s constitutional ability to properly determine how to best develop its own natural resources," a news release from the governor's office says.

“Energy production is the backbone of Oklahoma’s economy,” Stitt said in a statement. “My executive order sends a clear message to the Biden Administration that threatening to destroy Oklahoma jobs and our constitutional ability to develop our oil and gas is unacceptable. We will not be passive in responding to systematic attacks on Oklahoma values.”

A number of state lawmakers also issued statements supporting Stitt's action.

“In Oklahoma, the oil and gas industry in particular provides hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs and greatly adds to the local and state economy," Sen. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole, and vice-chair of the Senate Energy Committee, said. "President Biden’s actions threaten those jobs and our local and state economies. I appreciate Governor Stitt’s action to stand up for Oklahoma and I am proud to work with him to protect our energy industry.”

Rep. Jay Steagall, R-Yukon and chair of the House States Rights Committee, said Biden's orders exceed his authority.

“The Tenth Amendment limits the scope of federal power and prescribes that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states," Steagall said. "It is well within the purview of each individual state to secure it’s citizens’ unalienable rights.”

The nonpartisan primary election for school board seats in Oklahoma is on Feb. 9. Candidates are competing to advance to the general election scheduled for April 6. The filing deadline passed on Dec. 9, 2020.

Five school districts within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope are holding primary elections for five seats. In Oklahoma, school districts cancel primary elections if fewer than three candidates file to run for each seat up for election, and the candidates automatically advance to the general election. Both the primary and general elections are canceled if only one candidate files for a seat up for election, and the unopposed candidate is automatically elected. The following school districts are holding primary elections:

Edmond Public SchoolsOwasso Public SchoolsPutnam City SchoolsTulsa Public schoolsOklahoma City Public Schools

In all, a total of 33 school board seats across 26 Oklahoma school districts covered by Ballotpedia are up for election in 2021.

The largest school district covered by Ballotpedia and holding elections in Oklahoma in 2021 is Oklahoma City Public Schools. The district served 39,806 students during the 2016-2017 school year.