Tulsa County Sheriff, Vic Regalado, came on morning talk radio on Monday; to address the greater Tulsa community about the recent mental health tragedy and some serious challenges in getting the mentally ill into essential care facilities.

  The conversation was rather heavy and somber. Regalado does not expect the officers involved to face criminal or  administrative sanctions. It appears Regalado and his colleagues are struggling with the reality that no easy answers exist in the current state policy.

Rather than insisting that the officers conducted themselves perfectly, the sheriff explained that each scenario is so unique that it's impossible to follow a preconceived method. There are, however; key objectives which they seek to accomplish for everyones' safety and the patient's mental stability & dignity. 

  Under our current laws, the local law enforcement are mandated to provide the medical transport for all mentally ill patients who are court-ordered into mental health facilities. This is problematic for a force which trains almost completely for dealing with "bad dudes" who are willfully suspected of crimes.

  The field of candidates has been large for the 2 vacant seats being decided, yet this summer.
  David Brumbaugh suddenly passed away this spring. His widow, Shelley Brumbaugh is seeking to complete his term. 
  Seven other candidates believe they are the better choice. In August, we will see what the voters of Broken Arrow and east Tulsa want to do.

  On June 20th, The Tulsa Area Republican Assembly will host a forum of the declared Republicans, at their monthly meeting.
See www.TulsaRepublicanAssembly.com for more information. 

  In Southern OKC metro, there is a special election to find a successor to Kyle Loveless. Mr. Loveless suddenly resigned and returned to private business while his ethics-related matters are awaiting possible litigation.

  Nine candidates believe they are the right solution to fill that unexpired term (3 years left).

  ​In the last 7 months,  there have been 7 new vacancies in the legislature. The leading cause has been a lawmaker who is actively on a job search, instead of advocating for his constituents.
  Three of those resignations were clearly stated as caused by a lawmaker's explicit desire to grab a job offer before the attractive opportunity slips away.
  At least two other resignations were perhaps partially influenced by the lawmaker's better prospects outside public service.
​
  Analyst, Dewey Fudge posted this witty perspective...

Sunday night, State Representative, Jason Murphey, called upon the Oklahoma Supreme Court to take up the matter of how the legislature attempted to skirt the constitutional rules for raising revenue.

  Murphey is a senior member of the House. He is Chairman of the Government Modernization Committee. He also serves on:

• Appropriations and Budget
• A&B General Government
• General Government Oversight and Accountability
• Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget

  There were 145 lawmakers wrangling with the pressure of the last week of regular session, last month. Budget committees tried to force massive new taxes and the governor added her pressure to the mix.

  Along with the minority party exercising their leverage for an oil production tax, there were 24 solidly conservative lawmakers pushing back against a clear violation of the Republican party tenants of limiting government, rather than confiscating the peoples' wealth.

  Leadership was not willing to give up the perks and swag of their privilege.  Their well-connected friends and former colleagues at the regents for Higher Education wanted to keep the $800 million pipeline of unaccountable money for pretty campus buildings.

   The Platform Caucus and associates in both houses were able to make their principled convictions clearly known by voting 'no' on the biggest offenders of the constitutional rules for revenue bills.

​  Sooner Politics salutes these men and encourages their constituents to make a statement of solidarity, while we await the next step in this protracted process of defending Oklahoma's constitution.

  The Republicans had 26 new Representatives  & 13 Senators serving a freshman term in the 2017 legislative session. That may be the biggest group of new faces since statehood.
  Think tanks were full of speculation last November, about what impact the large new group might bring to the process.
​  Sadly, many conservative groups express great disappointment, if not outright abandonment.
  Of the 39 freshmen Republicans, Only 5 Representatives and 3 Senators voted consistent with the constitution, on two of the key revenue bills.

  Of all the speculation of last winter, not one publication projected that the final days would be filled with voting on unconstitutional new revenue proposals. Yet that is exactly where these freshmen allowed the leadership to take them.
   The Oklahoma Constitution is clear about the protections granted to our taxpayers. When the 1992 amendment (SQ640) was approved by our high court, it stipulated the following:

  An old retired Oklahoma attorney is keeping the legislature accountable. His name is Jerry Fent.
  So far, Jerry believes he has saved the Oklahoma taxpayers nearly half a billion dollars.
​  Jerry often pays the $200 filing fee out of his own pocket. He still has not recovered a single dime of attorney fees on any case he has won.

  Among Jerry's biggest efforts has been the bad habit of legislative logrolling (where lawmakers add pork-barrel clauses or other tag-along measures to bills intended completely for unrelated matters.
 
  Not everyone likes the outcome of Jerry's work. He's aware of that. But he believes that respect for the constitution is of great importance to our state's future.

 Confession time:
  As a kid, I hated my family garden.  I was required to weed and water the backyard agricultural project my parents imposed upon me and my 8 siblings.
  What I didn't know was the impact that garden made upon my family's economics.

• We ate well all winter from the vegetables and fruits we grew.
• The produce was healthier than the stuff at the grocery store.
• We paid no sales tax on the produce we grew and consumed.
• We learned the important work skills and how kids can contribute to the family, economically. 

  If a parent was to pay a child just 8% (the avoided sales tax) of the value of the produce harvested in the family garden, the child would see the value of the work. The parents save 8% (or more) by not paying sales tax on those groceries, so by having kids plan the task with the parents, and follow through; the work gets done and the produce comes into the house for next to no cost.

  Last month, the Oklahoma legislature waited until the last few days to pass an ensemble of new taxes. These legislative actions clearly violated several constitutional prohibitions:

• The legislature cannot pass a 'revenue raising' bill in the last 5 days of a legislative regular session.
• The legislature must first present all revenue-raising proposals to a vote of the people, before they become law. The only way to avoid the ballot question is to pass the measure by at least 75% approval of the full house & senate.
• Any bill which specifies terms which clearly result in higher revenue to the state, falls into this requirement, regardless of whether the action is called a 'tax', assessment, fee, royalty, duty, commission, or any other adjective, noun, verb, or associated synonym.

​  The Oklahoma Democrat party, along with the ACLU, would do well to challenge the constitutionality of the massive tax package.

  Oklahoma's state government is adrift without a vision, a plan, or even a set of principles. We're blessed with natural resources and grateful for folks who came to pump it out of the ground & refine it.  Texas has those same resources, but they also have a massive industrial and technology muscle.
  Texas isn't paying money for corporations to move there. Texas is saying; "Come here to make money, and we'll not confiscate it from you OR your workforce.".
  See, Texas has no income tax. Yes, they have a significant property & sales tax.  But the young family who's starting out will get ahead much faster in Texas.
  California tech companies are moving to Texas. they understand the failure of the California model and they're getting out of 'Silicon Valley'.

John Kennedy grew up in the home of a global businessman. He understood the dynamic effect of government taxation. He also knew how to peel off layers of oppressive taxation.  It doesn't appear that any Oklahoma leaders have a prescription for the kind of growth that Kennedy brought to the 60s, or Reagan brought to the 80s.