|
Tulsa Radio Personality, Pat Campbell , has recently interviewed two Republican candidates for governor. Tulsa Businessman, Kevin Stitt and Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb both expressed support for a teacher pay raise but neither of them are asking the legislature to reconvene to fix a crucial sticking point in the legislation which authorized the latest teacher pay raise. Namely, the author of the bill tied the pay raise to another massive tax increase.
That tax increase is being challenged by a large group of citizens who insist that the state has a record budget surplus which renders the tax rate hike as extremely unnecessary, punitive, and repressive. When the petition drive is complete and certified by the Secretary of State, the tax bill will be frozen and will remain so until the matter is voted on at a statewide election (probably this November). This morning, Pat Campbell asked Todd Lamb if he, as president of the Senate, would call for the legislature to come together for several matters. Among them are the vetoed Constitutional Carry bill, The Medical Marijuana regulations, |
|
Campbell did not specifically address the frozen teacher pay raise, but it has been a very pressing matter for every school district and the 43,000 public school teachers.
Instead, Lamb wants HB1010xx to remain as a new and unprecedented tax increase. He said his personal vote would be to affirm the tax increase. Despite the expected Billion dollar surplus that the state is collecting even without any tax increases.Yet he claims to be opposed to tax increases? Kevin Stitt said much the same last week when he also said he would vote for the HB1010xx tax increase when it is presented to the people as a ballot question. Stitt also failed to make a public call for the legislature to fix the teacher pay raise by detaching it from the disputed tax bill. |
|
