| By a vote of 63-34 with Sean Roberts abstaining, the 98 seated members of the House of Representatives failed to reach the 75% threshold to pass new revenue legislation. But the majority passage does allow it to be placed on the ballot of the Nov. 2018 general election. The new tax of roughly $1.50 per pack of cigarettes would be designated for various healthcare interests. The House Democrats did not vote as a block like they did last year. The Platform Caucus was also not completely monolithic. Gov. Fallin returned to the House floor like she did last year. And once again, her presence may have been counter-productive to her desired ends. A careful observation of the house video reveals that 3 Republicans switched their votes at the last minute. All three of them; McDugle, Park, and Frix; saw that the tax was failing, and decided that they opposed it. They will likely be asked about this by their constituents and others. |  |
McDugle, Frix, and Park were solidly voting 'YES', until the final seconds, and the reality of a failure. That's when they didn't want to 'go down with the ship' of tax & spend liberals.
