Weekly Opinion Editorial
NO ON 845 & YES ON 847!
by Steve Fair
On November 3rd, Oklahoma voters will see two state questions on the ballot. State questions 845 and 847 were both sent to voters through legislative referendums. Below is the lowdown on the two:
State Question #845 would amend article 7-B, Section 3 of the state constitution. It proposes to amend the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) structure. The JNC was established in 1967 by a vote of the people. When there is an opening in the judiciary, the JNC nominates three candidates for appointment by the governor.
The stated reason the JNC was established back in 1967 was to remove the partisan influence from the judiciary. It followed a major scandal that occurred in 1964-65. Three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices were convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for favorable rulings over a twenty-year period. The fallout from the scandal was the JNC.
The JNC is made up of fifteen (15) members. Nine of the fifteen have to be non-lawyers. The governor appoints six of the non-attorneys by the congressional district’s boundaries from 1967 and they serve six-year terms. The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) appoints six members. The other three serve as 'members at large' for two years. The Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore each appoint one of the at large members and the JNC members appoint the last at large member. Of the three Members at Large, no more than two can be from the same political party.
If approved, State Question#845 would change the district requirement to the current congressional boundaries, allow commissioners to serve two six-year terms, remove the 'non-lawyer' provisions and permit any number or all of the commissioners to be attorneys. It would also remove political Party membership for the at-large members. remove the requirement that no more than three commissioners appointed by the governor be from the same political party and that no more than two at-large commissioners be from the same political party.
The JNC needs reformation- or elimination- in Oklahoma. In the recent past, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has consistently issued liberal rulings and undermined conservative legislation. But SQ#845 is not the answer. The proposed changes to the JNC empowers the OBA more in the process than it is already. Some of the changes in SQ#845 are fine, but the fishhooks in it make worse than the current system. Until the legislature gets serious about truly reforming the JNC, voters should vote no on SQ#845.
State Question #847 proposes to reduce the annual growth limit of the calculated cash value of property assessed for taxation. It would reduce the annual growth from 5% to 4%. It would reduce the annual growth amount for homestead exemption from 3% to 1.75%. SQ 847 would eliminate the hard income cap to qualify for the senior property valuation limit, and change the senior property tax freeze into a tiered cap. Instead of locking the assessed value at exactly zero percent growth, the value would be permitted to rise by an annual limit of 1.75% or higher, depending on income.
Supporters say SQ#847 would protect property owners from sharp increases. Critics note slower growth in property values would also slow the growth of funding for local schools and services. They point out property tax monies stay in the community where it is collected and are one of the few ways local citizens directly control funding for local services.
Voters should never miss a chance to reduce their tax burden and the size of government. The critic's argument voters directly control local funding through property tax is valid and accurate and that is precisely why voters should vote yes on SQ#847.
Like Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell once said: “Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.”
VOTERS SHOULD NEVER MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CUT TAXES!Click the headline to read this full article, VOTERS SHOULD NEVER MISS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CUT TAXES!, at FAIR AND BIASED
RSS Feed
