OK Legislators’ Blog: No Property Tax Reform This Year
By Rep. Jason Murphey
One of the bills that was lost late in the session this year was property tax reform in the form of SJR-5. This was probably the single most disappointing occurrence of the session.
Last April, chances are that you received your property tax assessment. I would also guess that regardless of whether or not your property appreciated in value, your bill reflects a 5% increase in your payable assessment over last year. This is the time of year when my office receives calls or e-mails from citizens experiencing the challenge of coming up with a larger-than-ever property tax payment. Second only to road improvements, the issue of higher property taxes is of major concern to my constituents.
SJR-5 would have allowed the people to vote on decreasing the 5% assessment increase cap to 3%.
I believe property tax to be the most unfair form of taxation. This tax actually punishes a person for land ownership and taxes them year after year for the same property. Read more…
Related:
Asking for Constituent Input for Next Year’s Agenda
Hello again, everybody! As the dust continues to settle after the 2009 session of the Oklahoma Legislature, political observers are looking at how this year was different.
A new majority party took control and the big question was how members would respond to their new roles. What should never change are the fundamental principles that guide individual senators.
Throughout the session, I was far less concerned with partisan issues than I was with getting things done for my district and our state. That approach, and the fierceness with which I tackle specific issues, will never change so long as I have the opportunity to serve as your senator.
While there still are a few bills awaiting the governor’s signature, nine of the bills I sponsored in the Senate have become law. While that is a relatively large number to make it through the process, a number of bills I sponsored fell by the wayside – most often in the House of Representatives – due to partisan politics. Read more…
Quote of the Day: “60% Approval and She’s Stepping Down?
We received this last Friday morning. A reader speculates on why Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor decided against running for re-election.
“60% approval and she’s stepping down? Does her husband no longer need special favors? (he runs Alamo/Thrifty rental cars who got a lot of money to open call center in Tulsa). Is it because of the brewing payoff scandal? Or does she smell blood in the water and is going to put together a campaign to run against Sullivan?”
“Ghost Commissioner” Jeff Cloud Discusses Energy Issues
Corporate Commission “Ghost Commissioner” Jeff Cloud on an Aspen Institute junket in Egypt.
Ghost commissioner Jeff Cloud was in Norman last week discussing energy issues. Here’s a synopsis from The Red Dirt Report:
“Obama’s energy plans, Cloud said, “would devastate the energy industry,” particularly the oil and natural gas industry that is such an important part of Oklahoma’s economy.
“I think what we have to brace for – Obama’s tax proposals on the energy industry will be catastrophic for our state,” Cloud said.
Marginal wells, he noted, would most likely be shut off, leading to smaller oil producers shutting down and more jobs lost in a sagging economy.
Additionally, Cloud said, these crippling policies would ultimately lead the United States to rely more on foreign oil, including oil from the volatile Middle East.
“We need to get off Middle Eastern oil,” Cloud said, adding that importation of Canadian oil was acceptable and even good for Oklahoma.” Read more…
Hmmm. Chesapeake Energy must have substantial interests in Canada!
OFRG: “Why is the State Spending Nearly Seven-Million Dollars to Help Balance the Budgets of Other States?”
Here’s an inaugural article from Oklahomans for Responsible Government’s new newsletter called The Rotunda:
“In a year when Oklahoma dealt with a $900-million shortfall in the state budget, why is the state spending nearly seven-million dollars to help balance the budgets of other states?
Oklahomans for Responsible Government recently searched through the vendors listed on the state’s Open Books database and found 140 payments by various departments of Oklahoma government to agencies or universities in 34 other states. These payments total $6,742,125!
Texas is the biggest recipient of Oklahoma money, getting $1,059,000 while Pennsylvania ($925,025), Kansas ($716,537) and Arkansas ($706,275) also get a big chunk. The largest single remittance is $715,000 that the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center pays to the University of Pittsburgh.
This shows a significant problem in the way the state handles its budget. A few elected officials get in a room and come up with a plan, an announcement is made to the masses and lawmakers are then asked to approve the spending. There is nothing written about how it will be spent or whether the money will stay in state or be sent across the Red River.”
Boren Sponsors “Native American Apology Resolution”
From Indian Country Today:
“The U.S. government broke hundreds of treaties it made with Indian nations; these were government-to-government treaties ratified by the U.S. Senate,” Boren said. “The impact of many U.S. policies is the source of many of the social and economic disparities that tribes face today. It is time for our nation to face these injustices and reconcile our relations with the Native Americans.” He said it is important for the government to acknowledge injustices “such as forced removal and painful events like the Trail of Tears. While this apology doesn’t recognize the complexity of those wrongs, it’s an important step in moving forward. From my seat on the House Natural Resources Committee, I will work with Chairman Rahall (Rep. Nick Rahall) and Senator Sam Brownback to see that it gets the attention it deserves.”
Boren described the proposal as a resolution of apology and reconciliation.
“It is a first step toward healing the wounds that have divided us for so long – a potential foundation for a new era of positive relations between tribal governments and the federal government. It is time – it is past time – for us to heal our land of division, all divisions, and bring us together as one people.” Read more…
Related:
Video: Obama Seeks to Destroy Native Americans
OK Legislators’ Blog: “Taking Another Stand for States’ Rights”
Taking Another Stand for States’ Rights
By Rep. Jason Murphey
This week, the Oklahoma House of Representatives once again voted to support a House Resolution authored by State Representative Charles Key which sends a message to the federal government regarding states’ rights. This is Key’s second proposal which has been necessitated by a previous version approved in the House and Senate, but vetoed by the Governor.
The resolution seeks to reassert Oklahoma’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and according to the resolution’s language, serves as “Notice and Demand to the federal government, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”
The resolution makes a firm statement on behalf of local control. Read more…
Education is one of the policy areas in which there are clear differences among those of us in the Legislature. The focus of much of the debate this session has been on Senate Bill 834.
Euphemistically called “The School District Empowerment Act,” the measure is designed – over the next five years – to make every public school in Oklahoma a charter school. Charter schools, which today only are allowed in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, have virtually no regulatory oversight beyond their local school boards.
Depending on to whom you talk, SB 834 either would strengthen public schools or wipe away decades of progress and begin the slow demise of Oklahoma’s public educational system. For me, the answer is clear: There has never been a greater threat to Oklahoma’s public schools than SB 834. Read more…
A Familiar Pattern Emerging Here?
Oklahoma “legend” Mike McCarville hosting his now defunct talk show
We’ve got one question for one of our fellow bloggers. How can you claim to “merit the respect of political, governmental and business opinion leaders” when you are obviously in the tank for the campaigns that must be paying you and so against a non declared candidate?
Regular readers of said blogger knows that he sometimes gets a little overzealous when posting about candidates he disagrees with or issues dealing with urban areas. Will somebody let this guy know this is the 21st century?
Related:
OkiePundit: Insulted? Or just feeling the Heat? Fallin Campaign Throwing the Rock, Then Hiding the Hand, and Crying Foul!
OKPNS: (4/23/09) “Fool Me Once…”
Watts Directs Media Inquiries to “Longtime Friend and Associate”
Is J. C. getting closer to making a decision or is he simply tired of getting media inquiries at his office? We received this press release late this afternoon:
MEDIA ALERT
To: Political Reporters, Editors & Producers
Re: J.C. Watts, Jr. Contact Information
Former Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr., requests all media seeking comments concerning the possible 2010 gubernatorial campaign or any inquiries into the 2010 governor’s race be directed to Chad Alexander.
Alexander can be reached by phone at 405-822-1092 or email at chad.alexander4@gmail.com
Alexander is a former Watts’ campaign manager and a longtime friend and associate. He also is former Republican party state chairman.
