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The U.S. Mint announced the state quarter designs Tuesday for Oklahoma and four other states, marking the end of the most popular coin program in U.S. history. Oklahoma’s quarter will kick off the final five and is expected to be available in late January.
Its design features Oklahoma’s state bird, the scissortail flycatcher, in flight with its distinctive tail feathers spread as it soars above the state wildflower, the Indian blanket, and a field of similar wildflowers. The coin also will bear the inscriptions “Oklahoma” and “1907.”
“It’s fitting that Oklahoma’s commemorative quarter has been unveiled during this year of our centennial,” Gov. Brad Henry said. “I want to thank the tens of thousands of Oklahomans who took part in the voting process and made their voices heard.”
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Oklahoma City businessman Mart Green said Tuesday that he planned to donate $70 million to the debt-ridden university.Green, founder of Mardel, a Christian office and educational supply store chain, said he decided to help after watching media reports about the school, which recently revealed that it was more than $50 million in debt. He never attended the university and does not know the Roberts family, he said. Read More
Related news: Accountant Sues TV Evangelist’s Son.
Trying To Stop Property Taxes From Increasing
By Rep. Jason Murphey
During the last few days, chances are that you received your property tax bill. I would also guess that this bill reflects a 5% increase in your assessment over last year. This is the time of year when my office receives calls from citizens experiencing the challenge of coming up with a larger than ever property tax payment. Second only to the issue of road improvements, I believe the issue of higher property taxes is the one I hear about the most.
I believe the property tax to be the most unfair form of taxation. This tax punishes a person for simply daring to own something and taxes them over and over again for the same property.
In 2007, I co-authored a bill by Oklahoma City State Representative Guy Liebmann which would have decreased the 5% assessment increase cap to 3% or the increase in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. Liebmann’s bill passed in the House but, unfortunately, has been held up in the Senate. It is my hope that the Senate will take action on the bill this year, as it is clear that people are getting more and more frustrated with the increases they are experiencing. As property taxes continue to rise, more citizens are being priced into buying a house beneath what they could otherwise afford. Others are faced with the dilemma of whether to sell their property or pay the high tax rate. The challenges faced by individuals with fixed incomes is forcing the legislature to make exceptions to the number of people who have to pay increased rates. These exceptions place the burden of paying property tax onto a shrinking base of property owners. Read more…
Deep Drilling Tax Credit Making Difference in Economy
By Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant
Hello again, everybody! Two years ago this week, several extreme left-wing activists from Oklahoma City passed out leaflets across our area attacking my support for a particular bill.
The bill, which I carried on the Senate floor, was a tax incentive benefiting companies that drill deep gas wells. These are the very gas wells being drilled all across the Senate district I represent and much of southeastern Oklahoma. These wells might not have been drilled except for the incentives I support and these activists oppose.The drilling is happening in what is called the Woodford Shale formation. This is not a new gas discovery; geologists have known for some time this formation likely contained a great deal of natural gas. Even though everyone was confident the gas was there, it had to be financially feasible to get or it would stay locked in the ground.The deep drilling necessary to reach this gas is among the most expensive and financially risky. The tax credit helped make the drilling more attractive for the drilling companies. Read more…
Sam Adams Foundation senior advisor and term limits champion Paul Jacob discusses his politically-motivated indictment in Oklahoma and the potential criminalization of politics. Our Constitutional rights of free speech, association and the right to petition are in jeopardy. Find out more at www.samadamsalliance.org and www.freepauljacob.com.
“I’m calling this bill the ‘Son of 1804,’ ” said Terrill, the House author of House Bill 1804, the sweeping immigration reform measure passed last session.The centerpiece of Terrill’s new legislation will be making English the official language of Oklahoma, he said, although he is considering other proposals.
Terrill said he would like to find a way to stop the state from issuing birth certificates to the Oklahoma-born children of illegal immigrants. Instead, he said, the state could acknowledge the birth by sending a notice to the country where the parents are citizens.
The Oral Roberts University board of regents is meeting to begin selection of a new school president, after Richard Roberts resigned from the top post.
Meanwhile, some faculty and students say they still have concerns.
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“I don’t hear a drumbeat that ‘We’re not effective and I don’t like it here anymore,’ ” said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.). Read More
Oklahoma’s initiative and referendum process is among the most onerous in the United States. If a citizen or group wants to put a measure on the ballot, they only have 90 days to gather over 165,000 signatures (only Massachusetts limits petitioners to a shorter time frame). In addition, only residents of Oklahoma can circulate petitions, so out-of-state groups are limited to an advisory and/or fundraising role. Other states have similar residency requirements, but Oklahoma is unique in that a recent Oklahoma court decision interpreted the law to mean that only people who intend to be “permanent” residents of the state can gather signatures. Anyone who moves to Oklahoma temporarily to help put an initiative on the ballot does so at his peril.
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During the last few days, chances are that you received your property tax bill. I would also guess that this bill reflects a 5% increase in your assessment over last year. This is the time of year when my office receives calls from citizens experiencing the challenge of coming up with a larger than ever property tax payment. Second only to the issue of road improvements, I believe the issue of higher property taxes is the one I hear about the most.
I believe the property tax to be the most unfair form of taxation. This tax punishes a person for simply daring to own something and taxes them over and over again for the same property.
In 2007, I co-authored a bill by Oklahoma City State Representative Guy Liebmann which would have decreased the 5% assessment increase cap to 3% or the increase in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. Liebmann’s bill passed in the House but, unfortunately, has been held up in the Senate. It is my hope that the Senate will take action on the bill this year, as it is clear that people are getting more and more frustrated with the increases they are experiencing. As property taxes continue to rise, more citizens are being priced into buying a house beneath what they could otherwise afford. Others are faced with the dilemma of whether to sell their property or pay the high tax rate. The challenges faced by individuals with fixed incomes is forcing the legislature to make exceptions to the number of people who have to pay increased rates. These exceptions place the burden of paying property tax onto a shrinking base of property owners.
While the average property tax bill has shot skyward, the homestead exemption which allows homeowners to pay a lower bill has not increased over the years. Logan County Commissioner Mark Sharpton has requested that I propose legislation which would increase homestead exemption. I also plan to propose indexing homestead exemption to the consumer price index so that over time, the exemption will continue to grow with inflation.
The passage of these two pieces of legislation would be a good start to slowing the increase of property taxes. However, in order to have true reform and property tax reduction, we must address the problem at its source. Approximately 85% of property taxes go to Oklahoma’s education system. This money is in addition to the approximate amount of 3.5 billion dollars that we appropriate for common and higher ed. A report by the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs demonstrates that Oklahoma taxpayers probably spend about $12,000 per year for each student we educate.
Oklahoma should offer a $4,000 tax credit to those parents who choose to educate their children in the private sector where they can receive a more cost-effective education. This would empower parents with the ability to determine where their children receive an education (one of the most important choices a parent will make) and would save taxpayers about two-thirds of the cost we are now paying. This common sense move would allow for dramatic reduction in property taxation and significantly shrink the size of state government. Smaller state government means the government will have less influence over our lives, an important value I believe most Oklahomans share. This is one of the reforms I am committed to supporting as your State Representative.