Whatzup Politics

Whatzup Politics (1477)

Mullin, O’Halleran Introduce Bill to Break Down Health Data Barriers for Tribes

WASHINGTON— Congressmen Markwayne Mullin (OK-02) and Tom O’Halleran (AZ-1) today introduced the Tribal Health Data Improvement Act. The bill would reaffirm Tribal public health authorities are entitled to access public health data.

“Our sovereign Tribal Nations and Tribal Epidemiology Centers were always supposed to have equal access to public health data as states, counties, and cities. But for years, many Tribes have faced many challenges while trying to access this public health data,” Mullin said. “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of equal access to this data in order for Tribes to make decisions for their communities, and the Tribal Health Data Improvement Act makes that happen.”

“Arizona tribal communities suffered the very worst of COVID-19. Now, more than ever, it is critical that they have access to all data related to health care and public health surveillance programs,” said O’Halleran. “The Tribal Health Data Improvement Act ensures that sovereign tribal nations will have the data they are entitled to by law to make the best decisions to keep their citizens safe."

The Tribal Health Data Improvement Act passed the House last Congress by a voice vote but was not taken up by the Senate.

Written by Markwayne Mullin

Biden’s Bankrupting Budget

By Congressman Markwayne Mullin

President Biden recently unveiled his broken budget proposal that promises rising inflation, higher taxes, and soaring debt. It’s clear he is continuing on a spending crusade to jam through his radical socialist agenda at the expense of the American people.

Inflation is rising at the fastest pace in thirteen years. Gas prices are at a seven-year high. Unemployment has risen above 6.1 percent. The national debt hit $28.3 trillion. And to make matters worse, in April we saw the worst jobs report in decades. So far, President Biden’s answer to these problems has been more taxes and more spending. This misguided strategy is not sustainable.

The disastrous economic consequences of this budget are made worse by the radical priorities that it will fund. President Biden’s budget proposal includes $69 trillion in spending over ten years, taxpayer funding for abortions, a tax rate higher than China, and billions in socialist green energy programs. In 2021 alone, President Biden is on track to add $3.7 trillion to our national deficit, which is the highest in American history.

President Biden’s budget disaster is the largest proposed expansion of government ever, and his Administration has made it clear that the era of big government is back. It seems that this Administration will spare no expense in their effort to force their socialist ideas on the American people. If we continue on this path of reckless spending, President Biden will bankrupt our nation and saddle our children with crippling debt.

Thankfully, Congress, not the president, holds the power of the purse and decides how taxpayer dollars are spent. I will continue to stand up for fiscal responsibility and policies that allow our economy to thrive.

Written by David Deaton

Fetgatter Touts Passage of Bill Adding to Marijuana Regulations

Press release

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Scott Fetgatter today received passage of Senate Bill 1033 through the House of Representatives. The bill will allow the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBNDD) and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Association (OMMA) to enter into agreements to hire more agents.

“In 2018 we bought the ticket and took the ride when it came to medical marijuana in Oklahoma,” Fetgatter said. “There weren’t many regulations and stakeholders on all sides of the issue have been looking for structure. This industry has blossomed over the past 3 years and we have been working to make sure there are structures in place to regulate and help give guidance to those working within it. I’m proud that this session we were able to pass so many important pieces of legislation that do just that.”

In addition to SB 1033, there were a number of other pieces of legislation passed to better regulate medical marijuana and give clarity to the duties of OBNDD and OMMA including:

House Bill 2272 which compels OMMA compliance in conducting inspections on new licensees. It also forces any foreign ownership to disclose by Oct. 1 or have their license revoked.

If an entity lies about foreign ownership on their form, they will also have their license revoked.

House Bill 2646 which gives OMMA additional authority to revoke licenses.

House Bill 2904 which is a limits bill that includes language on mandating OMMA to hire an additional 62 compliance and enforcement positions, six positions to perform legal and financial duties, four investigatory officers and four positions to perform planning and logistics duties.

Fetgatter said that in crafting these bills lawmakers were listening to the will of their constituents who requested that the industry be better regulated and illegal black market activity be reined in within the state of Oklahoma. SB 1033 will now make its way to the governor’s desk.

Written by David Deaton

Last One out, Turn out the Lights

By Rep. Rick West

Couple of issues to highlight that got taken care of this last week of session:

Several legislators this week announced plans to open temporary mega centers in Oklahoma City and Tulsa to help address the backlog of about 300,000 people waiting to get a REAL ID. The Department of Public Safety experienced many issues surrounding technology in switching to REAL ID systems. Then COVID forced them to limit how many people could apply in person at a time. These centers are only temporary. They shouldn’t affect our rural tag agents.

Another issue we addressed this year is funding for rural school districts in low property value areas. We found we have 334 school districts throughout the state that receive less in local ad valorem taxes than other districts. To bring these districts to the same level of funding as others, we are going to use medical marijuana taxes and the Common School Building Equalization Fund.

The Legislature also passed Senate Bill 422, which will allow various types of proof of eligibility to be presented to receive agricultural tax exemptions. You could present copies of IRS Schedule F, IRS form 1065 or IRS form 4835, or any equivalent form prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service, with respect to a federal income tax return; a one-page business description form provided by the Oklahoma Tax Commission; Farm Service Agency form 156EZ; or other documents at the discretion of the Oklahoma Tax Commission that verify active agriculture production.

This is something our local farmers and ranchers have asked for. I’m hoping the governor will sign it before you even read this.

I also want to give a quick overview of this legislative session. Conservatives showed up in force and passed some good legislation.

We cut personal income taxes for all taxpayers by 0.25%. We protected our Second Amendment rights by declaring Oklahoma a Second Amendment Sanctuary Sate, free from any government attempt to confiscate or buy back firearms. We protected our right to gather at church no matter what state of emergency we might be in. We passed several anti-abortion bills that will protect the lives of the unborn. We protected the 10th Amendment rights of our state with a bill that will allow us to examine and potentially litigate against any executive order or federal rule that we find to be unconstitutional.

It’s not always what you pass, however, it’s what you stop.

Of the 3,000 bills or resolutions we started with this session between the House and Senate, we cut that down to only 600 bills sent to the governor to be signed into law. So far, he’s signed 541 of those and let three become law without his signature.

The truth is, everyone elected to office comes to the Capitol with a list of things they want to get accomplished, but at the end of the day we only want good solid laws in place that protect our freedoms and keep us clear of too much government regulation.

Even though we are in interim, I still have a fulltime legislative assistant available to help with any issues that arise. If I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.

Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.

Written by David Deaton

CYMI: During National Foster Care Month, Mullin Introduces Legislation to Connect Foster Youth with Mentors

WASHINGTON— Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, introduced a bipartisan resolution earlier this month to recognize May as National Foster Care Month. He also introduced bipartisan legislation to connect young people in foster care with mentors.

“As an adoptive parent of three, I am committed to ensuring every child has a safe, supportive, and forever family,” Mullin said. “There are more than 400,000 young people in the foster care system across the country and we must make sure the system in place is effective and functions properly. During National Foster Youth Month, we recognize the challenges these youth face and the importance of doing everything we can to set them up for success in the future.”

“We must make sure foster youth have the resources they need to successfully transition into adulthood,” Mullin continued. “Mentors provide advice and support and often are the only person foster youth feel they can turn to in times of need. I’m proud to join my colleagues on the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth to introduce the Foster Youth Mentoring Act that would expand mentoring programs for foster youth and improve outcomes once they leave the system.”

H.R. 3083, the Foster Youth Mentoring Act of 2021 would:

Authorize funding to provide support to mentoring programs that serve foster youth. Programs would be eligible to receive funds to expand services to more youth in foster care and to improve services for current foster youth in their programs.
Ensure that mentoring programs participating in the grant program are currently engaged or developing quality mentoring standards and best practices in screening volunteers, matching mentors, and successful mentoring relationships.
Provide intensive training to adult volunteers who serve as mentors to foster youth to assure their competence in child development, family dynamics, the child welfare system, and other relevant systems that affect foster youth.
Increase coordination between mentoring programs and statewide child welfare systems.

Written by David Deaton

Budget Details

By Rep. Rick West

The House this week passed the overall appropriations bill to fund government services for Fiscal Year 2022, which starts in July. I gave a broad overview of the budget last week, but I want to go back and give some additional details.

First, I want to talk about the money transportation will get. During the pandemic, the Legislature set aside some funding from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s ROADS Fund to be spent on other core functions of government if needed. We appropriate $17 Million more to transportation this year than last to restore that. We are making a $200 million investment in speeding up the department’s eight-year plan through the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act. The County Improvement for Roads and Bridges fund is also made whole with an increase of $20 million,

One great thing in this budget is the Department of Transportation has agreed to allow the Legislature to add an authorization section in the General Appropriation bill for the ROADS fund of $575 million. This is money that normally is apportioned off the top and therefore gets little scrutiny in how it’s spent. This gives us greater transparency.

This budget also includes tax cuts. Personal income tax gets cut by .25% for all taxpayers, allowing people to decide for themselves how best to spend their hard-earned money. Corporate income tax goes from 6% to 4%. This should be an incentive for businesses to locate in our state and bring more jobs, another way to boost the economy.

The Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) will receive an additional $15.5 million, up 17%. These grants go to rural communities to help with projects such as road repairs, equipment purchases, utility infrastructure and more. The dollars are much needed and much appreciated.

We’re also appropriating about $10 million to help the state with whatever comes along in the wake of the Supreme Court’s McGirt decision regarding the prosecution of crimes on tribal land.

At the same time, we save about $800,000 with this budget, bringing our state savings to about $1.3 billion. If we’ve learned anything in this state, it’s how important it is to have some savings during a downturn.

One thing I want to remind everyone is this $8.8 billion we will appropriate for Fiscal Year 22 is not all the money that comes into the state. If we looked at every single funding source, we probably take in about $26 billion. This includes licenses, fees and permits, which flow through to the agencies that use this money to conduct their business in serving the public. It includes interest and investment revenue and it includes federal money that gets spent administrating federal grants and programs, as well as other sources.

But of the amount we do appropriate, here’s a breakdown: 47.2% for education; 19.9% for health care; 9.6% for human services; 8.7% for transportation; 7.9% for public safety; 2.2% for judiciary; 2.2% for general government; 1.4% for natural resources; 0.7% for finance; and 0.2% for miscellaneous.

Remember to listen to me on KPRV Radio each Thursday morning during the legislative session. And if I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.

Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.

Written by David Deaton

Rep. West Recognizes Hunter Edmondson in House

Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener, recognized Hunter Edmondson in the House of Representatives on May 13 for his first place win last November in the FFA Sporting Clays championship.

Edmondson is a senior at Heavener High School. He’s participated in FFA Sporting Clays events the past four years and had the best overall score and was first place winner in the Nov. 5, 2020, meet.

“Achieving at the championship level in any field requires extreme effort, skill, and determination,” West said. “Hunter deserves our congratulations for his outstanding season. He’s made his family, his school and all of LeFlore County proud. It was great to get to honor him in the House of Representatives.”

West presented Edmondson with a citation on the House floor.

Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.

Rep. Rick West recognizes Hunter Edmondson and his mother Cebrina Edmondson on the House floor. Hunter’s dad, Bryce, and sister, Bryleigh, watched from the gallery.

Written by David Deaton

Democrats Respond to GOP Ending Federal Unemployment Assistance

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma House Democrats released the following statement today after Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Oklahoma is ending the state’s participation in federal pandemic unemployment assistance.

House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman:

“Last week, Republicans announced a reduction in the corporate tax rate in their budget proposal. Today, Republicans announced a reduction in benefits for Oklahoma’s workforce. These aren’t political narratives but reality.

“This reality has made it clear that the number one priority of the GOP is to remove money and benefits from working Oklahomans and increase the profitability of corporations and their out-of-state shareholders.

“I do want to extend thanks to the Biden Administration for the American Rescue Plan, which will allow Oklahoma to provide a $1200 bonus to those who can return to the workforce in the coming months. Any help to our workforce is welcomed.”

Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-OKC:

“Rejecting federal unemployment benefits before they expire this September is shortsighted and punitive. There is no proof that these benefits are contributing to a worker shortage. Even while many schools haven’t fully reopened and childcare facilities have long waiting lists, Oklahoma’s unemployment rates are relatively low — right around where they were in 2017 and a little higher than they were in 2019 pre-pandemic.

“These federal unemployment benefits kept money flowing through our economy, helping families make ends meet and strengthening the recovery for all Oklahomans.

“Oklahoma must stop putting the desires of big corporations above the needs of Oklahoma families.”

Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa:

“This administration and several of my Republican colleagues in the House have pushed an ideology that says we should run government like a business. The problem with this ideology, as this issue shows, is that businesses count wins and losses based on profit, but a state government counts wins by improving the quality of life for its citizens. This policy change is a loss for the people of Oklahoma.

“Even the $1200 bonus the Governor touted is a product of funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.”

Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-OKC:

“This pandemic has been especially hard on women in the workforce. Through surveys and studies, we have discovered that increased domestic roles, lower wages, and decreased health outcomes due to stress have led to increased hardships for women, especially mothers.

“This action today does nothing to address these issues and plenty to make them worse. We need solutions for child care. We need to address the workforce issues we already know exist and have only been exasperated due to the pandemic, like the wage gap between men and women.

“We must do better for our mothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters. We must do better for our citizens. Now is the time for solutions, not the creation of more problems.”

Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman:

“After having helped hundreds of hardworking Oklahomans navigate an overtaxed unemployment system, and after getting to know many struggling families from all over the state, it’s clear that extra federal unemployment benefits have been and continue to be a lifeline for folks whose livelihoods have been affected by this devastating and ongoing viral pandemic. We need to continue to support folks, not cut them off.”