By Rep. Rick West
Lawmakers had a very busy week last week as we heard dozens of Senate bills and ultimately voted on the general appropriations bill on April 27.
The budget is the big news. All totaled, Oklahoma’s budget will be more than $7.6 billion, nearly 11 percent higher than last year’s appropriations. Sixty-five state agencies will see a boost in their bottom lines. Much of those increases will be used to cover the state employee pay raises, but other money is going to things like the Department of Human Services’ Pinnacle Plan and provider rate reimbursements.
The bulk of the budget – 51 percent – goes to education, and K-12 education received a 19.8 percent increase. This includes $33 million for textbooks, $17 million for state aid and an additional $430 million in salary and benefit increases.
This budget is built on a significant number of tax increases, so it’s safe to say I have my concerns. Increasing taxes – especially on items like cigarettes and motor fuel – is not a sustainable way to fund government.
The problem is: those tax hikes are permanent. I’m afraid that until lawmakers buckle down and seriously address unruly tax incentives and government waste, they will be forced to continue raising taxes and taking money away from hardworking Oklahomans. The trend the Legislature started this year cannot continue.
Aside from the general appropriations measure (and on a more optimistic note), the House approved several policy measures this past week that will benefit our community and our state’s long-term financial future.
First, Senate Bill 1130 will increase the salaries for our county election board secretaries. This would be a two-step increase – the first beginning on May 1, 2019 and ending April 2023, and the second step would start in May 2023. This measure also lengthens the terms from two years to four years. These secretaries are some of the hardest working civil servants we have, and I’m thankful they are being recognized for their dedication to the state.
Second, my colleagues and I took important steps in limiting the amount of money Oklahoma doles out in the form of unnecessary tax credits and incentives. Through Senate Bill 888, lawmakers approved ending certain subsidies for wind energy companies. Each year, our government writes checks for about $70 million that these companies can cash because they don’t have tax liabilities in Oklahoma. Initial projections show this could save our state around $750 million over the next 10 years.
We also caped tax credits for zero-emission energy sources like solar, hydro and geothermal. The limit will be $500,000 beginning in tax year 2019. This will prevent credits from growing to sizes that are unsustainable without currently hurting the industry.
As always, it’s an honor to serve you.
Please let me know if you need assistance.
I’m at Rick.West@okhouse.gov or 405-557-7413. Thanks, and God bless.
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