State’s $11B budget, grocery tax elimination, social issues remain
OKLAHOMA CITY — In Latin, the term sine die means, literally, “without a day.” In the legal world, sine die translates to “indefinitely.”
For the Oklahoma Legislature, sine die means: 5 p.m. on Friday, May 26.
Until then, however, state lawmakers have their work cut out for them.
With the end First Regular Session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature less than two months away, members of the legislature still have to cobble together an $11 billion budget, sign off on legislation passed by the other house, decide whether or not to eliminate the state’s portion of a grocery sales tax and deal with a raft of social issue legislation which may generate applause from conservatives and infuriate those on the left side of the aisle. They also have to decide on proposals that address the state’s medical marijuana industry, an ongoing debate on school reform and legislation that would create exceptions for legal abortions.
On March 23, both the House and Senate had to finalize the bills that generated from within their chamber of origin. That deadline effectively eliminated hundreds of bills still waiting to be heard. Still, no bill is ever truly dead in the legislature, often the same measures that didn’t get a floor vote come back to life as an amendment to another bill – a process known in Oklahoma as ‘bill shucking.’
There’s also the occasional ‘wooly booger’ which, in Oklahoma legislative parlance, means that a one-dormant measure has been added a new bill.
The process isn’t always streamlined.
This year the House and Senate continue to argue over the best way to approach education reform and funding with dueling legislative packages that would spend between $650 to $800 million on the state’s common education.
House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) drew a line in the sand last month when he said the House wouldn’t tolerate any amendments to its education package. McCall’s statement drew a terse, one-word response from Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City): asinine.
Still, the session continues.
Last week, despite a bipartisan effort and endorsements from the agricultural community, the Senate failed to pass Senate Bill 669. That bill that would allow undocumented workers who pay state taxes to obtain an Oklahoma driver’s license. After more than an hour’s worth of debate, the bill’s author, Sen. Michael Brooks (D-Oklahoma City) agreed to hold the bill over and change its language.
Some GOP lawmakers worried that the measure would allow undocumented workers to register to vote.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said he believed that his main goals for the session could still become law. In February Stitt called on the Legislature to cut the state sales tax on groceries, reduce the income tax and pass legislation to encourage school choice.
But even with Stitt’s support, the mostly rural legislature hasn’t embraced the needs for a true school voucher system, and instead wants to include tax rebates for those parents who either homeschool their kids or send them to a private school.
In the House, lawmakers left legislation to change school board election dates and placed a moratorium on the State Board of Education to set new accreditation rules without legislative approval.
The House also shot down legislation to create an alcohol delivery business and bills that would have allowed liquor sales in grocery stores. The House also voted against a measure to allow nonresidents to obtain a two-year medical marijuana patient license. House members also stalled on House Bill 1027, which legalized sports betting, and created another tribal gaming compact. That measure, authored by Rep. Ken Luttrell (R-Ponca City) remains in the House Finance Committee.
In the Senate, Senate Bill 1103 stalled. That measure would have let the state’s utility companies move to a performance-based rate plan. The bill drew complaints from state regulators and activists who said the change would lead to higher utility rates.
Two measures that targeted ‘drag shows’ also failed to get a hearing. House Bill 2186 and Senate Bill 503 didn’t make it out of the House and Senate, respectively.
Just about a month after an initiative petition that legalized recreational marijuana failed, the House of Representatives passed four joint resolutions that tightened the rules on initiative petitions.
Those resolutions require constitutional amendments to receive more than 55% of the vote, create tougher requirements for grassroots initiative petitions to make it to the ballot and give the state auditor the authority to determine the projected cost of any new state questions.
And, with the session winding down, the Legislature still has finalize a budget expected to top $11 billion.
Lawmakers have until April 14 to advance Senate bills from House committees and to advance House bills out of Senate committees. They have until April 28 to pass measures from the oppose house of origin.
The legislative session must adjourn by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 26.