Southwest Oklahoma lawmakers are giving themselves and their colleagues high marks for their work in the recently concluded legislative session.
State Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Lawton) said he thought lawmakers “did some good stuff” by passing economic development packages and approving legislation that will provide more broadband access to rural Oklahoma. He also praised the work legislators accomplished with rural healthcare access. Overall, Caldwell gave the Oklahoma Legislature a “B” for its work.
Although he acknowledged “some very successful moments” during the session, Caldwell said the session ended on a contentious note with Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders disagreeing on budget priorities. Stitt vetoed the Legislature’s plan to offer one-time cash payments to taxpayers of $75 for individuals and $150 for families.
The governor also vetoed a bill that reduced the state sales tax on motor vehicle purchases and another that allotted $7.7 million to increase reimbursement rates for two private prisons in Oklahoma. Charles McCall, Speaker of the House, promised the House would respond to the governor’s “inaccurate and misleading statements.”
Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol in two weeks for a special session that will focus on eliminating the state grocery sales tax and other potential tax reforms, including the changes in the state income tax.
“Hopefully, everyone can recalibrate and move Oklahoma forward,” Caldwell said. “The House has some goals and hopefully we can start anew.”
Caldwell said he’s one of many lawmakers who believe the state’s Rainy Day Fund should be increased before eliminating the state’s portion of the grocery sales tax.
“There can be overarching consequences with something like that,” he said. “I think that’s a conversation we should have in a year or two.”
Caldwell’s House colleague Daniel Pae (R-Lawton) said he would give lawmakers an “A” for their work that included raises for Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and a $32 million funding allocation that will provide resources so the Department of Human Services can work to eliminate a 13-year waiting list for developmentally disabled people seeking state services.
“I’m satisfied with what we passed,” Pae said. “Overall, it (session) was eventful, but of course we have a lot of unfinished business. I would give an “A” for the sheer number of policy bills we passed. We accomplished a lot this session. I think folks were wanting us to focus on education, healthcare and economic development and that’s what we did. We sent upwards of 400 bills to the governor’s desk.”
Pae was also pleased about the Legislature’s work to increase rural broadband access and the passage of significant anti-human trafficking bills.
“In five years, 95 percent of rural Oklahoma should have broadband access,” he said.
Pae distributed an end-of-session email to his constituents, but said he hasn’t received many responses due to the Memorial Day holiday. Pae said he will continue providing legislative updates to constituents during the special session which begins June 13.
In addition to Stitt’s special session wishes, lawmakers will also address a new process on spending $1.87 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds under the American Rescue Plan Act.
State Sen. John Michael Montgomery (R-Lawton) looked at the legislative session as having “pretty good positives” and gave lawmakers a “B.”
“It was pretty decent. The budget is in good shape, and we were able to set some cash aside. But we had some failures too. One of those was how we address tax cuts,” he said.
Legislators failed to address significant hikes in education after the school voucher bill passed. Instead, the solons will be called into a special session to discuss tax reform.
“I don’t know if that’s a good policy decision,” Montgomery said. “Addressing education policy would have been a better” alternative.
Montgomery believes discussion about eliminating the grocery tax and adjusting the personal income tax should be delayed. He said cutting the grocery tax from the state revenues would be a “substantial fiscal hit.”
Some of the positive legislative action includes ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds for the Great Plains Technology Center, reimbursement from the state to counties for 25% of lost revenue from the disabled veterans ad valorem tax exemption and passage of bills addressing the hydrogen industry.
Oklahoma is line to compete with Arkansas and Louisiana for a hydrogen hub, Montgomery said. “My hope is it becomes a reality.”
The hydrogen industry could bring in as many as 4,000 direct jobs and 19,500 indirect jobs, he said.