Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Oklahoma newspapers:
Tulsa World. Feb. 17, 2017.
Again, an Oklahoma legislator is flouting the expressed wishes of Oklahoma voters within months of a statewide vote.
In November, voters overwhelmingly rejected a measure pitched as a chance to return the Ten Commandments to the state Capitol grounds. State Question 790 would have removed Article II, section 5 from the Oklahoma Constitution, the portion of the Constitution the state Supreme Court used to order a privately funded Ten Commandments monument from the Capitol grounds.
Article II, section 5 says: “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit or support of any sect, church, denomination or system of religion, or for the use, benefit or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary or sectarian institution as such.”
It was debatable whether SQ 790 would have worked in its promoted intention of allowing the Ten Commandments back on the Capitol grounds or not, and it certainly would have opened the door to other problems, but the critical issue is this: The voters said “no.” In fact, they said “NO!” More than 57 percent - a margin of more than 200,000 votes - rejected the proposal.
But, pretending that vote didn’t happen, Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, has filed House Bill 2177, which would allow the installation of “statues, monuments, memorials, tablets or any other display” of “historically significant documents,” including the Ten Commandments, in publicly owned buildings such as schools, courthouses, city halls and the state Capitol. A House committee has given initial approval to Bennett’s bill.
Does anyone doubt that is going to run into the same problem with Article II, section 5 as the last effort to build a monument to the Ten Commandments?
HB 2177 would waste more time and money defending an issue that is already settled law in Oklahoma. More important, it arrogantly ignores the overwhelming November vote on SQ 790.
Most Oklahomans honor the Ten Commandments and try to live by them, but the overwhelming majority of state voters made it clear in November that they don’t need to have monuments built to the commandments in public space, and that’s a commandment Rep. Bennett should honor.
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The Oklahoman. Feb. 19, 2017.
A few days before the start of the 2017 legislative session, Gov. Mary Fallin discussed a number of the revenue-raising proposals she would be making in her State of the State speech. “This is a heavy lift,” Fallin told The Oklahoman’s editorial board.
It has proven to be that, and then some.
Fallin called for lawmakers to apply the state’s 4.5-cent sales tax to 164 currently untaxed services as part of a broader revenue-generating plan to provide teacher pay raises and fund state agencies. She also asked the Legislature to increase the fuel tax and the tobacco tax, and to eliminate the corporate income tax and the state sales tax on groceries.
Expanding the sales tax base would generate an estimated $839.7 million. The governor’s plan is designed in the short term to address the $868 million shortfall facing lawmakers this year, without the need for additional cuts to state spending. Longer term, Fallin has noted, adjustments are needed to Oklahoma’s tax system to better reflect today’s economy, which is far more service-oriented than it was decades ago.
His opposition to the plan led Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, a fellow Republican, to resign last week as a member of Fallin’s cabinet. Lamb said the governor deserves someone in the post of Small Business Advocate who can advocate strongly for her agenda, and he’s not willing to do it.
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, has been cool to Fallin’s sales tax proposal, as well. McCall said after the State of the State speech that his caucus supports boosting teacher pay “without raising taxes.”
Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, noted that getting 75 percent approval in each chamber to approve any tax increase will be difficult. However, he isn’t dismissing sales tax reform out of hand, telling our editorial board last week that “it’s a worthy discussion to talk about broadening the sales tax base” if it’s done in conjunction with a lowering of the tax rate that is revenue-neutral overall.
He also said he agrees with Fallin that the Legislature needs to begin weaning itself off the annual use of one-time monies to balance the budget, although this may not be the year it happens. These include tapping the state’s Rainy Day Fund or agencies’ revolving accounts. This practice only serves to create holes in the following year’s budget.
Fallin has a strong ally in state Treasurer Ken Miller, who called Fallin’s policy proposals the boldest the state has seen in decades. Her budget “shows true statesmanship and a willingness to put doing what’s right ahead of politics as usual,” Miller said.
What the Legislature has long needed is more men and women willing to entertain new ideas instead of simply shouting “No!” and moving on. This is especially true when times are tough, as they have been in recent years.
Schulz is right that there’s no silver bullet to fix the budget, and that a long-range perspective is needed. “If we don’t talk about broadening that rate,” he said, “then we’re back in the same conversation five or 10 years from now - what do we do to find more revenue?”
Put simply, it’s not enough to reject Fallin’s plan. Lawmakers must offer proposals of their own that ensure Oklahoma doesn’t fall further down national rankings.
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Enid News & Eagle. Feb. 20, 2017.
We hope lawmakers tread softly with respect to changing the law concerning criminal justice reforms put into place by voters in November.
Voters at the time overwhelmingly approved a pair of state questions that would institute those reforms. State Question 780 reclassified certain non-violent drug and theft offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, in an effort to reduce the number of people locked up in prison. A companion piece, State Question 781, sends any savings to counties to pay for rehabilitation programs.
Many law enforcement officers and prosecutors didn’t favor the changes, and the pros and cons were debated throughout the campaign.
Now, state lawmakers have introduced several bills that would change parts of the laws.
One legislator, state Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, drew a lot of criticism because of two bills he introduced. They would, if approved by the Legislature as is, undo every change made in the state questions approved by voters.
After hearing complaints from constituents, Shortey backtracked and said his bills had to be written like that to meet Senate rules requiring substantiative language. He told people attending a town hall meeting he would make sure his bills did not pass as written.
Lawmakers wanting changes have said one of their reasons is because people didn’t understand fully what they were voting on in November. That is a slap at voters, which isn’t appreciated by many.
Something must be done about Oklahoma’s prison system. It’s overcrowded, and we spend a lot of money annually packing more and more people in our prisons. That’s got to stop. The state has become financially unable to continue as it has for so many years.
One complaint voters have with lawmakers is this situation didn’t just happen overnight.
Oklahoma’s prison overcrowding has been an issue for years, and members of the Legislature have had ample opportunity to do something about it, but they haven’t.
So, former Republican House Speaker Kris Steele spearheaded the effort that got the initiatives on the ballot, and voters gave their approval.
We would not like to see the entire reforms of SQ 780 and SQ 781 overturned by the Legislature.
The people spoke and gave their consent to what they want to see happen.
It’s worth the Legislature looking at the reforms to see if there are some tweaks that need to be made. But, the people had their say, and lawmakers need to remember and respect that.
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