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| 03.19.2010 |
Legislative Benefactors
Important meeting notice: The Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission will host their third, and possibly final, PlaniTulsa meeting on Tues., March 23 from 6-8 p.m. on the second floor at City Hall. It is crucial members of the business community be in attendance to let your voice be heard on this very important plan that will help shape Tulsas future for years to come. To learn more about the meeting, read the following Tulsa World articles: To view the 2010 Legislative Agenda: click here. Building the Gilcrease Expressway and Bridge SB 1764 Bingman/Benge Referred to House Committee on Transportation HB 3220 Benge/Bingman Referred to Senate Committee on Appropriations OneVoice priority Building the Gilcrease Expressway and Bridge through any funding mechanism available is a top priority for the Tulsa Metro Chamber. To expedite this long overdue transportation system, a partnership with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority may be beneficial. The original expressway master plan for the Tulsa region included the Gilcrease Expressway, which is the only remaining uncompleted portion of the planned system's outer loop on the west side. It is important to complete this leg of the expressway system to provide needed access, support growth, improve connections for manufacturing, relieve traffic capacity and congestion problems, and improve public safety for the region. Getting the expressway on the state highway system or getting authorization for an analysis by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is of primary importance. We must also secure funds to build a bridge across the Arkansas River, for which local funds are being secured to complete a traffic and revenue study. ________________________________________ OSU Medical Center OneVoice Priority Last year the legislature made a commitment to support operations at the OSU Medical Center with $5 million each year for five years; this will be the second year. A group of concerned citizens and organizations, including the Chamber, continue to monitor legislators' support and stay in contact with Speaker Chris Benge and President Pro Tempore Glen Coffee who are leading the effort to secure the much needed appropriation for the OSU Medical Center. While the vehicle to insert the language that would contain this money has changed and a new one has not yet been identified, the commitment continues to stay strong. Speaker Benge was quoted at the Tulsa Metro Chamber's Legislative Briefing in February as stating "We do have the second $5 million installment and hope to have the third by the end of the fiscal year." ________________________________________ Local Government Funding HB 3054, Benge/Lamb First Reading in Senate OneVoice Agenda Speaker Benge has filed a bill creating the Municipal Fiscal Impact Act to limit the number of unfunded mandates passed on to municipalities. The House and Senate leadership have also expressed support of a legislative interim study on municipal finance and efforts to expand municipalities' ability to use new sources of revenue to fund local government. Oklahoma is the only state in the nation that requires its municipalities to operate on a single source of revenue - sales tax. This leaves municipalities' budgets subject to large fluctuations based on the economy. The consequence of this is a focus by cities on growing retail sales often to the detriment of other economic development initiatives. Cities need access to other resources to balance their revenue streams and to protect them from major shifts. Oklahoma's municipal funding model is archaic and does not serve the state's long-term interests. SB 1850 Sykes/Terrill Referred to House Committee on Appropriations and Budget Tulsa Metro Chamber Concern Expands the Back to School Sales Tax Holiday to include school supplies, computers, computer supplies, and clothing to the list of items exempt from sales tax during the sales tax holiday. This would further erode municipalities' revenue. SB 1328, Gumm/Terrill Referred to House Committee on Appropriations and Budget Tulsa Metro Chamber Concern Eliminates Sales tax on food and beverages. Again, with municipalities' inability to use new sources of revenue this further shrinks the single source of funds they do receive. ________________________________________ Road Funding SB1941, Marlatt/Nelson House Committee on Transportation OneVoice priority Creates the Innovative Funding for Oklahoma Roads Task Force to study and evaluate innovations, technologies and new methods being employed to more adequately and equitably fund road and bridge infrastructure. HB 2987, Enns - Dead due to lack of hearing in committee OneVoice concern Last year the legislature increased penalties on late vehicle registration. The original intent of the bill was to have this additional money put into the state Highway Construction and Maintenance Fund. However, a last minute deal was struck to divert that money for one year to the Rural Economic Action Plan. House Bill 2987 would extend the diversion of that money to the REAP fund indefinitely rather than use it on road funding. Several area groups, including the Tulsa Metro Chamber, are working hard to defend existing road funding and fight against any diversion of those funds. ________________________________________ Education OneVoice priority There are several bills that have been filed to competitively position Oklahoma schools and colleges to receive Race to the Top Funds including removing barriers to charters statewide and restrictive state policies and promoting teacher effectiveness. Charter School bill HB 2753, Denney Referred to Senate Committee on Education This bill essentially would allow charter schools to be established statewide by eliminating the requirement that a charter school be in a district of greater than 5,000 students and greater than 500,000 residents and removing the limit of only three charters schools opening per year. SB 1862, Coffee Referred to House Committee on Common Education Amends the Charter School Act to allow Indian tribes and cities with more than 300,000 to sponsor a charter school when the charter school is located within a school district that has a daily average membership of 5,000 or more. Performance Pay HB 2836, Sears/Ford Passed Senate Subcommittee on Education and sent to full committee Creates a teacher performance pay grant. SB 2033, Coffee/Benge Referred to House Committee on Appropriations and Budget This bill amends the teacher incentive pay plan. Rigor and ACE standards SB 1610, Halligan/Coody Referred to House Committee on Common Education Joint Tulsa Metro/OKC Chamber priority This bill increases the number of required math courses from three to four units for ninth graders entering on or after the 2010-2011 school year. Oppose Unfunded Mandates HB 3384 Terrill/Sykes First Reading in Senate Tulsa Metro Chamber concern This bill creates the "Quality of Education assessment of Oklahoma Citizens Act of 2010." This would require elementary and secondary schools to determine the citizenship status of enrolled students. It would require parents to notify the school of citizenship or immigration status of a child and require the schools to report the data annually. ________________________________________ Workers' Compensation Reform OneVoice priority Support reform of the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation system to: promote workplace safety; provide an efficient, cost effective system which lowers administrative and legal costs to employers; and increases benefits to injured workers to help them recover from workplace injuries for a timely return to work. SB 1973, Coffee Referred to House Committee on Economic Development and Financial Services This is an omnibus reform bill that includes amending the composition of the court to eight judges with three permanently assigned to the Tulsa court and sets term limits. It also creates and defines a medical director and defines "major cause" as more than 50 percent. HB 2652, Sullivan Scheduled to be heard in Senate Judiciary on March 23 Clarifies the definition for "surgery" in Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Act. Also clarifies that employees are not eligible for permanent impairment unless there is medical evidence of a permanent abnormality. SJR 66, Coffee Referred to House Committee on Economic Development and Financial Services Limits the amount in claims for legal services for workers' compensation benefits. ________________________________________ There are also four bills dealing with CompSource The task force created in 2009 that looked at the possibilities of privatization or mutualization of CompSource reconvened on Monday afternoon. It was stated by the chairs of the task force, Rep. Dan Sullivan and Sen. Cliff Aldridge, that more time is needed to study the issue so no action will take place this legislative session. The only steps on this issue that will be taken will be to expend the deadline of the task force for an additional year. This language will be inserted in a bill to be identified later. SB 2232, Aldridge/Sullivan - Dead due to lack of hearing in the Senate Sell CompSource Oklahoma to the highest bidder by Dec. 31, 2011. All proceeds will be retained by the state of Oklahoma. This bill will also mandate volunteer fire departments to obtain workers' compensation insurance through the successor of CompSource. HB 2662, Sullivan - Dead due to lack of hearing in the House Sells CompSource Oklahoma and all its assets to the highest bidder by Dec. 31, 2011. Upon sale of CompSource, any employee not hired by the successor company shall have priority for positions in other agencies of the state. SB 1996 Coffee/Benge Referred to House Committee on Economic Development and Financial Services Amends language to set up for the privatization of CompSource. This passed to keep the vehicle alive. Possible vehicle for the extension of the task force. ________________________________________ Oklahoma Quality Events Bill SB 1284, Stanislawski/Liebmann Referred to House committee on Appropriations and Budget OneVoice & Joint Tulsa/OKC Chamber Priority In order for Oklahoma to become an attractive destination site for quality events, we need to do more to allow Oklahoma to be competitive in the area of recruiting major events. The Oklahoma tourism industry generates $5.3 billion annually and that number can grow if communities have the financial ability to bid on nationally appealing conventions, shows and events with competing states like Texas and Arkansas. Incorporating a Quality Events Incentive is a logical way to bring money back into the state through increased sales tax revenue and put Oklahoma on a level playing field for tourism, hospitality and convention business. ________________________________________ Provider Fee OneVoice Priority Oklahoma has not provided sufficient state funds to secure all the federal health care funds allocated to the state; last year $250 million was left on the table. Given the state's budget situation close attention needs to be given to other sources of funding for the state to increase the match to secure higher levels of federal funding. Possible solutions might be a small fee on providers to secure more SCHIP, DSH and UPL funding from the federal government, which provides nearly a 2:1 match. Tobacco revenue has funded Insure Oklahoma, but that source is nearly tapped out. One solution is to assess a small fee on claims paid to raise sufficient money to continue to expand the program. Oklahoma's high rate of uninsured places huge demands on our safety net providers. Securing more federal funding would greatly alleviate this problem. ________________________________________ Workforce Development Act HB 3287, McNiel Referred to Senate Committee on Appropriations Tulsa Metro Chamber and Joint Tulsa/OKC Chamber Priority Support the expansion of HB 3239 to include more demand occupations. The success of Oklahoma's business retention and expansion initiatives is dependent on providing a bountiful workforce in skilled occupations. The growth of openings in demand occupations coupled with declining graduation rates in technical degree programs and the impending retirement of baby boomers creates a critical need to be proactive in creating Oklahoma's competitive advantage. We must identify ways to retain and attract skilled workers and provide additional training for our underemployed workforce to secure our state's economic success. ________________________________________ Energy OneVoice Priority Support development of renewable and alternative energy source development in addition to encouraging continued development of conventional energy sources. HB 3028, Benge/Meyers - Referred to Senate committee on Energy and Environment Creates the Oklahoma Energy Security Act, which will create a natural gas standard, maximize the use of natural gas, and establish an infrastructure to expand on a verbal goal from the previous year to establish a fueling station within every 50 miles of highway. ________________________________________ Opportunity Fund HB 3288, McNiel/Newberry Referred to Senate Finance committee This bill has changed to a bill that creates a task force to look at the Oklahoma Quality Investment Act. Tulsa Metro Chamber and Joint Tulsa/OKC Chamber Priority The Tulsa Metro Chamber supports the establishment of an economic development program funded by annual state appropriations to create a project or "deal closing" fund to attract, grow and retain businesses in Oklahoma. Oklahoma suffers from the ability to secure major economic development projects in the state due to constitutional conflicts surrounding the Opportunity Fund or "deal-closing" fund. As soon as the governance issues are resolved, a permanent funding source should be identified to attract business and significantly increase workforce population and economic development. Creating access to this fund allows our state to be more strategic and leverage the existing infrastructure of regions and cities. The Opportunity Fund has not been replenished, which therefore creates an inequity for Oklahoma when competing with other states in recruiting new and maintaining existing business. ________________________________________ Office of Accountability, Innovation and Privatization SB 646, Coffee/Benge - In conference Joint Tulsa/OKC Priority Support the enactment of the Accountability, Innovation and Privatization Act. This measure, introduced in 2009, would require performance audits to be conducted on state agencies, periodic review of tax incentives, and the study of privatizing certain government assets and services. ________________________________________ Heath Care Mandates Tulsa Metro Chamber and Joint Tulsa/OKC Chamber Concern The Chamber opposes additional benefits mandates because they raise the cost of insurance coverage for the business community. Businesses prefer to invest in benefits packages at their discretion rather than being forced to buy more expensive coverage or refrain from providing insurance at all. SB 1251 Wilson/Brown Referred to House Committee on Economic Development and Financial Services This bill would mandate that no health benefit plan shall deny coverage to a person who has been a victim of domestic abuse. ________________________________________ General Business, Economic Development & Tax Issues HB 3053, Ownby/Crutchfield Referred to Senate Committee on Transportation Tulsa Metro Chamber concern This bill mandates the government sell back land acquired through eminent domain if not utilized for its intended use within 10 years. The acquiring agency must offer it back to the person the land was acquired from at its original price, and if rejected, sold in public sale. SJR 61, Coffee Referred to House Committee on Appropriations and Budget Tulsa Metro Chamber Priority This bill would create a task force to look at the intangible property tax issue. SB 2166, Branan/Nelson Referred to House Judiciary Committee Tulsa Metro Chamber Priority This bill would help cities enforce collection of taxes by making failure or refusal to pay over to the appropriate authority any tax or other monies collected in accordance with municipal ordinance constituting a fraud. SB 1970, Lamb/McNiel Referred to House Committee on Economic Development and Financial Services Tulsa Metro Chamber Priority This is a bill that will help companies avoid massive layoffs by reducing workers' hours. Seventeen other states have adopted this legislation that would create a Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program. It allows certain employees to receive unemployment benefits if the employer participates in the program. HB2910, Morgan/Bingman Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee Tulsa Metro Chamber Supports State agencies will give preference for contracts first to goods and services produced in state, then to goods and services produced out of state. HB 2617, Proctor - Dead due to lack of hearing in the House Tulsa Metro Chamber Concern This bill would require taxpayers that receive incentives pay or reduction in tax liability for job creation to repay the amount if they relocate out of the country within five years. HB 3236, Jackson/Newberry; Referred to Senate Committee on General Government Tulsa Metro Chamber supports This bill will help clarify many issues on the statewide level and help communities that are interested in assessing itself to provide services that are viewed to be beyond what a local municipality can provide with general tax dollars. ________________________________________ Transportation HB 3291, McNiel/Justice Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee This bill creates the Local Economic Action and Development Act. Qualified entities may apply for a grant to benefit an unincorporated area within a county served by that entity if the area benefited does not contain a population in excess of 7,000 people. SB 1773, Brogdon/Murphey - Failed to Pass 17-29 Tulsa Metro Chamber concern Requires two-thirds majority in both legislative houses before the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority can issue certain revenue bonds or raise change toll amounts. We would like to acknowledge the Chamber's partners in legislative success who have shown a continued commitment to the communities within the Tulsa region:
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