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Capitol News Update     

 

December 30, 2013


 

                 The 2014 Governor's race seems to be taking shape with a couple of recent announcements.  Democratic Rep. Joe Dorman announced the formation of a campaign committee to explore the possibility of making the race.  This means that he is beginning to raise money.  Short of a personal or political catastrophe, he'll be in the race.  Joe was on the House staff for a while then ran for his House seat when long-time Rep. Jim Glover was term limited and retired.

 

                 Former Republican State Senator Randy Brogdon announced he'll file for governor which sets up a Republican primary with Governor Fallin.  Brogdon was in the Senate for two terms then ran for governor in 2010 when Fallin was elected to her first term.  Brogdon owned a heating and air conditioning business in Owasso when he ran for the Senate.  After losing the governor's race in 2010 he campaigned for State Insurance Commissioner John Doak.  After the election he left the heat and air business and took a job in the Insurance Commissioner's Office. 

 

                  Dorman was early in his legislative career when the Democrats were in the majority, but most of his career has been as a member of the minority.  This makes it pretty difficult for him to have legislative accomplishments as a calling card in a race for governor.  He is adept at getting media attention, the latest instance being his effort to circulate an initiative petition to earmark state funds for storm shelters in public schools.  The effort did not gain enough signatures.  It's not easy to run for governor as a rank and file House member.  The last governor elected directly from the House was David Boren in 1974. 

 

                  I'm certainly no expert on conservative politics, but I would think Brogdon damaged himself considerably with his target constituency by becoming a pretty highly paid state employee after losing the last governor's race.  Before, he was a main street businessman and state senator with a conservative record.  His job will be to try to resurrect the issues he ran on before and do it successfully this time against an incumbent.  It seems to me he will at least need another serious Republican candidate in the race to hold off Fallin and get into a runoff. 

 

                  I'm sure the governor would have liked to avoid a primary, but she can't be too unhappy if the field is set the way it stands.  Fallin has left almost no room to her right for a candidate like Brogdon who considers himself the "conservative" candidate.  Although there are undoubtedly some who don't consider Fallin conservative enough it's hard to figure out what they have to complain about.  I think her persona, and her connections to the business community, disguise an extremely conservative record as governor.

Lawmakers still trying to lower tax rate

By M. Scott Carter

The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY - Though Oklahoma lawmakers will have about $170 million less to spend during the 2014 legislative session, legislators continue to file bills to lower the state's income tax, extend the life of some tax incentives and, in the case of one lawmaker, move the state to a flat tax rate.

On Friday, state Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, said he would refile Senate Bill 240, which would move the state's tax system to a flat rate. Anderson said the bill would replace the current state income tax with a 2.95-percent flat tax.

"In light of the (state) Supreme Court ruling, this session presents the perfect opportunity to consider a different approach," Anderson said in a media statement. "We also know the state will have less money for core services next fiscal year even as we're facing growing expenses. A flat tax would mean greater tax relief for Oklahomans without further reducing the state's already limited resources."

The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently threw out a measure that reduced the state income tax and, at the same time, earmarked $60 million for repairs to the state Capitol.

Anderson said Senate Bill 240 would eliminate all current income tax deductions, credits, and exemptions and effectively cut the state income tax rate in half. He said an analysis by the Oklahoma Tax Commission determined that a flat rate of 2.95 percent would be revenue-neutral.

Six other bills, all by state Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Bixby, would alter the state's tax system, extending the life of some tax incentives and lowering the income tax rate.

Senate Bill 1153 would extend the time allowed for a tax credit for eligible expenses incurred by entities primarily engaged in the business of providing child care services. The original tax incentive expired in 2012. Mazzei's bill would extend the credit's life until Jan. 1, 2017.

Senate Bill 1152 would keep alive a tax credit for eligible wages paid by an employer to an employee. The credit - 10 percent of the amount of the gross wages paid to the employee, not to exceed $5,000 - was also set to expire in 2012. The bill would extend the life of that credit until 2017.

Senate Bill 1165 would drop the state's income tax rate to 4.85 percent by 2016.

The second session of the 54th Oklahoma Legislature opens on Feb. 3.

Tucker named to rehabilitation services commission

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A retired principal at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf has been appointed to the Commission for Rehabilitation Services.

Jack Tucker was appointed to the commission by state Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa.

The Commission for Rehabilitation Services is the governing board for the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services.

Tucker said he is grateful to Bingman and others within state government who believe he can do the job that needs to be done.

Tucker, who is blind in one eye, was a client of Rehabilitation Services' vocational program.

Sardis litigants face Jan. 15 deadline

By M. Scott Carter

The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY - Attorneys for the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and Oklahoma City have until Jan. 15 to file a new joint status update in their legal fight over the Sardis Lake Reservoir, court records show.

With the lawsuit on hold, federal Judge Lee R. West issued an order in September giving all parties until Jan. 15 to report their progress.

"The parties to this action (are required) to file a joint status report on or before January 15, 2014, and to report to the court by such date whether an extension of the stay ordered herein is warranted and would be beneficial to the resolution of any issues in this case and, if so, the additional period of time requested," West wrote in an order granting the stay.

More than two years ago, both tribes filed a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma City federal court seeking to overturn the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust's purchase of the water storage rights at the Sardis reservoir in Clayton.

In September Choctaw attorney Michael Burrage said he expected negotiations to continue. Last June, Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby said the talks were going well. After a speech at the National Lieutenant Governors Association, Anoatubby said he had hope for the future.

"We're looking at long-term sustainability for the asset, proper allocations so that the people in southeastern Oklahoma and the state of Oklahoma can benefit from its resources," Anoatubby said.

A federal gag order has limited what litigants involved in the lawsuit can say about the negotiations.

Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Sardis Lake Reservoir straddles Latimer and Pushmataha counties in southeast Oklahoma.

Both tribes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City in August 2011 seeking to bar the state and Oklahoma City from purchasing the water storage rights of the reservoir and transporting water from Sardis Lake in southeastern Oklahoma.

Residents in southeastern Oklahoma have complained that taking water out of the reservoir would damage the area's environment and its fledgling tourism industry.

In 2011, Oklahoma City Manager Jim Couch told the Oklahoma Water Resources Board that Oklahoma City probably wouldn't need water from the reservoir for several decades.

Fallin makes board, commission appointments

OKLAHOMA CITY (JR) - Gov. Mary Fallin announced several appointments to state boards and commissions Monday.

Bruce Mabry, of Okmulgee, was reappointed to the Oklahoma

Wildlife Conservation Commission. He was first appointed to the commission in 2002. His eight-year term will begin in July 2014, pending Senate confirmation.

Dean Graumann, of Granite, will replace Donny Lowrance on the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and has been nominated for a five-year term beginning in July 2014. He is also on the Western Oklahoma State College Board of Regents.

James Kitch, of Yukon, is being reappointed to the Redlands Community College Board of Trustees for a seven-year term beginning in April 2014.

Randy Gilbert, of Tecumseh, has been reappointed to a six-year term beginning in April 2014 on the State Board of Career and Technology Education.

Renae Sexton, of Apache, will serve a five-term term on the Oklahoma Board of Nursing that begins immediately and runs until May 2018. Senate confirmation is not required for her appointment.

Brogdon faces new challenges in governor's race

By Sean Murphy

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY - A conservative Republican state senator who rode a tea party wave four years ago that nearly landed him in a primary runoff with Gov. Mary Fallin will face some added challenges in 2014, including dampened tea party enthusiasm and a popular incumbent governor.

Randy Brogdon announced his candidacy through social media on Christmas Day, setting up a potential rematch against Fallin, who won 55 percent of the vote over Brogdon and two lesser-known candidates in the 2010 GOP primary. But that was at the height of tea party enthusiasm in Oklahoma, when rallies at the state Capitol drew thousands of energized conservative voters and provided a ready-made audience for Brogdon's anti-government message.

Fallin will enjoy the power of incumbency in the race for the governor's seat in 2014, and she has provided few openings during her first term in office for a right-wing challenger to exploit.

"It's hard to get everybody hyped up again and worked up to that fever pitch, especially against a conservative incumbent governor who has not gotten in the way of any of the state's rights efforts that have been coming out of the state Legislature or the attorney general's office," said Keith Gaddie, a political science professor at the University of Oklahoma who closely followed Oklahoma's 2010 gubernatorial race.

"It's really rare to see an incumbent governor get knocked off in the primary unless they've got troubles, and Mary Fallin just doesn't have troubles right now, at least as far as we can tell."

But for many conservative grass-roots activists who think Fallin is too moderate or too cozy with big business, Brogdon's foray into the race is a welcome one.

Charlie Meadows, whose Oklahoma Conservative PAC has been a longtime fixture of the state GOP's right wing, called Brogdon's announcement a "wonderful Christmas gift."

"He gives the citizens the opportunity to make a choice between someone who is really a conservative game-changer versus someone who is moderately conservative, kind of nibbles around the edges of conservatism, and really doesn't make much difference," said Meadows, a frequent critic of Fallin.

Brogdon, 60, owned a heating and air conditioning company in Owasso, a conservative Tulsa suburb, when he was first elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2002. A fierce critic of what he claimed was excessive spending by a bloated state government, Brogdon took a $99,000-a-year state job with the newly elected Republican insurance commissioner, boosting Brogdon's monthly retirement benefit by more than 50 percent.

Several conservative activists say Brogdon's decision to spend three years as a state bureaucrat likely has hurt his credibility among Republican primary voters.

"I personally didn't care for that," said Jamison Faught, a GOP activist and the chairman of the Muskogee County Tea Party. "There are a lot of people who aren't very happy with that situation."

Brogdon also drew some negative attention to his campaign when he told The Associated Press in 2010 that he supported the creation of a state militia to protect the state against an overreaching federal government. After a backlash, Brogdon retreated from that position and suggested he was referring to a National Guard-type unit to aid the state during civil emergencies.

And while Faught said Brogdon's popularity has dwindled since 2010, he said Brogdon still remains well-liked among the party faithful.

"He does, or at least he did, have a very large grass-roots network," Faught said. "He'll have a lot of folks who can work for him, but it won't be enough to overcome Fallin, her popularity and her money."

Fallin reported having more than $1.2 million in cash on hand at the end of the last reporting cycle on Sept. 30. Brogdon filed a statement of organization Friday with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission that allows him to begin raising money.

Rush Springs state Rep. Joe Dorman and R.J. Harris of Norman both have indicated plans to run for the Democratic nomination.

Have a good week.  Give me a call at 918.671.6860 if I can be of help in any way

                  Steve Lewis


 
 
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This Week's News
Lawmakers Still Trying to Lower Taxes
Tucker Named to Rehab Services Commission
Sardis Litigants Face Deadline
Fallin Makes Appointments
Brogdon Faces New Challenges
 

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