The final hours: a news brief for the end of the 2025 legislative session

I have been swamped with work, family, and church activities for the last few weeks, and it's taken a big toll on my blogging time availability, so I'm going to attempt a brief summary here of just 16 of the 100+ news and press releases I've received in the past two weeks, including the state budget agreement, income tax cuts, economic development projects, audits, and more.

In order of what I feel is most newsworthy:

• May 26th: When “Shall” Becomes “May”: Why the People of Oklahoma Face a Dangerous Four Days Ahead. This is a must-read from what it swiftly becoming the best grassroots conservative coverage of legislative shenanigans, authored by former State Rep. Jason Murphey. You need to subscribe to his newsletter.

Rep. Gann blasts passage of corporate welfare, anti-transparency bill

Gann Condemns Passage of SB987, Calls it Corporate Welfare Wrapped in Secrecy

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 5th) – Following the final House vote on Senate Bill 987, Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, issued a statement about voting no and delivering floor debate in opposition of the measure.

“Senate Bill 987 is not economic development. It is governance by nondisclosure agreement,” Gann said. “I believe this bill expands unaccountable government bureaucracy and entrenches corporate welfare practices that undermine the free-market principles we were elected to defend.”

Rep. Gann warns against corporate welfare on steroids following CANOO bankruptcy

Gann Warns Against Corporate Welfare on Steroids Following CANOO Bankruptcy

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 21st) – Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola,  an opponent of corporate welfare, today issued a stark warning regarding the ongoing misuse of public funds.

"Corporate welfare is when the government takes the public's money to manipulate the economy, choosing winners and losers in the free market," Gann said. "In recent years, this practice has intensified, creating an era of corporate welfare on steroids, as Oklahoma government has pushed massive green-energy giveaways that align more with a liberal agenda than Oklahoma's conservative values."

Gann pointed to last week's bankruptcy of the high-profile, green-energy, electric vehicle startup, CANOO, as a prime example of why government must stop interfering in the free market. Canoo's manufacturing plant in Pryor is in Gann's House district.

Sen. Lankford seeks to end federal subsidies to professional sports stadiums

Lankford Wants to Stop Federal Subsidies to Professional Sports Stadiums

WASHINGTON, DC (Feb. 14) – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act, a bill to end generous federal subsidies for professional sports stadiums. The bill would close a loophole in the tax code that allows professional sports teams to finance new stadiums with municipal bonds that are exempt from federal taxes. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is leading the bill’s introduction in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Gann wants to repeal bill that failed to land Panasonic plant, calls it 'largest corporate welfare in state history'

Gann Files Bill to Repeal LEAD Act

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 6th) – Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, has filed House Bill 1381 to Repeal the Large-Scale Economic Activity and Development (LEAD) Act of 2022.

Last year, the Legislature passed House Bill 4455, the LEAD Act, which promised investment rebates for the cost of qualified capital expenditures for certain establishments based on creation of new direct jobs. HB 1381 will repeal the law to keep it from activating in the future.

Gann called this "a failed attempt to entice business to Oklahoma using corporate welfare."

OCPA column: “Project Ocean” lessons can provide clarity

“Project Ocean” lessons can provide clarity

By Jonathan Small

Too often, government officials assess the effectiveness of “economic development” like the guy who brags about winning $100 on a scratch-off ticket after spending $1,000 on the lottery. But this approach ignores the true cost.

Such is the case with corporate welfare as highlighted by the failure of “Project Ocean.” Advanced by officials this year, the project was a nearly $700 million corporate-welfare program. But even lavish subsidies failed to attract Panasonic. We all need to understand why.

House Dems call for inflation relief following Panasonic picking KS over OK

The Democrats can't keep their language straight. Is is LGBT? LGBTQ? LGBTQ+? LGBTQIAAP? 2SLGBTG+? #2SLGBTQIAAPPABCXYZ+*? New letters (and now numbers) keep getting added to the back and the front. Which is it? Inquiring minds want to know. How dare you leave somebody out. That's bigoted... or something. [insert massive eyerolls]

House Democrats Call for Immediate Inflation Relief for Oklahoma Families

OKLAHOMA CITY -- House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, held a press conference Thursday morning to call for immediate inflation relief for Oklahoma families. 

Democrats expressed the need for financial relief for Oklahoma families before the 2022 legislative session began. A month and a half past the conclusion of the legislative session, the Republican supermajority has failed to follow through.

“We have had opportunities recently to provide relief,” Virgin said. “House Republicans and Governor Stitt joined House Democrats to call for an end to the state grocery tax. Democrats called for an end to the fuel tax, but Republicans tabled that measure.”

The Democratic Caucus renewed the call for immediate inflation relief in the wake of Panasonic rejecting a more than $700 million tax incentive. 

Legislative Republicans comment on tax credits and 'woke' ideology

Legislative Republicans Comment on Tax Credits and Woke Ideology

OKLAHOMA CITY – Various legislators have signed onto the below statement, authored by Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, expressing their concerns about ideology that could be brought by Project Ocean on Oklahoma taxpayer's dime. 

House sends $9.7B state budget to Governor for signing

House Sends General Appropriations Bill to Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 20th) – The Oklahoma House of Representatives today approved a general appropriations bill that includes funding of about $9.7 billion for state services for Fiscal Year 2023, which starts July 1.

Senate Bill 1040 now moves to the governor for his final action. The governor has until Thursday, May 26 at midnight to act on the bill.

State budget agreement announced; includes inflation relief rebate up to $150 per family

State budget agreement reached

Republicans prioritize savings, inflation relief, police, economy & more

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 17th) – Historic state savings deposits and more money returned to taxpayers highlight the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget agreement, which also funds law enforcement at record levels, eliminates the years-long developmentally disabled services waiting list, fights federal overreach, and makes generational investments in economic development.

Legislative leaders on Tuesday announced plans to send the agreement, which continues to fund education at the highest levels in state history, to Gov. Kevin Stitt this week for approval.

Gann: Is Oklahoma being sold down the river for CANOO?

Is Oklahoma Being Sold Down the River For CANOO?

by State Rep. Tom Gann (R-Inola)

It would appear so.  Leadership at the Capitol in Oklahoma City are scheming to compete for a “Mystery” company everyone says is a lithium battery manufacturer that would supply CANOO, an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. According to a 2/16/2022 article in CARBUZZ by Jay Traugott, CANOO is an EV startup company which had to use a shell corporation, to get listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, prompting an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Recent financial reports by CANOO show the company lost 138 million in the last quarter of 2021 but found resources to fund political activities in Oklahoma City. In another reporting document, the State of Oklahoma through the Governor’s “closing fund” gave CANOO 15 million dollars and ordered 1000 of their electric vehicles.

Scheme #2 is a proposal cloaked in “secrecy” using non-disclosure agreements, creating a barrier to hide behind when the questions get tough, with the local add on tax incentive called a Tax Incremental Financing District (TIF). Chouteau Schools is being asked to bear the weight of this TIF which diverts local Mayes County ad-valorem tax dollars away from its traditional use for local schools and county government for up to 25 years and channeling those taxes to the Mid America Industrial Park and “mystery company”.

Recently the legislature of the State of Kansas passed SB347 a 1.3 billion dollar plus tax giveaway to have this same “mystery” company to locate in Kansas. The company would bring 4000 new jobs at $50,000 per year. That comes out to about $325,000 in tax giveaways for every $50,000 job.  This might look good politically, but economically it is insanity as Kansas could end up with a short fall in their budget. 

1889 Institute publishes guide to preventing corporate welfare

THINK TANK PUBLISHES GUIDE TO PREVENTING CORPORATE WELFARE

Oklahoma is Top-Ten in handing out corporate welfare.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (September 30, 2020) – The 1889 Institute has published “Policymaker’s Guide to Evaluating Corporate Welfare,” which attempts to guide policymakers in how to avoid supporting corporate welfare schemes. It does this by urging policymakers to ask critical questions about proposed “jobs” and “economic development” programs that might sound good when lobbyists are making their best sales pitches but are actually economically counterproductive.

Authored by the Institute’s Research Associates, Spencer Cadavero and Tyler Williamson, as well as 1889 Institute Director, Byron Schlomach, the study offers solutions to the corporate welfare problem as well as criticism. It recommends that more time and effort be devoted to perfecting the state’s tax system as a better way to compete with other states. It condemns incentives for retail and distribution centers, given that these automatically locate where people are. And finally, it advocates an interstate compact where states contractually promise not to compete on the basis of direct subsidies and special tax benefits.

1889 Institute: How to put an end to Corporate Welfare

HOW TO PUT AN END TO CORPORATE WELFARE

States can join together in compact to stop corporate handouts.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (April 3, 2019) – Government support for businesses through subsidies and other special treatment, commonly referred to as corporate welfare, has proven time and again to be an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars. But the practice persists, with policymakers claiming they cannot give up these “tools” to compete with other states for business development. “Multilateral Disarmament: A State Compact to End Corporate Welfare,” a study published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and 1889 Institute, proposes a solution to this “collective action” problem and shows how states can join together to end corporate handouts once and for all.

The complexity of state tax systems make it challenging to pinpoint exactly what corporate welfare is. This study takes care to define it properly, describing it as “any financial benefit purposely granted by government to a specific business or class of business and that is not generally available to all businesses and taxpayers.” The most common types of corporate welfare are also identified, as well as what should not be considered corporate welfare. These definitions are important so as not to confuse good tax policy with harmful corporate welfare.

“Government favors for big corporations, whether through outright grants or tax privileges, are an economic drag; calling this ‘economic development’ in a country as developed as the U.S. is utter nonsense,” said Byron Schlomach, director of the 1889 Institute and one of the study’s three authors.

The study also ranks the states by the amount of corporate welfare they hand out. The states with the most corporate welfare, as measured as a percent of state GDP, are Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan and Hawaii. Oklahoma ranks 9th among the states in the percentage of its state GDP handed out as corporate welfare, a dubious position to be in, but nevertheless, already in the top 10.

An important element of the study is a proposed state “cease-fire” agreement, a compact which states would join and agree together not to offer corporate handouts. The compact would go into effect once a certain number of states signed on. This helps mitigate the collective action problem of states not wanting to “jump first” to ban corporate handouts for fear that they’d surrender their competitive edge to other states. If states would join together, it is possible that corporate welfare could be eliminated altogether.

“Instead of competing for the best quality of life and business climate, lawmakers use corporate welfare as a shortcut to make it look like their state is doing well. Our compact gets states to work together to compete on the things that matter to residents in lieu of their race to hand out the most taxpayer money to select companies,” said James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center and co-author of the study.

About the 1889 Institute 
The 1889 Institute is an Oklahoma think tank committed to independent, principled state policy fostering limited and responsible government, free enterprise and a robust civil society. The publication, “Multilateral Disarmament: A State Compact to End Corporate Welfare” can be found on the nonprofit’s website at https://1889institute.org/corporate-welfare-1.