They say a statesman thinks of the next generation, not the next election. Oklahoma citizens owe a debt of gratitude to those statesmen who still serve in the Legislature and just gutted a self-dealing bill that would have enriched politicians while saddling Oklahoma taxpayers with greater debt.
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 14, 2022)— [House Majority Leader] State Rep. Josh West has made inaccurate and false claims about recent pension legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small said today.
I posted previously about the fiasco retirement bill passed by the House [Bad idea: State House votes to roll back pension reforms, return to same bad system that got into trouble]. OCPA slammed the measure late last week, saying “Oklahoma families face many real challenges today, but an insufficiently lavish retirement plan for politicians is not one of them.”
The disastrous measure was authored by State Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee), who also happens to be running for Congress. Frix has a history of pandering to government unions on this issue, and this vote coincides with the launch of his campaign for Congress.
State Sen. Marty Quinn (R-Claremore), also running for Congress, rightly opposed Frix's bill language in committee. Read more:
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 11, 2022)—Members of the Senate took a strong stand against legislative self-dealing today by rejecting a House effort to quietly boost retirement benefits for state politicians, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small said today.
The latest press release from OCPA on some appalling legislation authored by State Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee):
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 8, 2022)—Legislation recently passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives boosts the taxpayer-funded retirement benefits of the same lawmakers who voted for the bill, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small said today.
“Oklahoma families face many real challenges today, but an insufficiently lavish retirement plan for politicians is not one of them,” Small said. “Oklahoma voters have reiterated, repeatedly, that they want only a part-time Legislature receiving part-time pay and benefits. It is a slap in the face to working families for some House lawmakers to now try to enrich themselves at the expense of those taxpayers.”
One theme that fueled former President Donald Trump’s election was his promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C. Sadly, the same thing may be needed at the Oklahoma Capitol, as recently demonstrated by the actions of some House Republicans.
The gap between some House Republicans’ campaign rhetoric and their actions in office is enormous. Most Republican lawmakers campaign as conservatives. But in recent weeks, some House Republicans have been anything but conservative, and have instead embodied the worst aspects of the “good ol’ boy” system that has caused Oklahoma to rank so high for public corruption.
In contrast and to their credit, Senate Republicans have focused on substantive issues this year. The most-consequential issue of the year is Senate Bill 1647 [blogger's note: see more posts here], by Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, which would create the Oklahoma Empowerment Account (OEA) Program. Under the program, most Oklahoma students would be eligible for OEA funds, which could be used to pay for a range of education services, including private-school tuition.
However, the bill narrowly failed to pass the Senate. That vote was notable for unprecedented efforts by some House Republicans to interfere with, bully and intimidate senators. During the vote, House Republicans flooded the Senate chamber and senators received communications from some House Republican leaders and lawmakers threatening retaliation against any senator who supported the conservative legislation.
So what do those Republican opponents of school choice think is more important that improving educational opportunity and academic outcomes? Lining their own pockets at taxpayer expense. I wish that statement was an exaggeration.
House lawmakers have advanced House Bill 2486 [blogger's note: see my post here], which shifts state employees from a 401(k)-style plan to a defined-contribution plan. Among those affected are the House lawmakers who voted on the bill.
It wasn't that long ago that the Oklahoma Legislature was faced with the reality of massive financial crisis with state employee retirement systems. We had some of the worst-funded state pension systems in the nation. Following the leadership of individuals like then-State Rep. Randy McDaniel, the Legislature took steps to remedy that situation.
This past week, however, the State House approved a measure by State Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee) that would take a dramatic step backward into the failed policy of the past. Frix has a history of pandering to government unions on this issue, and this vote coincides with the launch of his campaign for Congress.
When a previous bill of Frix's came up in 2020 which raided pension assets for a transparently political election-year state workers' retirement boost, State Sen. Marty Quinn (R-Claremore), who is also running for the same congressional seat as Frix, had this to say:
Sen. Marty Quinn, R-Claremore, said he was “not going to crawl under a rock and ignore the financial mistakes that continue to be made by this body and other bodies so that people can ‘like’ me.”
“Why are we taking the same financial destructive path of previous administrations?” Quinn asked. “You know what I’m talking about. A system that was one of the fifth-worst systems in the entire United States, almost $16 billion underfunded, giving away COLAs in election years. We’re doing the same thing. Just a different group of people.”
More on the bill:
HOUSE VOTES TO ROLL BACK OKLAHOMA PENSION REFORMS
by Ray Carter, Center for Independent Journalism
House lawmakers voted to roll back a 2014 pension reform that was projected to save taxpayers $3.8 billion over 30 years and instead provide state workers retirement benefits that are not available to the typical private-sector worker in Oklahoma.
House Bill 2486, by state Rep. Avery Frix, eliminates a defined-contribution retirement plan, similar to a 401(k) plan in the private sector, and instead places most state government workers in a defined-benefit plan.
In a defined-benefit plan, state government employees receive a guaranteed, specified amount in retirement payments, while in a defined-contribution plan they contribute and invest in funds over time to save for retirement.
Lawmakers voted in 2014 to shift all new state government employees (aside from teachers or those working in hazardous positions, such as police and firefighters) into a 401(k)-style retirement plan. That law was authored by current Oklahoma State Treasurer Randy McDaniel, who then served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
When she signed the reform into law, then-Gov. Mary Fallin noted, “The system as it stands today is not financially sound or sustainable. Moving future hires to a 401(k)-style system helps to ensure we can pay our current retirees and employees the benefits they have already earned.”
In a 2014 interview, McDaniel said the cost of defined-contribution plans is predictable for state government, and also noted that defined-benefit plans involve moral hazard that causes politicians to rapidly inflate the system’s unfunded liability by increasing benefits without covering the cost.
“An issue that is overlooked in the mathematical data is the issue of political incentives to harm the system by making unsustainable financial promises,” McDaniel said. “Unfortunately, those incentives are real, and they greatly impact the situation we face today. It’s easy to make promises when someone else is going to have to pay for those promises at some point in the future.”
