State House committee tackles, passes several AI regulation bills

House Committee Passes Numerous AI Regulation Bills

OKLAHOMA CITY (February 20th) – The Oklahoma House Government Modernization and Technology Committee passed numerous artificial intelligence (AI) regulation bills on Tuesday [February 20th].

House Republicans put forward five tax relief options

House Republicans push tax relief options to fight inflation, improve economic competitiveness while protecting budget

OKLAHOMA CITY – With inflation remaining at a 40-year high, House Republicans on Thursday advanced five new options the Legislature can choose from to provide tax relief to Oklahomans this session.

"Again, the House wants to address inflation today without causing budget problems tomorrow," said House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. "With President Biden's policies driving inflation up and more states cutting taxes – especially income taxes – last year than any year since 1986, Oklahoma must stay vigilant on tax relief. The options in these bills allow Oklahoma to aggressively fight inflation and continue competing economically while protecting its strong state budget."

The tax relief options are:

• One-time income tax rebate of $125 for individuals and $250 for households
• Permanent income tax rate reduction of .25%
• Two-year grocery sales tax suspension
• Two-year enhancement of the grocery sales tax credit for low-income Oklahomans
• Eight-year phaseout of the corporate income tax

Each option should have no negative impact on the appropriated budget in the short or long term thanks to the way each is structured and current surplus revenue levels, according to legislators.

Speaker McCall Names Members to LOFT Oversight Committee

Speaker McCall Names Members to LOFT Oversight Committee

House Budget Chair Kevin Wallace Named Co-Chair 

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Charles McCall today appointed members to the oversight committee for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), a recently created legislative office to evaluate agency budgets and programs for lawmakers.

Speaker McCall named House Appropriations and Budget Chairman Kevin Wallace as co-chair of the LOFT Oversight Committee. In addition, he appointed the following members to the Committee:

• State Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, Co-Vice Chair
• State Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City
• State Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond
• State Rep. Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa
• State Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City
• State Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa

LOFT was created, effective immediately, when Gov. Stitt signed Senate Bill 1 into law. Senate Bill 1, by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, creates LOFT within the existing Legislative Service Bureau (LSB). The LSB is a shared office between the House of Representatives and the Senate that currently has limited functions. LOFT will be similar to the federal Government Accountability Office within Congress.

LOFT will have an oversight committee made up of seven members of the House and seven members of the Senate. All members and the co-chairs of the committee are to be appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, with at least two members from each chamber being members of the minority party.

"Taxpayers expect lawmakers to ensure their dollars are being spent efficiently, without waste and as they were intended," said Speaker McCall, R-Atoka. "LOFT will give the Legislature an office that works for lawmakers, not the state agencies, and give us confidence that the information and analysis it provides our members will be unbiased, timely and accurate. The members I have chosen to serve Oklahomans on the LOFT Oversight Committee have shown the temperament and willingness to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work that digging through agency budgets and complex agency programs requires."

LOFT would employ financial examiners who would routinely audit agency budgets and spending and evaluate the effectiveness of agency programs and services. The office would then provide reports to the House and Senate.

"LOFT has been a priority for House Republicans for several years, and I am glad we finally got this legislation passed and are ready to utilize these new resources to benefit citizens," said Co-Chair Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. "Having worked on the state appropriated budget for three years now, I can tell you it can be difficult at times to get accurate information from the agencies, and there have been times when some agencies have provided different information to the House and Senate. As lawmakers, we have to get useful information quickly in order to make good budgeting decisions on behalf of the Oklahomans that sent us here. LOFT will help us do that."

Senate Bill 1 requires agencies, boards and commissions to turn over to LOFT upon request all records, documents and budgets and make personnel available. LOFT will also have subpoena and investigation authority.

The Legislature appropriated $1.7 million to fund LOFT in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget that just passed.