House Dems react to committee approval of pandemic stimulus projects

Democrats React to ARPA Allocations

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 20th) – House Democrats sitting on the Oklahoma Legislature’s American Rescue Plan Act Committee released the following statements today after several projects were approved.

President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the latest federal stimulus bill to aid public health and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 11, 2021. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures website, the plan included $350 billion in emergency funding for state, local, territorial and tribal governments, known as the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Democratic members of Legislative Office for Fiscal Transparency protest lack of transparency in hiring of executive director

Statement on Hiring of Executive Director for LOFT

OKLAHOMA CITY – The following statement was issued by the Democratic members of the Legislative Oversight for Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), Sen. Julia Kirt, Sen. Michael Brooks, Rep. Cyndi Munson, and Rep. Meloyde Blancett:

“We are disappointed by the process used to hire the new director of the Legislative Office for Fiscal Transparency (LOFT). The objective of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency was to provide openness and transparency.  This vote today to hire a director and the process by which this was brought forth was nothing close to transparent, which begs the question of how effective LOFT will  be if this is the way we conduct our actions.

There should have been a more transparent process for hiring the director of a new taxpayer-funded office launched to focus on transparency. The candidate selected was not one of the original applicants for the position. As members of the LOFT Oversight Committee, we were previously told we would have input in the vetting of candidates for the director position and on who was selected after the interview process. That is not what happened. Moving forward, the work of LOFT and the LOFT Oversight committee must be conducted with more openness, public participation and accountability."

House passes sales tax exemption for non-profits who give free classroom supplies to low-income school districts

Blancett Passes Bill to Help Teachers In Low-Income School Districts Get Free Classroom Supplies 

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A bill that helps nonprofits whose purpose is to provide teachers with school supplies for their students in districts with substantial poverty passed the House today with a majority vote. 

House Bill 3318, authored by Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa), establishes a sales tax exemption for 501c(3) nonprofits that give free school supplies to teachers of K-12 students that reside in a public school district with mostly low-income families.

Statistics from the National Education Association indicate that Oklahoma teachers - whether from a majority-impoverished district or not - spend on average $459 of their own personal money to buy classroom supplies for their students each school year, including such basic supplies as pencils, pens, notebooks, etc.

The legislation was amended to allow qualifying nonprofits to also provide free supplies to teachers from charter schools that have at least a 60-percent student population at or below the federal poverty level.

“School supplies shouldn’t be a barrier to education in Oklahoma and frankly, our teachers shouldn’t be footing the bill for student and classroom supplies from their own personal pockets,” Blancett said. “If we can get this bill to the governor’s desk, we can help more students and take the burden of supplies off of more teachers”

HB3318 is now eligible to be heard in the Senate.

House A&B passes bill to expand apprenticeship opportunities

Bipartisan Bill to Expand Apprenticeship Opportunity Passes A&B

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bipartisan-backed bill to expand employment opportunities for Oklahomans has passed the House Appropriation and Budget Committee with a vote of 27 to 1.

House Bill 3378 -- authored by Rep. Meloyde Blancett (D-Tulsa), Rep. Mickey Dollens (D-OKC) and House A&B Chair Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston) -- would offer employers a $1,000 tax credit per registered apprenticeship position. The plan allows each employer up to 10 apprenticeship credits per year.

“Our economy is strongest when everyone has a skill that can earn a good living - with or without a college degree,” said Dollens. “In 2018, Oklahoma had 99 apprenticeship programs and 1,516 active apprentices across the state. I believe we can grow that number to 300 programs with 2,300 active apprentices by 2022. It’s with this goal in mind that I authored HB3378 which allows Oklahoma business owners to claim an apprenticeship credit for expenses related to apprenticeship training programs.”

In order to qualify for the apprenticeship credit, an apprentice position must be registered with the US Department of Labor and meet the quality standards outlined through the federal government. Each industry has its own standards, which are regulated by the US Department of Labor.

“Over the next ten years, Oklahoma’s economy is projected to grow by 135,000 jobs and more than 70 percent of jobs will require some kind of education or training beyond high school,” Blancett said. “Expanding apprenticeships across the state will help to bridge the skills gap and fill jobs in diverse industries such as information technology, healthcare, energy, aerospace, construction, advanced manufacturing, hospitality, financial services, and more.”

The legislation received a boost in support when Wallace signed on as a coauthor.

“With previous decades of pushing four-year college degrees, combined with the aging out of licensed contractors in electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades, we’ve left a gap in our skilled trades,” Wallace said. “Without new recruitment of apprentices, journeymen and contractors, that gap will continue to grow. This bill gives employers the incentives they need to attract and train these future workers, which ultimately results in more and better-paying jobs for the Oklahoma economy.”

House Bill 3378 is now available to be heard on the House Floor.

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.