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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2017
Editor’s note: This is one of a
regular series of monthly columns titled “Oklahoma Now” by Governor Mary
Fallin.
Governor Mary Fallin’s
“Oklahoma Now” Column
Headline: Bold Reforms to Put Oklahoma on a Solid Foundation for
the Future
By Governor Mary Fallin
Earlier this month, I introduced a plan
to stabilize our state by beginning true, meaningful budget reforms and
modernizing our state’s tax laws. It cuts some taxes and raises others.
To help our families, I proposed
eliminating the state sales tax on groceries, which is expected to result in
annual savings of $350 to $676 for a family of four. Cities and counties,
though, will still have the option to keep the sales tax on groceries, thus not
hurting city and county revenue.
Our corporate tax is very volatile as it
is hard to estimate with losses that can be carried forward. It will reduce the
paperwork and red tape burden of many small businesses and boost economic
development. It also would provide more transparency as it would eliminate the
need for the Legislature to pick winners and losers with specific tax credits.
Expand
the Sales Tax Base
The sales tax was first enacted in 1933
in Oklahoma to boost revenues. Many of our products and services we use today
were not even created in 1933. Our economy has changed considerably since then,
shifting from a manufacturing-based economy to a services-based economy. The
way we impose taxes and collect revenue no longer reflects the current economy,
but instead an outdated system that has not changed much since its inception.
If we expand our sales tax base to better reflect our economy, we could lower
the overall sales tax rate or income tax.
Gasoline
and Diesel Taxes Should Go to Roads and Bridges
My tax reform will ensure taxes
associated with roads and bridges are the funding source for maintenance of
roads and bridges. It would not adversely affect the projects in the
Department of Transportation’s 8-year plan.
Oklahoma ranks near last in gasoline
(48th) and diesel taxes (49th). I am proposing a slight adjustment that would
increase our gas and diesel taxes to the regional state average, but still
below the national average. With our revenue shortfalls over the last several
years, we have cut funding used to repair our roads and bridges.
It is important to provide sufficient
revenues to meet the basic responsibilities that our government owes to its
citizens, namely:
Improving
Our Workforce and Educating Our Children
A thriving, prosperous economy must have
a skilled, educated workforce. That starts with good teachers in the classrooms
providing our children a quality education FIVE days a week.
We need to find a way to give our
teachers a pay raise. We also know that a pay raise alone will not improve
student outcomes. We have to ensure more existing dollars are reaching every
classroom by tackling administrative inefficiencies head-on.
Ensuring
the Health and Public Safety of Oklahomans
We must make public safety a priority.
We can be smart on crime and tough on criminals.
Approximately 26 percent of our current
Highway Patrol troopers are eligible for retirement. We must prepare for the
future and fund a trooper academy. While we’re at it, no trooper should be
furloughed or restricted to driving 100 miles a day because of lack of funding.
Seventy-five percent of new admissions
in prison are nonviolent offenders. The number of drug-possession offenders
sentenced to prison with no prior convictions has more than doubled the last
five years. Oklahoma spends too much money without positive outcomes locking up
low-level, nonviolent people. Doing nothing means taxpayers must spend billions
of dollars more to incarcerate more people, or risk federal intervention.
There are many issues to contend with in
health care, and Obamacare has created additional problems we must
address.
We hope to reduce regulations to create
lower-cost insurance plans, encourage investment in private health accounts so
people can direct their own health care purchases and utilize successful local
programs, like Insure Oklahoma, to provide health insurance that works for
Oklahomans.
Preserving
and Improving Our Infrastructure
We can’t continue to ignore our state’s
crumbling infrastructure. In my budget, I have identified our state’s most
urgent, pressing infrastructure needs along with a bond proposal to address
them. They include a new Department of Health lab so we don’t lose
accreditation, and improving facilities for corrections, mental health and
juvenile affairs, to name a few.
By investing in our state, we are
creating a stronger business climate – a place where people want to live, work
and raise a family. We must put Oklahoma on a solid foundation for the future.
 
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