Senate Bill 1246 which will cut the state income tax to 4.85 percent will be brought before the House Appropriations and Budget Committee meeting at 3:30 pm today (Wednesday). House Appropriations and Budget Committee members need to hear from you now. Ask them to vote NO on SB 1246 and stop it from reaching the House floor. Here are some suggested talking points, and the members of the committee are listed below.
Talking Points:
- Don’t cut my taxes, fund my services! It’s better for Oklahomans and better for the economy to keep the revenue for schools, public health and safety, and other important services.
- Triggering automatic tax cuts whenever revenue grows is irresponsible. Oklahoma could face a natural disaster, spiking health care costs, court mandates, or who knows what. Lawmakers can’t predict the future, so they shouldn’t be putting the budget on auto-pilot.
- A minimal revenue increase is the wrong trigger. We should have no tax cuts until we’re reducing our class sizes, paying teachers and state employees adequately, and maintaining public buildings. Make it personal! Can you think of other benchmarks for Oklahoma to meet before we cut taxes again?
These House Appropriations and Budget Committee members need to hear from their constituents! Find our who your legislators are here. If one of them shows up in the list below, it’s especially important that you contact them now.
- Chair Rep. Scott Martin – Norman; (405) 557-7329; scott.martin@okhouse.gov
- Vice Chair Rep. Earl Sears – Bartlesville; (405) 557-7358; earl.sears@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Don Armes – Faxon; (405) 557-7307; donarmes@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Lisa J. Billy – Purcell; (405) 557-7365; lisajbilly@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Mike Brown – Tahlequah; (405) 557-7408; mikebrown@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Mike Christian – Oklahoma City; (405) 557-7371; mike.christian@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Ann Coody – Lawton; (405) 557-7398; anncoody@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Doug Cox – Grove; (405) 557-7415; dougcox@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Lee Denney – Cushing; (405) 557-7304; leedenney@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Joe Dorman – Rush Springs; (405) 557-7305; joedorman@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Chuck Hoskin – Vinita; (405) 557-7319; chuck.hoskin@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Sally Kern – Oklahoma City; (405) 557-7348; sallykern@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Mark McCullough – Sapulpa; (405) 557-7414; mark.mccullough@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Jeannie McDaniel – Tulsa; (405) 557-7334; jeanniemcdaniel@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Skye McNiel – Sand Springs; (405) 557-7353; skye.mcniel@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Jerry McPeak – Warner; (405) 557-7302; jerrymcpeak@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Richard Morrissette – Oklahoma City; (405) 634-7166; richardmorrissette@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Jason Nelson – Oklahoma City; (405) 557-7335; jason.nelson@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Tom Newell – Seminole; (405) 557-7372; tom.newell@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Leslie Osborn – Mustang; (405) 557-7333; leslie.osborn@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Pat Ownbey – Ardmore: (405) 557-7326; pat.ownbey@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Eric Proctor – Tulsa; (405) 557-7410; eric.proctor@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Mike Ritze – Broken Arrow; (405) 557-7338; mike.ritze@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Sean Roberts – Hominy; (405) 557-7322; sean.roberts@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Mike Sanders – Kingfisher; (405) 557-7407; mike.sanders@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Colby Schwartz – Yukon; (405) 557-7352; colby.schwartz@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Ben Sherrer – Chouteau; (405) 557-7364; bensherrer@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Weldon Watson – Tulsa; (405) 557-7330; weldon.watson@okhouse.gov
- Rep. Paul Wesselhoft – Moore; (405) 557-7343; paulwesselhoft@okhouse.gov
Visit, call, and write letters to your legislators today and be sure they know the specific bills that concern you and how our revenue short fall hurts you personally.
The poll results are in — Oklahoma voters oppose tax breaks for horizontal drilling!
Have you heard legislators say that they would “love to support _______ but there just isn’t any funding?” You and I know that Oklahoma can find millions to invest in our schools and other services by ending the tax break for horizontal drilling. It turns out that other Oklahomans know it too.
Check out the poll results — nearly two-thirds of voters (64 percent) oppose providing tax breaks to oil and gas companies that use the horizontal drilling process, while less than a third support the tax break (28 percent).
A strong majority of voters (64 percent) favor “eliminating the tax break in order to provide more funding for education, public safety, highways and other state needs.” Only 21 percent “want to keep the tax breaks for horizontal drilling” and just 7 percent say the revenue should be used to pay for an income tax cut.
Will our legislators listen to the majority of Oklahomans? Not if we don’t tell them that it matters! You can learn more about this issue by reading David Blatt’s editorial in The Oklahoman.
How to write to your legislator
Oklahoma Teacher Spring Houghton says it this way:
“Keep your letter under 300 words. Include a proper salutation and write a killer opening sentence. Give a brief explanation of the issue and state the importance or relevance of the issue to your audience. State your claim and back it up with at least one piece of ‘hard’ evidence. Cite a great source or identify the specific article/date of publication you are responding to. Finally, champion specific action. Be bold and brave and kind!”
