The
reforms and changes made this session are significant steps
toward making Oklahoma an even greater and more prosperous
state. However, there is still much more that needs to be
done; I invite your comments and suggestions for future
legislative initiatives.
I
am still honored to serve as the Vice Chair of the Criminal
Justice & Corrections committee where I have been working
to improve our state's criminal justice system. In addition,
I serve on the Aerospace & Technology, Judiciary &
Public Safety, and Health sub-committees.
From
a personal legislative standpoint, a bill I authored this
session was passed unanimously by both the House and the
Senate and was signed into law by the Governor. House Bill
2533 augments the State Council of the Interstate Compact
for Adult Offender Supervision, with representatives from
the Districts Attorney's Council and the Courts. The aim
of the change is to improve law enforcement and the courts'
ability to better monitor and screen criminals being released
from prison and are considered for a probation transfer
to Oklahoma.
A
few disappointments this session were: the Governor's Veto
of the omnibus pro-life bill (Senate Bill 1878) which was
overridden by the Legislature into law; the Governor's Veto
of the modest lawsuit reform measure know as "Certificate
of Merit" (House Bill 2458), and that the Voter Identification
(SB 1150) and English-only (SB 163) bills passed in the
House but failed to pass in the Senate.
The
enclosed information is a summary of some of the measures
that were before the Legislature these past two years. If
you have questions about actions of the session just completed
or other issues yet to be addressed, please call my office
at (405) 521-2711, or send an e-mail to mark.mccullough@okhouse.gov.
Very
sincerely,
Mark
E. McCullough
State Representative
District 30
2007
Highlights
Tax
Cuts
The House majority accomplished one of its main goals last
session: Accelerating Three Years Worth of State Income
Tax Cuts into a two-year time frame.
House
Republicans were also finally able to push through a long-promised
Childcare Tax Credit for stay-at-home parents similar to
the credit currently offered for parents with children in
daycare.
After
several years of effort, Republicans were also able to push
forward a Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday to benefit working
families. The sales tax holiday is an important way to help
families afford the expenses of educating their children
in Oklahoma schools, and has already helped Oklahoma families
save more than $6 million on school clothes and supplies.
Education
After years of failed attempts, the Legislature finally
crafted a viable solution for the state's cash-strapped
Teacher Retirement System by implementing a plan that will
pump more than $200 million into the nation's worst-funded
system over the next five years. Currently the system is
less than 50% funded, but we believe this plan will put
the state on track to fund the teacher retirement system
at 80% in less than 25 years.
The
Legislature also made it easier for students to afford a
college degree if they're willing to earn it by passing
a College Tuition Lock Program that lets in-state college
students opt-in to a guaranteed tuition rate for four years
beginning in the 2008-2009 school year.
A
Culture of Life
The Legislature also took action this session to Strengthen
the State's Abortion Laws by passing a measure that prohibits
state employees and resources from being used to perform
an abortion not necessary to save the life of the mother
unless the pregnancy was the result of forcible rape or
incest.
Immigration
Reform
The Legislature also responded to concerned Oklahoma citizens
and passed House Bill 1804, an Immigration Reform Measure
that has been called the most meaningful in the nation.
The Measure also contains provisions to ensure taxpayer-supported
benefits are made available to American citizens and legal
immigrants only. The bill also gives state and local law
enforcement officials the power to enforce federal immigration
law-as well as restricting access by illegal aliens to drivers'
licenses and ID cards.
2008 Highlights
Roads
and Bridges
The Legislature reached an agreement on an important bond issue, $300 million of the total targeted for road construction. Under this year's budget, the
Department of Transportation will spend $445 million for
roads and bridges, a 10% increase over last year. These
reforms are a major victory for Oklahoma drivers-previous
budgets had been unchanged for nearly 20 years, so inflation
had dramatically reduced the roads budget during that time.
Education
This year's base budget for public schools totals $2.53
billion, an increase over last year's base budget in spite
of having less state money to spend in the overall budget.
A
Culture of Life
Major pro-life legislation made it into law and put Oklahoma
on record as a state that cherishes the sanctity of life
and the rights of the unborn.
Senate
Bill 1878, passed by both the House and Senate, included
several pro-life measures. It protects the rights of healthcare
providers to refuse to take part in the destruction of human
life, ensures the mother's consent to abortion is truly
voluntary and protects against coerced abortions, provides
a woman with an ultrasound of her unborn child, and cultivates
respect for disabled children by banning the wrongful-life
lawsuits that claim a baby would have been better off aborted.
Voter
ID and English Only
This past year, the House passed legislation that would require people to show a valid form of identification when they go to vote.
Also, a bill requiring English to be the official language
for governmental transactions passed the House. These two
initiatives, however, died while in the State Senate.
Representative
McCullough's Initiatives (Selected)
House Bill 1415 would have created a pilot project, for
counties to establish omnibus juvenile justice / service
facilities based on the highly successful Canadian County
model.
In
addition, Rep. McCullough proposed legislation during the
last session (House Bill 2605) that would overhaul Oklahoma's
workers compensation system to drive down costs while improving
worker benefits.
Rep.
McCullough is also preparing an interim study examining
the potential coordination of existing social service agency
efforts at preventing family fragmentation and its associated
costs.
