A Flawed Measure

Last week, the Oklahoma Senate Finance Committee passed a bill which puts a two year moratorium on a whole host of important economic development programs with proven track records of success. We knew the bill was coming and presented members of the committee with data showing thousands of jobs that will be at risk if these programs stopped for any length of time. Despite this information, a majority of committee members voted for the measure in order to be polite to their fellow senators.

Knowing that the state is not in any condition to be losing jobs, senators still voted to continue Senate Bill 977 through the process. Its author, Senator Mike Mazzei, admitted during the hearing that the measure wasn’t the way he wanted to approach the issue, but that fellow members asked him to. It’s time to stop being nice and to start doing the right thing for Oklahoma.

The right thing is not going back on promises to the business community and creating uncertainty in the economy. Rather, lawmakers need to streamline state government and issue bonds for transportation projects to free up money to close the deficit so that Oklahoma can take advantage of the situation when energy prices rebound. It’s not an easy process, but it sends the right message that there are priorities in government and those need to come first.

If part of the solution is diversifying Oklahoma’s economy so that we aren’t as reliant on the energy sector, why would you eliminate programs designed to attract jobs in aerospace, health care and construction? These are jobs that pay well and foster the growth of companies that supply them and ship their goods. It’s precisely these kinds of targeted tax cuts that will make Oklahoma far more capable to handle the next economic downturn.

The fact that SB 977 couldn’t even make it out of committee without some programs being removed from the moratorium list shows it’s a flawed measure. We will continue working with our members to let elected officials see the consequences of going back on their promises. Jobs and capital investment are at risk of leaving the state and Oklahoma can’t afford to lose either one. It is time for legislative leadership to bring everyone to the table to work together on a solution rather than floating ideas to see if they are bad.

This article was posted in The Journal Record as part of Fred Morgan's monthly opinion editorial.