I’d like to kick off this weeks visit with the particulars on a bill that I am authoring that will hopefully give schools some predictability as far as school land money goes. I have been working with officials from the school land commission and we hope it will at least smooth up a little of the budgeting process.
Two years ago Oklahoma public schools and colleges asked the Commissioners of the Land Office to find a way to help stabilize the amount of money that is sent to our schools from the money it receives on oil and gas exploration and land leases. When the oil and gas industry is booming in Oklahoma, revenue to the Land Commission goes up and in turn more money goes to the schools, when the drilling slows the money slows. Working with the Land Office, I have created legislation that allows the Land Office to create a five year rolling average on the money. This will allow the schools to begin to budget money coming from the Land Office and to have a bit of predictability. The legislation will also allow the Land Commission to be able to spend some of the money coming in to the agency for conservation on the land it controls in our area. The projects will include everything from water wells to red cedar and juniper eradication. We all know how important it is to insure that the land will be there for the schools and how important the funding is currently for the schools. To give you some examples, since July Grandfield as received over 20 thousand dollars, Frederick over 103 thousand dollars and Tipton over 45 thousand dollars and those numbers will all increase before the end of June. Right now we don’t know where the conservation project will begin but I will keep you posted as work on those moves forward.
Other highlights of the session include
House Passes Bill to Protect Living Center Residents’ Right to Choose Pharmacy
Legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives would allow assisted living center residents to continue doing business with local pharmacies without fear of penalty.
House Bill 2566 would ban assisted living centers from penalizing residents for using their choice of providers for medical services and supplies.
The legislation was approved by a vote of 88-6 and now proceeds to the Senate.
Committee Approves Safeguards for Places of Worship
A state House committee has approved legislation giving officials clear legal authority to use deadly force against dangerous individuals at a place of worship.
House Bill 2988 declares that “the citizens of the State of Oklahoma have a right to expect absolute safety within their own homes, places of business, or places of worship” and that officials at any place of worship are allowed to use defensive force in cases where there is “a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm.”
There have been several cases where acts of violence have occurred or threats have been issued at places of worship in Oklahoma.
In 2009, Pastor Carol Daniels was killed at the Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko
In Edmond, the Fairview Baptist Church received a bomb threat after its pastor spoke out against a city policy regarding homosexuals.
House Bill 2988 has passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and now goes to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call me at 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov.
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied—Arnold H. Glasgow
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
It’s Broke, Should we fix it?
One of the jobs ahead of us this session will be trying to decide how to address the ever worsening problem of our crumbling State Capitol. Oklahoma has many icons that color our history. Many of those icons are people, like Will Rogers. They live on in our history books and in tales told to children and adults alike. The list of famous Oklahomans is long and colorful. On the other hand, some of the icons that help tell our story are buildings. These buildings are still in use every day and no less important to our state and our history. One such building is the State Capitol.
Ground was broken for our Capitol on July 20th 1914 on land donated by William F. Harn and John T. Culbertson at what is now the intersection of 23rd and Lincoln. The building was completed on June 30th 1917. Of course it was not really complete and would not be until the year 2002 when the crown jewel was dedicated, which of course, was the dome. House Bill 2827 was passed in 1998 The Oklahoma Centennial Act which formed the Oklahoma Centennial Commemoration Commission. This commission was charged with the dome project. I will never forget my first official function as a newly elected member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives; it was November 16th 2002 on a very cold night. The Dome Dedication was an unbelievable celebration marking the completion of the final chapter in our Capitols construction. I have to tell you it’s hard not to be in awe of this magnificent lady every time I pull into the parking lot. The dome is adorned on the very top with a 22’ foot tall bronze statue created by then Senator Enoch Kelly Haney. The Guardian stands ever vigilant and is breath taking sight to view from I-235 as you head north in the sunrise. It is a grand building and absolutely one of the most important symbols of Oklahoma. It is chocked full of art work and if those walls could talk? She is ours, as Oklahomans and she is having issues. If you visit the Capitol and park south you will see yellow barricades that prevent you from entering through what was once the Grand entry way. The problem I’m told is that some of the concrete is crumbling and is not safe. It is a shame to see her suffer, but what to do?
The issue at hand is this. “Is it important enough to make repairs’? “What will it cost”? And of course the really hard question, “How will we pay for it”? Many folks say we should use bonds. It amounts to making a loan to do the needed repairs. There are some in our legislature who think borrowing is not a good idea. Some think it is no big deal. I have to think it’s a lot like your house. If the roof is bad, at what point do you start to do irreparable harm to the main structure if you don’t do the work? I’m sure not an architect or an engineer. I’m probably not the one to ask that question, but I do know that we better get it on our minds because it seems to not be getting any better. I have tried to listen to some folks who seem to be good business men. One is Rep. Guy Liebmann. Guy is a very savvy gentleman when it comes to money. He was in the Ice business in OKC for many years and almost every ice machine you saw out side stores in the metro area bore his name. Guy says that you must do maintenance when it is needed and right now, money is cheap. Meaning that, interest rates are at all time lows. In his opinion, there is now time like the present to get this repair work started. I tend to think he is right. I don’t know all the numbers, but I do think that we need to start addressing the problem soon. I don’t know if we are past the point of no return. I’m facing the same kind of things at my house. And the ever present question of “If we don’t fix it now, how much will it cost later”? I sure don’t profess to know all the answers, but it is our question, all of ours. After all, it is not just my Capitol; it belongs to all of us. As always, I’m interested in what you think. In the meantime, watch out for falling concrete.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Never act until you have clearly answered the question, “What happens if I do nothing”? Robert Brault.
Ground was broken for our Capitol on July 20th 1914 on land donated by William F. Harn and John T. Culbertson at what is now the intersection of 23rd and Lincoln. The building was completed on June 30th 1917. Of course it was not really complete and would not be until the year 2002 when the crown jewel was dedicated, which of course, was the dome. House Bill 2827 was passed in 1998 The Oklahoma Centennial Act which formed the Oklahoma Centennial Commemoration Commission. This commission was charged with the dome project. I will never forget my first official function as a newly elected member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives; it was November 16th 2002 on a very cold night. The Dome Dedication was an unbelievable celebration marking the completion of the final chapter in our Capitols construction. I have to tell you it’s hard not to be in awe of this magnificent lady every time I pull into the parking lot. The dome is adorned on the very top with a 22’ foot tall bronze statue created by then Senator Enoch Kelly Haney. The Guardian stands ever vigilant and is breath taking sight to view from I-235 as you head north in the sunrise. It is a grand building and absolutely one of the most important symbols of Oklahoma. It is chocked full of art work and if those walls could talk? She is ours, as Oklahomans and she is having issues. If you visit the Capitol and park south you will see yellow barricades that prevent you from entering through what was once the Grand entry way. The problem I’m told is that some of the concrete is crumbling and is not safe. It is a shame to see her suffer, but what to do?
The issue at hand is this. “Is it important enough to make repairs’? “What will it cost”? And of course the really hard question, “How will we pay for it”? Many folks say we should use bonds. It amounts to making a loan to do the needed repairs. There are some in our legislature who think borrowing is not a good idea. Some think it is no big deal. I have to think it’s a lot like your house. If the roof is bad, at what point do you start to do irreparable harm to the main structure if you don’t do the work? I’m sure not an architect or an engineer. I’m probably not the one to ask that question, but I do know that we better get it on our minds because it seems to not be getting any better. I have tried to listen to some folks who seem to be good business men. One is Rep. Guy Liebmann. Guy is a very savvy gentleman when it comes to money. He was in the Ice business in OKC for many years and almost every ice machine you saw out side stores in the metro area bore his name. Guy says that you must do maintenance when it is needed and right now, money is cheap. Meaning that, interest rates are at all time lows. In his opinion, there is now time like the present to get this repair work started. I tend to think he is right. I don’t know all the numbers, but I do think that we need to start addressing the problem soon. I don’t know if we are past the point of no return. I’m facing the same kind of things at my house. And the ever present question of “If we don’t fix it now, how much will it cost later”? I sure don’t profess to know all the answers, but it is our question, all of ours. After all, it is not just my Capitol; it belongs to all of us. As always, I’m interested in what you think. In the meantime, watch out for falling concrete.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Never act until you have clearly answered the question, “What happens if I do nothing”? Robert Brault.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Bolt Your Doors & Lock Your Windows
For the past several years people have asked “are you all in session.” My standard tongue and cheek reply has always been “no, you’re safe.” We can’t hurt you if we’re not running in a pack. Well, all that is fixin’ to change because Monday February 6th will mark the opening gavel of the second session o the 53rd legislature. Of course I joke pretty regularly about the danger of us being in that building in a group and it’s about half true. It seems like a lot of what we do is try to block things that can cause harm or be ever mindful of a great idea that can turn south at a moment’s notice. There’s always someone who has a notion to save the world or to make streets safer or right some wrong and I guess that even with all its faults it’s still probably the best system in the world.
I truly believe that most who take on this job do so with mostly good intentions and really have no intent to harm anyone or cost anybody any excess money. I also know that one of my favorite analogies is of a common household dog, that might be just like the pet you have at your house, under normal circumstances they wouldn’t bite a hot biscuit but if you put that dog in a pack and kick em’ out in the country they’ll take down a cow. While I don’t consider myself an expert on politics, I do understand group dynamics and I know we have to guard against that pack mentality. Quite frankly, I think we are much more dangerous in a group than any of us ever would be individually. Sometimes I wanna’ stand on top of my desk and scream at the top of my lungs “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There are a whole lot of things in our State that work just fine and if we could figure out exactly what those things are and learn how to leave them alone we’d be miles ahead of the game. It’s kinda’ like Larry the cable guy walking up to a space shuttle and saying to the crew of rocket scientists “hey, I can work on these” and when they look at him astonished, then of course his next line is “I can’t fix em’ but I can work on em’.” It seems that we always have to work on something. Sometimes I wish we could just leave it alone but then again it’s hard for a young politician to go back to his district and when asked “what did you accomplish?” he can’t very well say “I just stood guard.” It’s not the answer his constituents wish to hear. We have to work on something or what good are we? So, I guess it’s just the nature of the beast. We’ve gotta’ work on stuff even if it’s not broken. We’ll try not to tear anything up.
On a much more positive note, we’ve had several applications for the Southwest Oklahoma Honor Flight that we talked about last week in the column. I can’t stress enough how important it is to seek out our Southwest Oklahoma WWII vets and make sure that they get this opportunity to view the memorial in DC. They may be a little ol’ neighbor of yours that may not be able to access a computer or a widower that lives down the road from ya’ that served his country and deserves this honor, you never know. I know that sometimes we tend not to want to bother people but I’m asking you to get outside your comfort zone and if you know of one of these fellas’, let us know. Time is of the essence. We need to move quickly to get these men and women applied. Again, the website is www.oklahomahonorflights.org and the phone number is 405-259-9000. One important point is, and I can’t stress this enough, when you look at the website you are gonna’ see a large waiting list. Remember, Southwest Oklahoma WWII vets will be moved to the front because of the angel donor and if this flight is not filled with Southwest Oklahoma veterans they will go to the back of the waiting list and I hate to waste such a great opportunity. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the special send off ceremonies at the fair grounds in Lawton the evening of May 3rd. Please reach out and help us find these vets so we can say thanks.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
''Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.''
—Will Rogers
I truly believe that most who take on this job do so with mostly good intentions and really have no intent to harm anyone or cost anybody any excess money. I also know that one of my favorite analogies is of a common household dog, that might be just like the pet you have at your house, under normal circumstances they wouldn’t bite a hot biscuit but if you put that dog in a pack and kick em’ out in the country they’ll take down a cow. While I don’t consider myself an expert on politics, I do understand group dynamics and I know we have to guard against that pack mentality. Quite frankly, I think we are much more dangerous in a group than any of us ever would be individually. Sometimes I wanna’ stand on top of my desk and scream at the top of my lungs “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There are a whole lot of things in our State that work just fine and if we could figure out exactly what those things are and learn how to leave them alone we’d be miles ahead of the game. It’s kinda’ like Larry the cable guy walking up to a space shuttle and saying to the crew of rocket scientists “hey, I can work on these” and when they look at him astonished, then of course his next line is “I can’t fix em’ but I can work on em’.” It seems that we always have to work on something. Sometimes I wish we could just leave it alone but then again it’s hard for a young politician to go back to his district and when asked “what did you accomplish?” he can’t very well say “I just stood guard.” It’s not the answer his constituents wish to hear. We have to work on something or what good are we? So, I guess it’s just the nature of the beast. We’ve gotta’ work on stuff even if it’s not broken. We’ll try not to tear anything up.
On a much more positive note, we’ve had several applications for the Southwest Oklahoma Honor Flight that we talked about last week in the column. I can’t stress enough how important it is to seek out our Southwest Oklahoma WWII vets and make sure that they get this opportunity to view the memorial in DC. They may be a little ol’ neighbor of yours that may not be able to access a computer or a widower that lives down the road from ya’ that served his country and deserves this honor, you never know. I know that sometimes we tend not to want to bother people but I’m asking you to get outside your comfort zone and if you know of one of these fellas’, let us know. Time is of the essence. We need to move quickly to get these men and women applied. Again, the website is www.oklahomahonorflights.org and the phone number is 405-259-9000. One important point is, and I can’t stress this enough, when you look at the website you are gonna’ see a large waiting list. Remember, Southwest Oklahoma WWII vets will be moved to the front because of the angel donor and if this flight is not filled with Southwest Oklahoma veterans they will go to the back of the waiting list and I hate to waste such a great opportunity. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the special send off ceremonies at the fair grounds in Lawton the evening of May 3rd. Please reach out and help us find these vets so we can say thanks.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, feel free to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
''Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.''
—Will Rogers
Thursday, February 2, 2012
WWII Vets Front & Center Please
I really feel a little hesitant to bark orders at our greatest generation but I honestly don’t have time to lolly-gag. We have a fabulous window of opportunity to honor our WWII Veterans and like many windows I don’t want any of you, who are able, to miss it.
There is a program called Honor Flights which provides an all expense paid trip to take WWII veterans to see the memorial that was built in their honor. Just the fact that this program exists is tremendous and there have been numerous veterans that have made the trip to Washington DC whether they could afford it or not and our window of opportunity for our veterans in Southwest Oklahoma was made possible by a gentleman from Jackson County who stepped up and paid for an entire flight. His only stipulation was that he wanted WWII veterans from Southwest Oklahoma to have first shot at this particular opportunity. Prior to this, the flights have always gone out from Oklahoma City or Tulsa. This special flight will leave from Lawton on May 4, 2012. We want to fill that plane. We’ve had several inquiries as we have posted on facebook, made calls, met with civic clubs etc. and the first step is to go to the website which is www.oklahomahonorflights.org or call this phone number, 405-259-9000. Be sure to indicate when you call or access the website that you, or your loved one, are a Southwest Oklahoma veteran and you are applying for the special Lawton flight. It’s important to remember that the veteran will make this flight at no charge and each veteran will be accompanied by a guardian. We also need guardians. The guardians will pay their own way. The fee for being a guardian is $500. The charge for the guardians helps defray the cost to the veterans. There will also be medical personal on the flight. There will be wheelchairs available even for those who can walk so that they can expedite their movement once they get to DC. This trip will not be an overnight trip. This trip leaves around 5 a.m. and the veterans will be back home late the same night. It’s a strenuous day but it allows the cost to be kept low so that more of our heroes can make the trip to see their memorial. We not only need veterans to sign up as well as guardians willing to make the trip but we also need HS bands, student groups, letter writers, and just plain warm bodies to make the send off ceremony one that we can be proud of.
The send off will occur the evening of May 3rd at the Great Plains Coliseum where we will honor this greatest generation of heroes and pay respect as they prepare to make what for many of them will be the trip of a lifetime. We know that many of you will be hesitant to send dad or granddad on this type of journey. We want to assure you that they will be very well attended as well as cared for. I also want to stress again that we have an awesome window of opportunity to honor these veterans from our corner of the state who may not be able to make a trip to Oklahoma City or Tulsa. We feel that all of our WWII vets deserve this honor regardless of their financial where with all. I know we have a large number of heroes out there and we need your help in identifying those folks. There may be some who need help with various parts of the application and so on and I know that all of us, especially in our corner of the state, with its rich military history will want to help make this trip a reality for these people who greatly deserve it. So, once again the website is www.oklahomahonorflights.org and the phone number is 405-259-9000. If you need further information feel free to contact my office and we will help with the flow of information so we can make sure as many of our friends and neighbors can experience this great trip.
When you view the website you will see a waiting list of 450 veterans. It is very important to note that Southwest Oklahoma veterans will have priority on the Lawton flight due to the generosity of our donor. At the time of this writing there were about 50 Southwest Oklahoma vets who have signed up. We have room for approximately 50 more. Let’s fill this flight!
To contact me at the Capitol, you can call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick
There is a program called Honor Flights which provides an all expense paid trip to take WWII veterans to see the memorial that was built in their honor. Just the fact that this program exists is tremendous and there have been numerous veterans that have made the trip to Washington DC whether they could afford it or not and our window of opportunity for our veterans in Southwest Oklahoma was made possible by a gentleman from Jackson County who stepped up and paid for an entire flight. His only stipulation was that he wanted WWII veterans from Southwest Oklahoma to have first shot at this particular opportunity. Prior to this, the flights have always gone out from Oklahoma City or Tulsa. This special flight will leave from Lawton on May 4, 2012. We want to fill that plane. We’ve had several inquiries as we have posted on facebook, made calls, met with civic clubs etc. and the first step is to go to the website which is www.oklahomahonorflights.org or call this phone number, 405-259-9000. Be sure to indicate when you call or access the website that you, or your loved one, are a Southwest Oklahoma veteran and you are applying for the special Lawton flight. It’s important to remember that the veteran will make this flight at no charge and each veteran will be accompanied by a guardian. We also need guardians. The guardians will pay their own way. The fee for being a guardian is $500. The charge for the guardians helps defray the cost to the veterans. There will also be medical personal on the flight. There will be wheelchairs available even for those who can walk so that they can expedite their movement once they get to DC. This trip will not be an overnight trip. This trip leaves around 5 a.m. and the veterans will be back home late the same night. It’s a strenuous day but it allows the cost to be kept low so that more of our heroes can make the trip to see their memorial. We not only need veterans to sign up as well as guardians willing to make the trip but we also need HS bands, student groups, letter writers, and just plain warm bodies to make the send off ceremony one that we can be proud of.
The send off will occur the evening of May 3rd at the Great Plains Coliseum where we will honor this greatest generation of heroes and pay respect as they prepare to make what for many of them will be the trip of a lifetime. We know that many of you will be hesitant to send dad or granddad on this type of journey. We want to assure you that they will be very well attended as well as cared for. I also want to stress again that we have an awesome window of opportunity to honor these veterans from our corner of the state who may not be able to make a trip to Oklahoma City or Tulsa. We feel that all of our WWII vets deserve this honor regardless of their financial where with all. I know we have a large number of heroes out there and we need your help in identifying those folks. There may be some who need help with various parts of the application and so on and I know that all of us, especially in our corner of the state, with its rich military history will want to help make this trip a reality for these people who greatly deserve it. So, once again the website is www.oklahomahonorflights.org and the phone number is 405-259-9000. If you need further information feel free to contact my office and we will help with the flow of information so we can make sure as many of our friends and neighbors can experience this great trip.
When you view the website you will see a waiting list of 450 veterans. It is very important to note that Southwest Oklahoma veterans will have priority on the Lawton flight due to the generosity of our donor. At the time of this writing there were about 50 Southwest Oklahoma vets who have signed up. We have room for approximately 50 more. Let’s fill this flight!
To contact me at the Capitol, you can call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick
Monday, January 23, 2012
You Gotta’ Be In the Room
Many of you who have known me very long and have followed my political career over the last ten years know that I generally tell it like it is at least to the best of my ability. I have made a conscious decision that may make some of you a little nervous. That decision was to become one of the principal authors of HB 3038 that starts the discussion of whether or not to phase out the State income tax. Now let me start this discussion with a statement that I want you to etch in your brain. You cannot raise property taxes in the state of Oklahoma without a vote of the people. You’re not gonna’ vote for that and neither am I. That being said, I feel like this discussion is going to occur whether we like it or not and I also know that if I’m gonna’ have any input on how this bill looks I have got to be in the room when it is discussed. You have my full assurance that if I smell a rat or if I see a booger or anything that would spook any of us I’m gonna’ be very vocal and furthermore, if I don’t like the direction that this discussion goes I will pull my name and vote against a bill that I think could be bad. I know that as this bill progresses there will be numerous changes and adjustments and I’d like to be present as those are made. I feel very strongly about this issue and I’m gonna’ quote some of my old friends, one of them said “a deal is only a good deal if it’s good for both sides.” Another one said “if you’re not in the room you can’t make a difference.” I think that it’s imperative that someone be in the room that’s not afraid to ask the hard questions. Now, my concerns are the same as many of yours. I know that to run this state it takes a certain amount of dollars and I know full well that we have to generate those dollars from somewhere. My favorite analogy is it takes a certain amount of diesel to run this train and the only way to run the train any cheaper is to make the train more efficient whether that’s a tune up or making the load lighter or whatever.
The school of thought behind the elimination or phase out of the state income tax is that more people and businesses will gravitate toward the state that’s more tax friendly and I know what you’re gonna’ say next. Texas doesn’t have an income tax but their ad valorem tax is through the roof and I think the same thing which brings us back to my initial statement. You cannot raise property taxes in the state of Oklahoma without a vote of the people. I know that you and I feel the same way about those property taxes. We have enough heartburn as it is with a county assessor’s ability to raise them up to 5% a year. That’s the reason that the 5% cap was put in place several years ago to keep rogue assessors from going crazy and jacking your taxes up. Many times that law was misconstrued as a requirement to increase property taxes but it’s intent was always to be a cap. My thoughts on the elimination of the income tax are that we will have to replace that revenue and my fear is that for that growth to occur that some economists believe will happen there will be some dips or bumps in the road along the way. Because if a major employer decided Monday morning that they were gonna’ move to Oklahoma and employ 500 people, a lot of time could pass between the time that decision was made and that major company actually came online and started producing whatever it is they produce and hired those employees. If you think that me adding my name as an author means that I’m totally sold on the concept or that I have in some way “drank the kool-aid” please don’t jump to any conclusions. I fully believe that this issue needs discussed and thoroughly vetted and again it will occur whether you are for or against and my goal is to be in the room to hopefully apply some common sense to a very controversial issue and in the end if I don’t like what’s coming or if enough of you don’t like what’s coming I will be totally out of it at that point.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
A person doesn't know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on it. ~Author Unknown
The school of thought behind the elimination or phase out of the state income tax is that more people and businesses will gravitate toward the state that’s more tax friendly and I know what you’re gonna’ say next. Texas doesn’t have an income tax but their ad valorem tax is through the roof and I think the same thing which brings us back to my initial statement. You cannot raise property taxes in the state of Oklahoma without a vote of the people. I know that you and I feel the same way about those property taxes. We have enough heartburn as it is with a county assessor’s ability to raise them up to 5% a year. That’s the reason that the 5% cap was put in place several years ago to keep rogue assessors from going crazy and jacking your taxes up. Many times that law was misconstrued as a requirement to increase property taxes but it’s intent was always to be a cap. My thoughts on the elimination of the income tax are that we will have to replace that revenue and my fear is that for that growth to occur that some economists believe will happen there will be some dips or bumps in the road along the way. Because if a major employer decided Monday morning that they were gonna’ move to Oklahoma and employ 500 people, a lot of time could pass between the time that decision was made and that major company actually came online and started producing whatever it is they produce and hired those employees. If you think that me adding my name as an author means that I’m totally sold on the concept or that I have in some way “drank the kool-aid” please don’t jump to any conclusions. I fully believe that this issue needs discussed and thoroughly vetted and again it will occur whether you are for or against and my goal is to be in the room to hopefully apply some common sense to a very controversial issue and in the end if I don’t like what’s coming or if enough of you don’t like what’s coming I will be totally out of it at that point.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
A person doesn't know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on it. ~Author Unknown
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Chicken or the Egg?
As I was organizing my thoughts for this week’s article I was made aware of a situation on the Eastern end of my district that has caused a great deal of consternation for both sides who are involved in the issue. First, let me diagram the situation for you. On one side we have a three generation family farm who has been farming land Southeast of Lawton for many years. One farm that’s currently in wheat is right across the road from a neighborhood. The issue is that on this particular wheat farm the geese have moved in, as they do this time of year, and have begun the process of stripping the lush, green wheat pasture down to where it resembles a parking lot. Now, any of you who grow wheat in Southwest Oklahoma understand the goose problem all too well. It seems like a goose can eat more wheat than a 500 pound steer ever thought about. As a matter of fact, just by virtue of the way their beaks are set up they actually destroy the plant, unlike cattle that just bite off the green tops leaving the root system in tact so the plant can later produce a grain crop as well as providing forage through the winter. The bottom line is, as pretty as they are, geese cause a tremendous amount of economic damage to the area wheat crop. So far you’re probably reading this thinking what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal is the method this three generation farm family has found to save thousands of dollars worth of wheat and no, it’s not a scarecrow. It’s a goose cannon and I’ll bet some of you are already caught up and you know where we’re going next. The three generation farm family sets the propane cannon to go off every twenty minutes and viola, no more geese, cheap enough. A little ol’ five gallon tank of propane every week or so and problem solved, right? No, wrong. Everything’s good until the neighbors start complaining, and complain they do. So in a nut shell there’s the issue. Who was there first and does the landowner have the right to protect their crop from the destructive geese? I think we can all agree that if they were way out in the country it probably wouldn’t be an issue but where neighbors come into play it gets ugly fast. The classic battle lines are drawn and off we go. Someone in the neighborhood calls the police department and threatens to press charges if the cannon doesn’t stop.
Was the farm there before the neighborhood, probably? Who’s right, well I don’t know. It’s a pretty hard call but it’s not a new dilemma. Many times as municipal areas encroach on the farming areas somebody will sell a quarter or an eighty to a developer who will lay out streets and water lines and start building houses. Next thing ya’ know, people start moving to those developments to get away from traffic or crowded neighborhoods or a host of other things that people want to escape and move out to the peaceful country side where they can see something besides their neighbors fence. Never giving a thought to the fact that the reason they can see is because their next door neighbor is a farm. Many times that farmer may run a tractor well into the night and not only is there noise from that tractor as he makes his way around that field but there’s also dust and down here in this dry corner of the State there can be a lot of it. That’s usually the first complaint we get from new developments out in the country is, “what Mr. Farmer are you gonna’ do about the dust?” There in lies the rub. Who was there first? The farmer or the neighborhood and who’s right? I’m not sure if I’m smart enough to tell ya’ but I know it’s a problem. Dust and noise and some of those things that we know are just part of the process don’t bother me in the least. In fact, my wife Dede dreads weaning time because when we pin calves to wean them off their mothers I guarantee you calves will bawl for at least three nights. In fact she calls it “the bawling of the calves.” I can tell ya’ within a two or three mile radius of our place when somebody has weaned a set of calves. It kinda’ reminds me of the old saying about feed lots if you’ve ever been to the panhandle of Texas or Oklahoma the standard line if a city slicker asks “what’s that smell?” Some old timer will invariably say “it smells like money.” So I don’t know who wins this game of blink but I know it can manifest itself in many different forms and I know it’s a fight we’ll referee for many years to come.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s something to think about as you go down the road:
Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place. ~Frederic Bastiat
Was the farm there before the neighborhood, probably? Who’s right, well I don’t know. It’s a pretty hard call but it’s not a new dilemma. Many times as municipal areas encroach on the farming areas somebody will sell a quarter or an eighty to a developer who will lay out streets and water lines and start building houses. Next thing ya’ know, people start moving to those developments to get away from traffic or crowded neighborhoods or a host of other things that people want to escape and move out to the peaceful country side where they can see something besides their neighbors fence. Never giving a thought to the fact that the reason they can see is because their next door neighbor is a farm. Many times that farmer may run a tractor well into the night and not only is there noise from that tractor as he makes his way around that field but there’s also dust and down here in this dry corner of the State there can be a lot of it. That’s usually the first complaint we get from new developments out in the country is, “what Mr. Farmer are you gonna’ do about the dust?” There in lies the rub. Who was there first? The farmer or the neighborhood and who’s right? I’m not sure if I’m smart enough to tell ya’ but I know it’s a problem. Dust and noise and some of those things that we know are just part of the process don’t bother me in the least. In fact, my wife Dede dreads weaning time because when we pin calves to wean them off their mothers I guarantee you calves will bawl for at least three nights. In fact she calls it “the bawling of the calves.” I can tell ya’ within a two or three mile radius of our place when somebody has weaned a set of calves. It kinda’ reminds me of the old saying about feed lots if you’ve ever been to the panhandle of Texas or Oklahoma the standard line if a city slicker asks “what’s that smell?” Some old timer will invariably say “it smells like money.” So I don’t know who wins this game of blink but I know it can manifest itself in many different forms and I know it’s a fight we’ll referee for many years to come.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s something to think about as you go down the road:
Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place. ~Frederic Bastiat
Thursday, January 12, 2012
In the Cold Gray Light of Dawn
Now some people are gonna’ ask “where in the world is he going this week?” However, if you follow any bluegrass music you’ll know that’s a line from one if not several bluegrass songs. It fits kinda’ where we’re at in the old seasonal flow charts. We’ve really been extremely lucky the past few weeks to have some unseasonably warm weather instead of those old cold bitter gray days that we all know are coming. As in any weather discussion in this great state the wind is always part of the equation and of course on those dreary bitter cold days the wind can have a real bite. As an old cowboy friend of mine used to say on those cold days when they had to doctor wheat pasture cattle he’d say “it’d sure be a son of a gun a’ horseback today.” As you might imagine, and some of ya’ actually know some of my cowboy friends, I did clean that up to get it a little more G-rated. Unless things change drastically this winter has treated us pretty well up to this point, no major ice storms, yet, no snow, just a generally mild first little bit of winter. I t kinda’ makes me want to skip the whole works and go right into spring but just as I talked about back in August we knew it wouldn’t be hot forever and we know we got some old blue northers coming. It’s just kinda’ always that way and for the last nine years, in my life at least, that cold gray light of dawn has been the bell weather that leads us to the Capitol.
It seems that its always bitter cold when session kicks off, and each session develops its own personality kind of along in that February stretch, but as we get through that first thirty days or so there’s a faint light way down at the end of that tunnel that indicates spring is coming. Stock show season gets in high gear, political rhetoric heats up (I’m not sure that’s not the REAL cause of global warming) and you kinda’ know spring is on the way. As I’ve said many times there is a definite rhythm to the Earth, to the seasons, and to just about everything including legislative session. I’d like to think its getting a little easier to fan that bronc because we’ve been ridin’ em’ going on ten years but as with any living, breathing creature with a mind of its own it’ll have a jump or a pitch or a twist that you haven’t seen yet. There are parts of it that are as predictable as the sun coming up in the East and then there’s those unexpected ducks and dives that make you think “how in the world am I gonna’ stay on this sun fishin’ son of a gun?” We know what some of the tricks this year’s session is gonna’ try but we don’t know everything and that’s kind of what keeps it interesting. My prayer is that as I have gotten older and more experienced the bumps and bruises won’t be quite as bad and the Flim Flam Man won’t have quite as easy a time tricking me.
There’s a whole bunch of those young bucks standing by the chutes ready to saddle up in their brand new suits and spit shined shoes and they all think they can ride a tornado and for some of them that’s what its gonna’ seem like. But they’ll learn just like the rest of us learned, some faster than others, and they’ll gain that valuable experience. Some of them will score and some of them won’t and spring will come just like it always does and hopefully in the next four months or so, we can do some good things for the State, we’ll have a wetter spring and the world will keep turning. For now we’re staring out at the cold gray light of dawn and looking forward to spring and of course, session.
Now, for you older folks like me you’ll understand most of this imagery and for you youngsters out there there’s always Google when you read this and wonder “what the heck is that old timer ramblin’ about?” Hope everyone had a wonderful start to this New Year, hope the wood rack is full and the old diesel is plugged in. We’ll see ya’ next week.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Nothing beats experience for sweatin’ fat off the brain.~Author Unknown
It seems that its always bitter cold when session kicks off, and each session develops its own personality kind of along in that February stretch, but as we get through that first thirty days or so there’s a faint light way down at the end of that tunnel that indicates spring is coming. Stock show season gets in high gear, political rhetoric heats up (I’m not sure that’s not the REAL cause of global warming) and you kinda’ know spring is on the way. As I’ve said many times there is a definite rhythm to the Earth, to the seasons, and to just about everything including legislative session. I’d like to think its getting a little easier to fan that bronc because we’ve been ridin’ em’ going on ten years but as with any living, breathing creature with a mind of its own it’ll have a jump or a pitch or a twist that you haven’t seen yet. There are parts of it that are as predictable as the sun coming up in the East and then there’s those unexpected ducks and dives that make you think “how in the world am I gonna’ stay on this sun fishin’ son of a gun?” We know what some of the tricks this year’s session is gonna’ try but we don’t know everything and that’s kind of what keeps it interesting. My prayer is that as I have gotten older and more experienced the bumps and bruises won’t be quite as bad and the Flim Flam Man won’t have quite as easy a time tricking me.
There’s a whole bunch of those young bucks standing by the chutes ready to saddle up in their brand new suits and spit shined shoes and they all think they can ride a tornado and for some of them that’s what its gonna’ seem like. But they’ll learn just like the rest of us learned, some faster than others, and they’ll gain that valuable experience. Some of them will score and some of them won’t and spring will come just like it always does and hopefully in the next four months or so, we can do some good things for the State, we’ll have a wetter spring and the world will keep turning. For now we’re staring out at the cold gray light of dawn and looking forward to spring and of course, session.
Now, for you older folks like me you’ll understand most of this imagery and for you youngsters out there there’s always Google when you read this and wonder “what the heck is that old timer ramblin’ about?” Hope everyone had a wonderful start to this New Year, hope the wood rack is full and the old diesel is plugged in. We’ll see ya’ next week.
If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov
And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
Nothing beats experience for sweatin’ fat off the brain.~Author Unknown
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