Committee Approves Nonpartisan County Sheriff Elections

Legislation approved by the House Rules Committee would remove partisan politics from the election of law enforcement officials.

            Senate Bill 327, by state Sen. Rob Johnson and state Rep. Randy Grau, would make elections for county sheriff nonpartisan.

            “Legislators have an opportunity to show whether we want to be statesmen more than we want to be politicians,” said Grau, R-Edmond. “The public safety of a community is not a partisan matter. Lawmakers make decisions as to the law, county sheriffs execute it. There is absolutely no need for a partisan sheriff.”

  Senate Bill 327 now proceeds to the House floor for consideration.

Cockroft Co-Authors Successful Open Carry Bill

State Rep. Josh Cockroft was among the legislators voting today to give Oklahomans the right to openly carry a firearm.

            House Bill 2522 would allow any individual who obtains a license to carry a firearm under the Oklahoma Self Defense Act to carry the weapon either openly or concealed. 

            “ As a supporter and co-author of this bill, I believe it strikes a good balance in addressing the concerns raised during past debates on open-carry bills while providing Oklahomans greater authority to exercise their full Second Amendment rights,” said Cockroft, R-Tecumseh.

            House Bill 2522 would allow an Oklahoma citizen to carry a loaded firearm for any legitimate purpose on his or her own private property. The bill prohibits a business from implementing policies that prevent citizens from having ammunition in a locked motor vehicle in a parking lot.

Under the bill, the lawful open carrying of a handgun pursuant to the Oklahoma Self Defense Act could not be designated by any municipality or other political subdivision as disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace or a similar offense against public order. 

            House Bill 2522 passed on a bipartisan 13-2 vote of the House Public Safety Committee today with Cockroft among those voting for its passage. It now proceeds to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Governor, Legislative Leaders Reach Deal on Emergency Funding

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-legislative-leaders-governor-reach-deal-on-emergency-funding/article/3653058

Weekly Cockroft Column: Committees Clear Bills

I am proud to say that I have had three bills cleared in committee recently.

Under legislation approved unanimously in the House Government Modernization Committee, open records requests concerning any state entity could be made on a single online site. My legislation, House Bill 2379, would authorize the chief information officer to create and maintain openrecords.ok.gov, where the public could make open records requests. The chief information officer would then make the requested documents available on data.ok.gov.

My second bill, approved by the House Judiciary committee, would ban a greater number of sex offenders from living near schools or playgrounds. House Bill 2437 would impose the ban on rapists living near schools, child care centers, playgrounds or parks to include anyone convicted of molesting a child younger than 18. 

Current state law imposes the ban only if the victim was under the age of 13. I believe that a pedophile who rapes a 15-year-old is just a dangerous as one who targets younger children. We should not allow a technicality to give pedophiles access to schools or playgrounds where they can victimize other children.

The legislation was requested by members of the Pottawatomie County Sheriffs Department.

Finally, House Bill 2381 was approved by the House Public Health Committee. The legislation requires physicians who prescribe RU-486 for the inducement of an abortion to be physically present when the drug is first provided to the patient or they will be subject to a felony.

If you have questions or need information, please contact my office at josh.cockroft@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7349. Rep. Cockroft is on Facebook and on Twitter, votecockroft27.

Speaker, Minority Leader comment on elected official raises

House Speaker Kris Steele and House Minority Leader Scott Inman today issued the following joint statement on House Joint Resolution 1093, which passed the House, 87-1:

“We’re proud of our colleagues for standing up for what’s right and rejecting these raises. This is a fiscal matter at the end of the day, but it is also a matter of pure principle. Oklahoma has so many needs right now that must take precedence over these raises. Our judges and statewide elected officials work hard for the public every day, but now just isn’t the time to raise their salaries.” – House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, and House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City

HJR 1093 would block a six percent pay raise for judges and statewide elected officials that was approved last year by the Board on Judicial Compensation. Steele and Inman are the resolution’s principal co-authors in the House. The resolution now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Lawmakers Approve Firefighter Pension Reforms

 Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 93-1 today to improve the fiscal stability of the firefighter pension system.

            “Our goal is to put the firefighters’ pension system on a sustainable path that will provide retirement security for those entering the profession today,” said state Rep. Randy McDaniel, an Oklahoma City Republican with nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. “We have produced a meaningful pension reform bill that is fair to both the firefighters and the taxpayers of Oklahoma.”

            House Bill 2320, by McDaniel, modifies interest rate provisions within the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan (DROP) by stipulating that the rate of return will be 7.5 percent instead of higher rates currently allowed by law.

            Under current law, the rate of return is guaranteed to be the better of the market performance or 7.5 percent, whichever is higher.  That results in a compounding effect that dramatically increases guaranteed benefits even at times when market returns are below 7.5 percent.

             The measure also increases the employee contribution rate from 8 percent to 9 percent of gross salary and raises the employer contribution rate from 13 percent to 14 percent of paid gross salaries.

            “Under this reform, both employees and employers will slightly increase their contributions made into the system in order to ensure greater financial stability of the plan over the long run,” McDaniel said.

Based on current annual payroll figures for the system, the higher contribution rates will generate approximately $2.5 million per year from employer contributions and $2.5 million annually in additional employee contributions for a total of approximately $5 million.

House Bill 2320 also increases the percentage of insurance premium tax allocated to the firefighters’ retirement system from 34 percent to 36 percent.

Based on previous year collections, that change will provide approximately $3.5 million per year in additional revenue for the system. 

            House Bill 2320 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives with bipartisan support. It now proceeds to the Oklahoma Senate.

House coalition’s income tax phase-out bill passes first legislative hurdle

 Legislation to responsibly phase out Oklahoma’s personal income tax over 10 years and spark long-term economic and job growth in the state cleared its first major hurdle this week.

            House Bill 3038, which is authored by a coalition of lawmakers making up nearly a fourth of the entire state House of Representatives, was approved Monday in a bipartisan vote of the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Revenue and Taxation.

            The measure would repeal Oklahoma’s progressive personal income tax without necessitating increases in other tax rates or cuts in funding to core government services.

            “Our goal is to make Oklahoma the best state in the nation for business and job growth,” said state Rep. Leslie Osborn, a Mustang Republican who is one of 23 primary authors of HB 3038. “We can achieve this goal by allowing each and every Oklahoman the ability to keep more of the fruits of their labor, which gives them greater incentive to pursue prosperity for themselves and their family.”

            HB 3038 would phase out the state personal income tax through a process of simplifying the tax code, making modest reductions in wasteful, inefficient and non-essential state spending at the outset of the phase-out process, and utilizing growth revenue from other sources as Oklahoma’s private sector grows in response to the state’s dramatically improved tax climate.

            Were Oklahoma to eliminate its personal income tax without raising or expanding any other tax rates, the state would have the lowest overall tax burden in the continental United States.

            “We want to place Oklahoma on a course of sustained, robust prosperity and job growth that will bear real fruit in the short term and continue well into the future for our kids and grandkids,” said state Rep. Josh Cockroft, a Tecumseh Republican who is another principal author of HB 3038. “Even though many of the policy reforms in Oklahoma over the last decade have put us on better economic footing, we’re not content to just be better than some other states. We have the potential to be the best state in America for business and jobs, and we need to take that transformational step.”

            Supporters of HB 3038 maintain that lower tax rates have historically proven to have a positive impact on work, output and employment. The result has been higher levels of economic growth, job creation and state revenue growth, on average, in low-tax states.

            “We have the opportunity to make Oklahoma a magnet for business creation, relocation and expansion,” said state Rep. Elise Hall, an Oklahoma City Republican and sponsor of HB 3038. “Experience from tax cuts at the national level, in other states, and even here in Oklahoma has shown that lower tax burdens lead to increased prosperity and greater individual economic freedom.”

            As a Feb 7 editorial in the Wall Street Journal pointed out, a state’s tax burden “is a major signal about how a state treats business, investment and risk-taking.”

            The editorial went on to state, in reference to efforts to repeal personal income taxes in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, that, “The tax competition in America’s heartland is an encouraging sign that at least some U.S. politicians understand that they can’t take prosperity for granted. It must be nurtured with good policy, as they compete for jobs and investment with other states and the rest of the world.”

            The 23 initial primary authors of HB 3038 are, in alphabetical order:

• Rep. Don Armes, Faxon
• Rep. Gus Blackwell, Goodwell
• Rep. David Brumbaugh, Broken Arrow
• Rep. Josh Cockroft, Tecumseh
• Rep. Marian Cooksey, Edmond
• Rep. Lee Denney, Cushing
• Rep. David Derby, Owasso
• Rep. George Faught, Muskogee
• Rep. Randy Grau, Edmond
• Rep. Elise Hall, Oklahoma City
• Rep. Corey Holland, Marlow
• Rep. Mike Jackson, Enid
• Rep. Dan Kirby, Tulsa
• Rep. Randy McDaniel, Oklahoma City
• Rep. Glen Mulready, Tulsa
• Rep. Jason Murphey, Guthrie
• Rep. Tom Newell, Seminole
• Rep. Charles Ortega, Altus
• Rep. Leslie Osborn, Mustang
• Rep. Mike Sanders, Kingfisher
• Rep. Sue Tibbs, Tulsa
• Rep. Steve Vaughan, Ponca City
• Rep. Harold Wright, Weatherford

Committee Votes to Strengthen Sex Offender Laws

A greater number of registered sex offenders would be banned from living near schools or playgrounds under legislation approved by a House committee this week.

            House Bill 2437, by state Rep. Josh Cockroft, would impose the ban on rapists living near schools, child care centers, playgrounds or parks to include anyone convicted of molesting a child younger than 18. 

Current state law imposes the ban only if the victim was under the age of 13.

            “A pedophile who rapes a 14- or 15-year-old youth is just a dangerous as one who targets younger children,” said Cockroft, R-Tecumseh. “Sadly, the abuse often begins at an early age and last for years. We should not allow a technicality to give pedophiles access to schools or playgrounds where they can victimize other children.”

            The legislation was requested by members of the Pottawatomie County Sheriffs Department.

            If the legislation is approved, it would be illegal for any registered sex offender who victimized children to live within 500 feet of any elementary, junior high or high school, permitted or licensed child care center, playground, or park.

            House Bill 2437 has passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and now goes to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Cockroft Column: The Governor’s Tax Reform Plan

Rep. Josh Cockroft

I was very excited by the tax reform plan that Governor Mary Fallin unveiled in her State of the State address. It would reduce the number of tax brackets to three and completely eliminate the income tax for those Oklahomans in the bottom tax bracket, married couples making less than $30,000 a year or an individual making less than $15,000 per year. Married couples making between $30,000 and $70,000 would pay 2.5 percent and the married couples making more than $70,000 a year would pay 3.5 percent.

The governor’s plan would create a revenue trigger for future cuts. Every time revenue grows by a certain percentage, the tax rate would drop by a quarter of a percent. I do not think the trigger is necessary. We simply need to continue to make responsible cuts.

Now it is up to lawmakers to pay for the plan. We are going to have to eliminate a lot of wasteful spending to pay for the plan, which would take effect on January 2013. It is critical that we eliminate nonessential services and focus spending on core services such as education, public safety and roads and bridges. There are also a number of ideas on how we can reduce costs to our corrections system, without hurting the quality of service.

One thing that is not on the table: property tax increases or an expansion of the sales tax. We will not raise taxes to cut taxes – period.

I look forward to updating you throughout the 2012 session.

If you have questions or need information, please contact my office at josh.cockroft@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7349. Rep. Cockroft is on Facebook and on Twitter, @votecockroft27.

Committee Approves Open Records One Stop Initiative

Under legislation approved unanimously today in the House Government Modernization Committee, open records requests concerning any state entity could be made on a single online site.

            House Bill 2379, by state Rep. Josh Cockroft, would authorize the chief information officer to create and maintain openrecords.ok.gov, where the public could make open records requests. The chief information officer would then make the requested documents available on data.ok.gov.

            “This legislation would make filing open record requests more straightforward,” said Cockroft (R-Tecumseh). “My bill would cut through the bureaucracy. Our goal is to make state government as transparent as we can.”

            House Bill 2379 now proceeds to the House floor for consideration.

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Legislative leaders move to block elected official raises

 Legislative leaders on Wednesday filed a resolution to reject a proposed six percent pay raise for judges and statewide elected officials.

The measure, House Joint Resolution 1093, is authored by House Speaker Kris Steele, Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, House Minority Leader Scott Inman and Senate Minority Leader Sean Burrage.

The Board on Judicial Compensation last September approved a six percent pay raise for judges. Statewide elected official salaries are based on judicial salaries, so the judicial pay raise would also increase the salary of all statewide elected officials by six percent.

Steele, R-Shawnee, in October publicly opposed the judicial pay raise and urged the Legislative Compensation Board to leave legislative salaries unchanged, which it did.

“I said it in October and I say it now: This is not the time for raises. Once session starts, we’re putting a stop to it,” Steele said. “Oklahoma is still coming out of a recession. State revenues are rebounding, but certainly not enough to justify raising the salaries of elected officials. As good stewards of the taxpayer dollar, we cannot in good faith allow these raises to occur.”

Bingman, R-Sapulpa, praised the resolution as an exercise in common-sense fiscal responsibility.

“We may not agree on every issue out here, but we all agree these raises are the wrong move at the wrong time,” Bingman said. “Let me be clear: Our justices serve Oklahoma with great distinction, and neither they nor our statewide office holders asked for a raise. But we know our priority this session needs to be growing the economy and reducing the size and scope of government.”

Inman, D-Del City, said the state needs to focus on funding core services of government.

“When state employees haven’t seen a raise in six years, when education has seen 10 percent budget reductions, and when our roads and bridges are crumbling, the taxpayers’ dollars should be spent on meeting Oklahoma’s pressing needs. Allowing $350,000 in pay raises is simply not the fiscally responsible thing to do at this time,” Inman said.

Burrage, D-Claremore, said he expects the Senate Democrat Caucus to support the resolution.

“We must compensate our judiciary at a level that attracts high-quality attorneys to the bench. That being said, in light of the current budgetary situation, this is not the year for pay raises for elected officials,” Burrage said. “As our revenues continue to grow I am hopeful the issue can be revisited in an upcoming year.”

If passed by both legislative chambers, HJR 1093 would reject the Board of Judicial Compensation’s vote and pay would remain the same for all statewide elected officials.

Under Title 20, Section 3.2, the Legislature can nullify the board’s actions upon a majority vote of each chamber.