OKLAHOMA CITY — A bill that would authorize the Department of Human Services to hire active or retired social workers, medical personnel and law enforcement officers on a contract basis made it through the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday despite concerns about where the money to pay them would come from.
House sponsor Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, and DHS administrator Samantha Galloway said Senate Bill 1182 by Sen. Kim David, R-Wagoner, is intended to give the agency more flexibility as it struggles with budget constraints and a mandate to improve child welfare services.
"My expectation is that we could use this ... to help us kind of get caught up," Galloway said.
Several Democratic legislators, though, said they fear that DHS would wind up hiring part-time or temporary workers instead of the full-time, permanent caseworkers they said DHS needs.
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They also asked how DHS would pay the part-time employees given the agency's request earlier this session for $33 million to get through the current budget year.
"This is not a funding issue at this point," said Galloway. "It's a matter of figuring out how this fits into what we're doing."
Nelson said the bill would allow but would not require DHS to hire outside workers.
Also Wednesday:
SB 1510: The measure would minimize the state's involvement in a controversial "free phone" program, also passed the Appropriations Committee.
The bill would lower the state's reimbursement for each of the phones distributed through the Lifeline program from $1.17 per month to 2 cents per month.
Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, said earlier in the week that eliminating the reimbursement would forfeit all state control of the program.
Echols said Oklahoma has a disproportionate number of the phones, which are supposed to go to low-income people, because the federal reimbursement rate on Indian land is nearly 50 percent higher than elsewhere.
SB 1639: By a vote of 20-0, the Appropriations Committee approved SB 1639, which essentially would create a new business-incentive program called the Quality Workforce Act.
The bill would reimburse employers up to 105 percent of the cost of employees' education and training. It is unclear how much the program would cost, although House sponsor Elise Hall, R-Oklahoma City, said it would pay for itself through higher pay for the employees and greater productivity.
A few minutes later, the committee got into one of the hottest debates of the day over whether to extend an agriculture sales-tax exemption to commercially grown deer operations.
It finally did, by a vote of 14-9.
The annual cost of the exemption is expected to be about $70,000.
SB 1513: The measure, which would subject Highway Patrol dashcam video to the Open Records Act, cleared the House Public Safety Committee on an 11-2 vote.
Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365
Gov. Fallin signs film,TV tax-incentive bill
OKLAHOMA CITY — A measure extending the state's film and television tax-incentive program was among four bills signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday.
The bills are the first four signed by Fallin this legislative session.
House Bill 2580 changes the film and television tax-incentive program's sunset date from July 1 of this year to July 1, 2024.
The program, which is capped at $5 million a year, reimburses film and television production companies for eligible expenses in the state.
A number of legislators, especially in the House, argued that the program is not a good use of taxpayers' money.
Others, however, said it produced far more than the $5 million in business and good will for the state.
Fallin also signed HB 2711, which made changes to the Quality Events program; HB 2566, which reorganizes a number of self-supporting agricultural boards and commissions; and Senate Bill 2122, which merges duplicative statutes.
