OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate late Wednesday defeated a controversial voucher bill following passionate debate on both sides.
Senate Bill 1647, by Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, would have let public tax dollars go to private schools.
Treat said public money goes to private purposes all the time.
The measure failed by a vote of 22 to 24. Senate leadership held the vote open well over an hour hoping to flip votes. The measure needed 25 votes to pass the Senate.
The vote was declared shortly before midnight.
It faced an uncertain future in the House should it have passed.
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said he would not hear the bill.
Gov. Kevin Stitt supported the bill.
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“I am grateful to Pro Tem Greg Treat and every senator who voted to put parents in charge of their child’s education," he said in a statement Thursday. "At the same time, it is deeply concerning that so many voted to deny parents and students choices and keep them trapped in a system that has failed many Oklahoma children and left our state 49th in the nation in education.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to attend the school that best works for them, regardless of their zip code or income level, and I will never stop fighting to empower parents and fund students over systems.”
Treat amended the bill to put in $128.5 million to offset the cost of the measure, saying he didn’t think it would cost that much. Critics suggested the measure would reduce dollars to public schools.
Critics also said the measure did nothing for rural areas of the state where a private school is not available.
Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, said only wealthy families will be able to cover the difference between the voucher and private school tuition.
She said the measure will create pop-up shops across the state with no accountability.
“This is more like a subsidy or entitlement,” Boren said.
The measure has an income eligibility cap of $154,000 for a family of four.
Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said about 95% of families would be eligible.
“This is a bill I passionately believe in,” Treat said. “It is a bill designed to give opportunity for school choice to kids and their parents.”
Treat said the bill is a work in progress, adding that things in it are negotiable.
Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso, said the bill has no accountability for private schools while lawmakers put tremendous accountability measures on public schools.
Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, said $128 million would pay for 3,657 teacher salaries.
Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, said the accountability is found in the parents. She said the measure gives parents an opportunity to give kids a better education.
The Senate passed a bill to remove the state sales tax on groceries.
Senate Bill 1495, by Treat, passed by a vote of 45-1.
It heads to the House for consideration.
The measure reduces the 4.5% collected by the state to zero.
The bill was amended to make it clear that cities and counties could still collect their taxes on groceries without passing additional ordinances.
The amendment was requested by the Oklahoma Municipal League, Treat said.
For a full fiscal year, the measure would cost $305 million.
The bill passed with no debate.
The Senate also passed Senate Bill 1646, by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa. The bill is a sentencing reform measure.
It changes several criminal penalties.
“For far too long our state has levied punishment that dos not fit the crime,” said Adam Maxey, Americans for Prosperity Oklahoma deputy director. “Senate Bill 1646 is a reform that will allow Oklahoma to join 36 other states that have a classification system for their felony crimes.
“These research-based reforms will put the order back in law and order. The bill’s author, Sen. Dave Rader, is a defender of taxpayers and supporter of second chances.”
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With all the talk of banned books, Tulsa World Staff Writer Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton, who covers education, checked with local school librarians to see what the process is like. She talks with Tulsa World Editor Jason Collington about what she found out and other hot topics when it comes to education in Oklahoma.
Still alive this session: Abortion restrictions, $125 checks for Oklahomans, daylight time, corporate tax cuts and more
Handing over the reins on school meals
House Bill 3432 would designate the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry as the state agency in charge of the National School Lunch Act instead of the state Department of Education. Senate Bill 1624 says it would grant the Board of Agriculture the authority to administer the National School Lunch Act.
Giving tax credits for parents paying children's teachers extra
House Bill 3351, by Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, would allow a 100% credit on donations of up to $1,000 per child to what amounts to bonuses for specified teachers. The credits would be capped at a total of $5 million per year.
Letting Oklahomans choose daylight or standard time
House Bill 3146 by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, would send a state constitutional amendment effectively outlawing daylight saving time in Oklahoma to a vote of the people.
Curbing catalytic converter thefts
A honeycomb structure made of platinum, palladium and other pricey metals can be found in catalytic converters. House Bill 4375, by Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, would create a new felony for convicted catalytic converter thieves. HB 4373 would expand third-degree burglary to include the theft of tires, wheels and catalytic converters.
Responding to grants sought to make voting easier
HB 3046, by Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, would ban private money from the state’s election apparatus. He said the use of private money is “bad optics” and sows distrust.
A raise for Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers
HB 4386, by Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, would give a 35% pay raise to every Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer.
Sending money to Oklahomans
House Bill 1358, by Speaker Charles McCall, would send $125 checks to every Oklahoma taxpayer (or $250 to every married couple) three weeks before the November general election, at a cost to the treasury of $321 million.
Making school boards more accessible
HB 4370 would require school districts with more than 5,000 students to livestream all public board meetings.
Reacting to controversial books in school libraries
HB 4014, by Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, would guarantee parents and legal guardians access to their children’s and wards’ library records.
Click here to read more from Randy Krehbiel.
Even before multiple bills dealing with school libraries were filed, area school districts had processes in place to guide book-purchasing.
Requiring parental consent for health choices
Senate Bill 1225 would prevent most Oklahoma residents those up to age 18 from self-consenting to vaccinations and female contraceptives.
Epic inspires reformed oversight for virtual schools
House Bill 3643, by Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, would change virtual charter schools’ governance and financial reporting in the wake of revelations concerning the use of state funds by Oklahoma’s largest such enterprise, Epic. Pictured: Paul Campbell, Epic board chair, speaks during a House interim study requested by Dills.
HB 3644, also by Dills, would apply more stringent standards and responsibilities on all charter school boards and their sponsoring organizations. HB 3645, would define attendance standards for virtual charter schools.
Continued work on medical marijuana oversight
The measures included a moratorium of up to two years on new business licenses, steep fee increases for large grow operations, a new procedure for obtaining business licenses and authorization for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority access to grower water and electric usage records.
A 'live round' affecting state revenue
House Bill 4358, by Rep. Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa, proposes phasing out the state’s corporate income tax over eight years, an estimated $400 million annual bite if and when fully implemented. Also in the tax cut mix is elimination of the much smaller corporate franchise tax.
"If we don’t pass this, governments will know they can regulate your food."
House Bill 2979, by Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener, forbids local governments from regulating home gardens, except to control water and fertilizer usage and invasive species.
Helping descendants affected by Race Massacre
House Bill 4154, by Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, enhances the 20-year-old Tulsa Reconciliation Scholarship Trust in an attempt to increase utilization and target descendants of those affected by Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre.
Changing how judges are selected
The measure would let voters decide whether to alter the Oklahoma Constitution, asking them to abolish the Judicial Nominating Commission, which screens candidates and refers names to the governor. Senate Joint Resolution 43, by Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, proposes the governor appoint judges with advice and consent of the Senate, the same as the federal system.
Trying out a change to grocery taxes
House Bill 3349, by Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, proposes what amounts to a two-year trial run to see how the state gets along without an estimated $270 million by suspending the state sales tax on groceries.
Barbara Hoberock
Capitol Bureau Writer
I have covered the Oklahoma Legislature since 1994. I cover politics, appellate courts, state agencies and the governor. I have worked for the Tulsa World since 1990. Phone: 405-528-2465
