$35 million rebate for Vinita RV park advances in House

House Bill 3854, by Rep. Rusty Cornwell, R-Vinita, would reimburse the town of Vinita — identified in the bill as a municipality of between 5,000 and 7,000 according to the 2020 Census — for water and sewer infrastructure for “an establishment … that is defined or classified in the NAICS Manual under Industry Group No. 721211 and whose capital investment exceeds … $100,000,000.00.”

NAICS Code 721211 is RV Parks and Campgrounds.

Last summer, a Springfield, Missouri, investment group said it plans to build a $2 billion American Heartland Theme Park and Resort on 1,000 acres near Vinita. The first phase of the project is to be the Three Ponies RV Park and Campground, billed as the largest of its kind in the central U.S.

In presenting the bill to the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Cornwell said the investors’ proposal came too late for an American Relief Plan application, “so we’re looking for another avenue.”

HB 3854 passed the subcommittee unanimously without discussion or debate and likely will go before the full House Appropriations and Budget Committee later this week.

Also in the House Monday:

The House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education had its hands full with an agenda that elicited considerable discussion, especially around HB 3074 by Rep. Neil Hays, R-Checotah.

As presented, Hays’ bill would have required the Legislature to consider every two years legislation bringing teacher pay to a regional average.

The measure ran into considerable resistance, especially since it would require the bill get a floor vote if it passes the subcommittee.

HB 3074 passed 11-4 after Hays agreed to drop that provision.

HB 3273, by Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, would provide for the hiring of “independent school improvement experts” by schools judged in need of improvement.

HB 4017, by Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, would create a bonus program similar to one implemented this year by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. McBride’s, however, would have more qualifying conditions and spread payments over five years instead of paying a lump sum up front.

HB 3674, by Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, which is a formula for phasing out the state individual income tax, advanced from the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Finance.

The Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on the Judiciary moved along HB 3889, by Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow. It would authorize a domestic violence forensic teams pilot project. The bill would allow counties of at least 100,000 population to establish such teams of medical professionals to examine domestic violence victims.

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