State Issues
State Legislative Priorities for 2012
- Increase funding for public PK-12, career and higher education and oppose any diversion of educational revenue sources such as property tax caps and tax exemptions and further reductions in the income tax rate.
Education funding cuts have caused districts to increase class sizes to such a large size that student learning is impacted; career tech programs for demand occupations have waiting lists of six to eighteen months; and higher education cannot educate more students without funding for more instructors. These cuts come at a time when state and national governments are imposing higher expectations for student achievement on PK-12 schools, and workplaces desperately need – and expect – higher levels of skills and education. If the state continues to impose constraints on education funding Oklahoma’s future economic competitiveness is threatened. Today, Tulsa is at nearly full employment for highly skilled workers, so those without higher education or a technical certificate are being left behind. - Fund the Quick Action Closing Fund.
The Oklahoma Quick Action Closing Fund was created in 2011, adding a vital tool to the state’s economic development toolbox and eliminating Oklahoma’s competitive disadvantage with Texas, Arkansas, and 30 other states across the nation.
While the Closing Fund was created in 2011, budget shortfalls prevented it from being funded. The OneVoice coalition strongly supports robust funding in 2012 to ensure its quick implementation. - Support the building of the Gilcrease Expressway and Bridge through any funding mechanism available in order to expedite this long overdue transportation system; a partnership with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is strongly encouraged.
The original Tulsa region expressway master plan called for the construction of the Gilcrease Expressway; the outer loop on the city’s west side is the only portion of the planned system which remains uncompleted. Completing this leg of the expressway system is vital to providing needed access and connections for businesses, supporting economic growth, relieving traffic capacity and congestion problems, and improving public safety. The Tulsa Metro Chamber’s OneVoice partners encourage a partnership with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to determine the project’s feasibility and secure construction funding as soon as possible. - Support legislative action to preserve, expand, and diversify sources of revenue available to municipalities / locally elected city councils in order to stabilize and sustain essential local government operations and services on which citizens, businesses, and institutions rely to accomplish their respective missions.
Oklahoma is one of only 17 states that provide municipalities with only one source of revenue, and the only state to restrict cities solely to sales tax. This lack of diversity in revenue streams, coupled with the volatility of sales tax revenue in a poor economy, leaves municipalities’ budgets subject to large fluctuations and creates an overemphasis on growing retail sales — often to the detriment of other economic development initiatives. Preventing the erosion of municipalities’ existing revenue source, and increasing their access to a diverse revenue stream, is of vital importance in maintaining the long-term health and prosperity of Oklahoma’s cities — and, by extension, the health and prosperity of Oklahoma’s businesses, communities and neighborhoods. - Support currently unavailable specialty care services to the uninsured through new funding of $7 million annually to OU’s Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic and $2 million annually to the OSU Center for Health Sciences to expand primary care treatment and referral system supporting north Tulsa’s uninsured, the Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic and OSU Medical Center.
Nearly five years ago, the Lewin Report recommended that Tulsa develop access to specialty care for the uninsured and expand access to primary care in underserved parts of the region — specifically North Tulsa. Tulsa’s two medical schools have developed plans to address these needs: OU with the Tisdale Clinic for specialty care (i.e. mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.), and OSU with additional primary care services. However, funding is needed to support operations or the burden of this care will continue to fall on Tulsa’s major hospital emergency rooms or go unaddressed. - Defend all existing road funding; prevent any diversion of monies; and support increased funding for transportation by developing an adequate, comprehensive funding strategy to broaden the sources of funds and increase the total amount going to transportation statewide. Support moving the remaining thirty percent of motor vehicle fees, which currently goes into the state general revenue fund, to transportation priority areas which may include state highways, city and county streets, and public transit.
A sound transportation infrastructure is vital for our state’s economic growth, and the safety of our citizens. The OneVoice regional coalition supports recent efforts by the state legislature to secure transportation for Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) eight-year plan, and the critical projects it seeks to address. To support the ongoing sustainability of transportation funding, the state legislature should continue its practice of using transportation revenues for transportation projects, and move the remaining thirty percent of motor vehicle fees to support transportation priorities at the municipal, county, and state levels. - Support continued funding for the OSU Medical Center ($5 million annually).
The continued funding of the OSU Medical Center is critical to the Tulsa community’s health care system. If the OSU Medical Center were to close, it would leave many patients without access to health care since the other hospitals do not have the capacity to absorb the entire load. It would also cause a great disruption in the critical area of physician training, as over 140 residents and fellows are trained there annually. Oklahoma already has a shortage of physicians and losing the residency slots would be devastating. - Support a state bond issue for capital investment in the Oklahoma Historical Society's planned Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture to maximize private monetary and land donations.
The Oklahoma Historical Society is proposing the creation of a new 45,000 square feet museum of music and popular culture to be located in Tulsa’s Brady Village district. The “OK POP” museum will feature music and popular culture created, influenced and enjoyed by Oklahomans. It will also play a key role in fueling economic development in Tulsa and its surrounding communities, attracting visitors from other parts of the state and country; and will employ over 390 individuals during construction, with an ongoing employment impact of 730 jobs during its operations.
Commitments have already been secured to ensure the project is a blend of private and public resources: the Bank of Oklahoma has generously donated a 90,000 square foot piece of land in Tulsa’s historic Brady District, and the George Kaiser Family Foundation has offered a $1 million challenge grant to encourage additional giving. These key investments underline the Tulsa community’s strong support for the OK POP Museum, and the value it would add to the Tulsa region. To capitalize on these initial commitments, a state bond issue is needed for the initial capital investment required for the project. - Support ways to leverage and maximize federal funding of reimbursement programs such as Insure Oklahoma, SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), Medicaid, Upper Payment Limit (UPL), Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) and Graduate Medical Education (GME).
These funding sources are all part of the Medicaid “bucket.” Oklahoma has not been maximizing our state match, so federal funds are left on the table. The SHOPP (Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program) is the first step to achieving the UPL, but there are other measures that can be taken, too, to equalize Oklahoma’s share of federal funding compared to other states. - Support $2 million in funding for the Tulsa Community Supercomputer. The installation and use of a supercomputer in northeast Oklahoma will help the Tulsa region foster, retain and attract high paying research jobs, while supporting the region’s existing health, energy, aerospace, nano and cyber business clusters.
One of four key programs of the Oklahoma Innovation Institute (OII), the Tulsa Community Supercomputer is a critical component essential to transferring research to high impact jobs in the Tulsa region, allowing expansion among existing businesses and fostering new home-grown innovation and industry. The Supercomputer will attract new and major research dollars to the region as well as facilitate and significantly expedite multi-disciplinary, collaborative research among Tulsa Research Partners (TRP) comprised of the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, and Tulsa Community College. With the Supercomputer as its foundation, this historic university partnership, linked to entrepreneurs, business leadership and philanthropy will provide the research and development needed to bridge the Tulsa region with the innovation economy.
Because of its job development impact, its contributions to decreasing costs and increasing access to research by providing common infrastructure to both the education and business sectors, the Supercomputer is strongly supported by the Tulsa region as evidenced by the $3 million in local funding already secured by OII.
