Legislative update: April 13-19
House members completed committee work on Senate bills this week and have just one more week to hear all Senate bills on the floor of the House. Any Senate bills that do not receive a floor vote by April 27 will be effectively killed.
Once the April 27 deadline is reached, most remaining bills will go to conference committees comprised of both House and Senate members who will hammer out a final version.
The session is constitutionally required to adjourn by 5 p.m. on May 26.
Paycheck Lenders Banned from Lottery
The Oklahoma House voted this week to permanently ban pawn shops and payday lenders from selling lottery tickets.
Senate Bill 1089 would prevent any "pawnbroker, supervised lender or... payday lender," or any company "whose primary business is categorized as a check casher" from selling lottery tickets.
The bill would make statutory the rule passed by the Oklahoma Lottery Commission last fall, after pressure from the Legislature, that bans such organizations from selling lottery tickets.
Those supporting the bill said people should not be enticed to take out high-interest loans simply to buy lottery tickets.
More than 400 payday lending stores in Oklahoma offer cash-advance payday loans at annual percentage rates of more than 250 percent. Reports indicate more than 75 percent of borrowers take out loans to pay off a previous loan or to pay bills.
SB 1089 passed in the House by a vote of 97-1 and now returns to the Senate.
Gambling Treatment Gets Renewed Support
A House committee has revived a measure that would address the growing problem of compulsive gambling in Oklahoma by working with faith-based organizations and increasing funding for statewide gambling treatment services.
Senate Bill 1915 passed the House Health and Human Services committee and will next be considered by the full House. The House previously sent a similar measure, House Bill 2408, to the Senate by an overwhelming margin, but that measure died without receiving a committee hearing.
The revived addiction treatment measure would require the Oklahoma Lottery Commission to spend $500,000 per year on gambling treatment programs, which would be coordinated by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The agency would work with faith-based programs as part of the treatment initiative.
Recent reports suggest Oklahoma's gambling-related bankruptcies have approached the $50 million mark.
Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services estimate that up to 51,000 Oklahomans are pathological gamblers and another 76,000 may be problem gamblers.
Senate Bill 1915 would also require "truth in advertising" in lottery marketing, including a disclosure of the actual odds of winning. Under the legislation, the Oklahoma Lottery Commission would have to disclose the odds of winning each lottery game in its advertisements or by posting the odds at each retail outlet selling tickets.
Veteran Tax Break Advances
Voters may soon decide whether to give a tax exemption to all of Oklahoma's military heroes.
Senate Joint Resolution 60 would grant all military war veterans a 15-percent tax exemption on the cash value of their homestead, for a maximum exemption of $15,000 per household. SJR 60 passed the House Veteran and Military Affairs Committee this week and now goes to the full House for a hearing.
SJR 60 would amend the Oklahoma Constitution and requires a vote of the
people for enactment.
Currently, 100-percent disabled veterans receive a full tax exemption of the cash value for their homestead but no other veterans are eligible.
According to Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, Oklahoma was home
to 355,312 veterans in 2004.
Bill Exempting Federal Retirees' Benefits from State Income Tax Passes in House
Oklahoma's federal retirees will have a little extra money in their pocket each year if a bill passed on the House floor this week becomes law.
Senate Bill 1655 (and its companion House Bill 2360) would exempt the retirement benefits of retired federal government employees from state taxation - treating those retirement benefits the same as Social Security payments.
Banz said a significant number of federal employees opted not to receive Social Security in the early 1980s and instead remained in a federal retirement system. However, while Social Security benefits are not taxable by the state, the retirement benefits those federal employees receive are subject to state taxation.
Banz said in 1983, federal government employees were enrolled in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which does not allow enrollees to collect Social Security.
In early 1984, employees were given the option of staying in the CSRS or enrolling in the new Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), which allowed enrollees to participate in Social Security. Most felt that CSRS was the superior system and opted to stay in it, said Banz.
However, while Oklahoma exempts Social Security payments from taxation, benefits received from CSRS are not.
The Oklahoma Tax Commission estimates there are approximately 35,500
federal retirees living in the state.
SB 1655 passed in the House by a vote of 98-0 and now returns to the Senate.
Beer Bill Becomes Law
The Governor has signed legislation increasing the penalties for selling or providing beer to minors.
House Bill 3056 will allow fines of up to $5,000 and five years in prison to be imposed on servers caught repeatedly selling beer to minors.
The legislation would also suspend a business' permit to sell beer if the company repeatedly sells beer to minors. Teenagers caught illegally purchasing beer could also face a fine of up to $900 and the loss of their driver's license for up to two years.
House Bill 3056 was endorsed by the Oklahoma Restaurant Association, the Oklahoma Grocers Association and the Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers Association. It also has the support of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, Oklahoma Prevention Policy Alliance, Oklahoma Nurses Association and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
-end-