Why the state wants you cooking, heating and driving with gas
Figures released today by the State Treasurers office aren’t pretty, and basically the message Scott Meacham had for state agencies was: look for more ways to cut your budget.
Many state agencies are already grappling with a six percent budget cut this budget year which began July 1. Revenue collections for the fiscal year that ended June 30 showed that collections were down $434.7 million below the previous year and $427.8 million or 7.2 percent below the estimated figures.
Estimates are made in February. The Board of Equalization approves the collections estimates set by the Tax Commission.
The recession has hit Oklahoma and so far state officials aren’t sure where or when it will end. But in order for the state’s bottom line to improve one thing has to happen, Meacham said. The price of natural gas has to improve.
Natural gas is the lynch pin in Oklahoma’s economy. Drilling employs people. People who work on rigs spend money in the rural parts of the state, thus helping sales tax collections. When the industry is booming we see oil companies, like Chesapeake, investing in land or million dollar drilling rigs. And don’t forget those royalty checks. When the price is good, Oklahomans have a little more extra money to spend. It’s not rocket science. Gross production taxes, the money the oil and gas producers have to pay to the state, were down by 82 percent below estimates for the year.
“The hole is getting bigger and we haven’t hit the bottom yet,” Meacham told reporters who gathered at his press conference today.
Revenue collections could improve. Oklahoma was riding high when oil prices were topping $100 a barrell. Our state’s economy and budget is commodity driven. So when the rest of the America (and Oklahomans) are complaining about how much it costs to fill up their tanks, Oklahoma is sitting pretty. When the gas prices fall, state agencies have to get creative.
But Oklahoma consumers are doing their part to help keep the state budget intact. Sales tax collections accounted for $1.647 billion, yup– that’s billion with a B. That figure was $34.8 million or 2.2 percent above the previous year. Despite the gain, the figure was still below estimates by about $54.8 million.
So the take away on this economic doom and gloom:
1. We’re not California, or the seven other states that still don’t have a budget in place and could face a government shut down, or have to issue IOU’s to pay the bills. We’re paying our bills, keeping services and doing pretty good in the scheme of things, Meacham says.
2. If you want to be a good Oklahoman, get a car that drives on natural gas to help the state’s bottom line. Cook with the blue flame. Increasing demand for natural gas means state agencies can better serve you.
3. Get out there and spend that hard earned cash. Buy, buy, buy. Oh and eat beef and pray for rain. Easier said than done right?
With all these factors it could be a lackluster legislative year. If state agencies are forced to trim their budgets we could see a change in services, or furloughs, or layoffs. No state official is ready to say that’s going to happen immediately, but the reality is that state agencies already think they’re operating on a barebones budget. What else is left to cut?
Taxes…could be interesting. Hide and watch. It’s an election year. Everyone wants to lower taxes, not raise taxes.
Cordell’s mayor to seek McMullen’s seat
A special House election later this year is shaping up to be a battle between two members serving on Cordell’s city council.
Cordell Mayor Alex Damon, a Democrat, has announced his intention to run for the House District 55 seat.
The post is held by Rep. Ryan McMullen, D-Burns Flat. McMullen has been named state director of rural development for the U.S. Agriculture Department. McMullen, elected to the House in 2004, said he will step down from his seat in the next few days. The governor has 30 days after McMullen resigns to set a date for a special election to fill McMullen’s seat.
A Republican, Todd Russ of Cordell, said last week he would file for the seat. Russ, a former banker, serves on the Cordell City Council.
Damon said he wants to further the programs of economic and social progress he has started as mayor of Cordell.
Damon was appointed to the Cordell City Council in 2003. He served as interim mayor after the resignation of Mayor Bob Adams. Damon ran for and was elected mayor of Cordell in 2004. He was re-elected in 2007.
In 2005, Damon received the Governors Arts Award – the George Nigh Mayors Award – for outstanding support of the arts in his community and Oklahoma. In 2008, he was named Mayor of the Year by the Oklahoma Council of Mayors and the Oklahoma Municipal League.
Damon has lived in Cordell since 2002 with his wife of 13 years, Jessica, and their children. He graduated from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York in 1983. He owns an art gallery, a photography studio and a camera store.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Coates’ truck more environmentally friendly
Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, is making his 2006 Ford F150 a little more environmentally friendly. Coates has converted his pickup from gasoline to liquefied propane gas.
Thanks to a little help from his friends at Oklahoma Liquefied Gas. His truck will now run primarily on liquid propane gas.
“LPG is the choice for an affordable, convenient alternative fuel for people not interested in purchasing a new vehicle,” Coates said.
Coates’ truck is now a bi-fuel vehicle that will operate primarily on propane, but will also have the convenience of switching to gasoline if the need occurs. Senator Coates’ conversion with an estimated 150 miles per day will now pollute less.
The company that helped him switch his truck over provides this technical data, so I’ll include it if means something to the rest of you: carbon monoxide 469, volatile organic compound 27, nitrogen oxide 57, fine particulate matter .1 and greenhouse gas 8,276.
Now, where does he have to fill that thing up? And then the obvious question, can I siphon propane for my grill and camp stove? Probably not. But can he hook up the grill in the back of his truck? I know, my elementary understanding of how this process works is showing. I’ll stop with the shenanigans.
Cheers to the senator for at least trying something beside gasoline.
Huckabee uses part of state visit to raise money for GOP candidates
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, showing up at Oklahoma Christian University in borrowed cowboy boots, used part of his visit Sunday to the Sooner State to raise money for Republican state and congressional candidates.
Huckabee, leadoff speaker for the I Debate camp taking place this week at Oklahoma Christian, left a couple hours later for a fundraiser for his political action committee, HuckPAC, at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Hosts included U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, former Gov. Frank Keating, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and former state Sen. Scott Pruitt, who is a managing partner of the Oklahoma City RedHawks.
Huckabee, who has daily radio commentaries on the ABC radio network and a weekend show on the Fox cable network, has not announced his 2012 political plans.
His political action committee raises money for volunteers and activities in state races this year and in 2010. He expects the committee to provide assistance in Oklahoma’s 2010 gubernatorial race.
“Our PAC is a little different; rather than just kind of become a money stop, our primary focus is to activate volunteers,” he said in an interview before speaking to the high school students at Oklahoma Christian. “We’re helping to recruit candidates, help train them, supply volunteers to their campaign.
“The goal is to get people activated in their local communities and states to operate everything from phone banks to knocking on doors,” said Huckabee, who finished second in the 2008 Republican presidential primary in Oklahoma and is a frontrunner in the 2012 GOP presidential sweepstakes.
Huckabee said he learned during his presidential campaign is critically important, but volunteers and grass-roots efforts “are amazingly valuable.”
Support for GOP candidates usually is provided after the primaries are over, he said.
Huckabee arrived in Oklahoma from New York, where he hosts his cable TV show, but his checked-in luggage was sent on to Minneapolis. He had dressed casually for his flight, wearing jeans and running shoes.
Among the items in the missing luggage was his pair of dress shoes. His daughter’s boyfriend, he said, lent him his pair of tan cowboy boots to wear to Oklahoma Christian. Minutes before he was scheduled to speak to the students, his luggage was delivered on campus and he slipped on his black dress shoes.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Askins serves pancakes at fundraiser
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins will be a celebrity server for the Salvation Army’s “Home Energy Aid Week” Pancake Breakfast Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Askins will be among the community leaders serving breakfast as part of the “Home Energy Aid Week” Pancake Breakfast at the Masons’ Myrtle Lodge, 125 SE 89th St.
Proceeds will go to citizens in need of utility assistance; tickets to the all-you-can-eat breakfast may be purchased for $5. Last year, $57,000 was raised for Oklahoma citizens’ utility bill relief. Askins is running for governor in 2010.
Sen. Crain and the smell test
Does anybody else find it interesting that Sen. Brian Crain is now working for the Tulsa County’s Treasurer’s office? Maybe it’s just press. According to the Tulsa World, Crain, a Tulsa Republican, sponsored legislation in 2005 that allowed county treasurers and assesors to hire their own general counsel.
The World reported on July 5 that :
“In 2007, the law firm Crain was associated with — Boone, Smith, Davis, Hurst & Dickman — was contracted to represent the Treasurer’s Office in all bankruptcy proceedings for a fee of $3,000 a month, $1,000 of which went to the state senator. Crain himself contracted with the county the next year at a fee of $4,000 a month.”
The Tulsa County Board of Commissioners recently renewed the contract through fiscal year 2010.
Is this just a law firm using its contacts to get work and vice versa? Or as they like to say in debate on the Senate floor, does this pass the smell test?
Good question. To Crain’s defense, the bill was passed in 2005. He was the Senate author. Senate Bill 478 didn’t take effect until November 2005. In an interview with The Tulsa World, Crain said he didn’t expect to benefit from the legislation, but knew it was something that could help county treasurers be more effective.
Crain told the Tulsa World:
“‘In sponsoring the bill, “I had no expectation but that this was better for county government,” Crain said.
He also had an answer for those who might find it unseemly for a lawmaker to be filling a position he helped create.
“I feel very comfortable that I followed the letter and the spirit of the ethics rules and was a proponent of legislation that I didn’t believe I was going to benefit from,” he said. ‘”
The story also pointed out that while on the job with the county treasurer’s office, Crain has helped the county collect nearly $1.35 million in unpaid taxes. Guess it’s not all bad. That’s money that could be used on infrastructure and stave off tax increases and help fund services in Tulsa County.
How that smells I guess is up to the voters.
Life after the White House
Former President George W. Bush gave Oklahomans a peek at what life is like after serving eight years in the White House.
Bush, who spoke to about 6,000 Saturday evening at a Woodward rodeo arena, recalled how he flew back home to Texas after Barack Obama’s inauguration in January.
He said he was on his couch at his Crawford, Texas, ranch the next morning “lying down there, and I said, ‘Free at last.’”
His wife, Laura, heard him, he said, and told him he was free to take out the garbage and free to mow the lawn.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute, Honey, you’re talking to the former president. She said …. ‘Consider that your new domestic policy agenda.’”
Laura Bush, who accompanied the nation’s 43rd president for his first trip to Oklahoma since leaving the White House, sat on stage and smiled as he recounted the story.
Bush, who turned 64 on Monday, recalled how Elliott’s Hardware in Dallas had published an open letter to former him, inviting him to apply for a store greeter position now that he had bought a home in Dallas.
Bush said he went to the store on an errand for the former first lady and a customer in the store, apparently not knowing he was talking to the former president, asked Bush if anyone told him he looks like George W. Bush.
Bush told the customer it happens to him all the time.
“The guy said, ‘Sure must make you mad,’” Bush said.
After moving to Dallas, Bush said he took his dog, Barney, a Scottish terrier, on a walk.
“It was the first time I had been on a walk in a neighborhood in 14 years,” said Bush, who served as Texas governor before being elected president in 2000. “It was the first time Barney had ever been on a walk in a neighborhood. The little fellow’s 8 years old so he spent all his life on the South Lawn of the White House, in Crawford or Camp David.
“And there we are, walking down the street and Barney spots this manicured lawn,” Bush said. “And there I was, free but with a plastic bag on my hand. I was picking up that which I had been dodging for eight solid years.”
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Capitol cool again
The air-conditioning system appears to be back up and running today at the state Capitol.The Capitol uses a hybrid geothermal heat pump system to cool and heat it. Chilled water from wells and a cooling tower are pumped into the Capitol to cool offices.
House and Senate office executive assistants are back at their posts this morning after they were told to leave at noon yesterday because of the lack of air conditioning. Temperatures in some offices soared to about 90 degrees.
Individual offices and certain areas of the Capitol are vented for heating and air conditioning. The rotunda areas, where most visitors stroll, are not air conditioned.
Some readers to NewsOK.com accounts of the legislative offices closing yesterday afternoon seemed to get hot that lawmakers couldn’t stand the inconvenient temperatures.
No legislators were here yesterday. Keep in mind the session ended in late May. They will come back occasionally for task force meetings and committee meetings until the session resumes the first week in February.
A broken valve from a pipe that takes hot water that had been circulated throughout the Capitol to be chilled in a cooling tower and then returned to the Capitol forced the shutdown of the Capitol’s air-conditioning system.
The Capitol air-conditioning system works off water wells supplemented by the cooling tower.
Only a handful of offices remained open by mid-afternoon yesterday. Office workers coped with the lack of air conditioning by running fans and propping open doors. It’s hard for any air to get into the offices because windows are sealed shut.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Candidate announces for McMullen’s seat
It didn’t take long for a candidate to step forward for a western Oklahoma House seat that will be vacated later this month.
Todd Russ of Cordell said today he is running for the state House District 55 seat now held by Rep. Ryan McMullen.
McMullen, D-Burns Flat, was named last week as the new state director of rural development for the U.S. Agriculture Department. McMullen said he would step down from his legislative seat the middle of this month.
The governor has 30 days after McMullen resigns to set a date for a special election to fill McMullen’s seat.
Russ, a Republican, said he decided to run after making calls and visiting with people in the district.
Russ, 48, narrowly lost a state Senate bid in 2006. He lost in the Senate District 26 race in southwestern Oklahoma. He had 9,110 votes compared with 9.383 for Democrat Tom Ivester of Sayre. The Senate district encompasses much of House District 55.
Russ, who serves on the Cordell City Council, is the past president and chief executive officer of Washita State Bank in Burns Flat. He sold the majority of his bank stock last year and is now doing management consulting with banks and small businesses.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau
Getting heated up at the Capitol
The sound of fans whirring can be heard today throughout the state Capitol.
The air-conditioning system is broken.
“We really can’t give a definite time frame right now about getting it repaired,” Gerry Smedley, a spokeswoman for the state Central Services Department, said this morning.
A water pipe to the Capitol broke late yesterday, Smedley said. The Capitol uses a hybrid geothermal heat pump system to cool and heat it. Chilled water from wells and a cooling tower are pumped into the Capitol to cool offices.
“We’re evaluating the damage to determine how much has to be repaired and how long it will take,” Smedley said.
About 300 gallons is leaking into the ground every 10 minutes, she said.
“That’s a lot of water,” Smedley said.
The rotunda areas of the Capitol are not air conditioned. The Capitol, built during 1914-19, was not designed for a central heating and air-conditioning system.
Office workers appear to be coping with the lack of air conditioning. Some have fans running; most have doors open.
Visitors to the Capitol shouldn’t notice much difference because the rotunda areas are not air conditioned anyway. It’s usually hot and steamy in the first- through fifth-floor rotunda area, where most visitors roam, during summer months.
The last significant break in air conditioning service at the Capitol occurred four years ago. A couple offices closed when temperatures in the offices exceeded 85 degrees.
Temperatures in the Capitol are tolerable so far this morning, but as temperatures outside rise to a predicted high in the mid-90s, it will start heating up inside as well.
