Senator Rick Brinkley
The Senate has wasted little time in advancing a pro-growth agenda this session, with a number of vital reforms already making their way through the legislative process. I’m very pleased the tax cut proposal I co-authored with Sen. Mike Mazzei of Tulsa will soon be heard by the full Senate, after being approved by a Senate committee this week. Senate Bill 585 will lower the state income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 4.75 percent.
The bill would also eliminate more than 30 obsolete tax subsidies, and protect most tax preferences for low-income individuals, senior citizens and members of the military. Under the plan, it is estimated that 90 percent of Oklahoma taxpayers would see a tax reduction or no change at all. This reform is predicted to save Oklahoman taxpayers $250 million.
A Senate committee has also approved a proposal to comprehensively reform the state’s workers’ compensation system, another centerpiece of our legislative agenda this year. Senate Bill 1062 will replace Oklahoma’s costly workers’ compensation system with an administrative system. The new system will reduce the cost of workers’ compensation premiums and ensure injured workers receive quality care in a timely manner. Oklahoma’s current judicial workers’ compensation system is one of the most expensive in the nation.
Recent national studies, like the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services survey, show Oklahoma has one of the highest premium rates in the country at $2.77 for every $100 of payroll – 147% of the national median. Meanwhile, our regional neighbors have much lower costs. SB 1062 is modeled on the administrative system used in Arkansas. At $1.19 per $100 of payroll, Arkansas’ workers’ compensation insurance premiums are on average less than half the cost of premiums paid by Oklahoma businesses.
We have also advanced legislation to expand the number of events that qualify under the Oklahoma Quality Events Incentive Act. The Act gives communities a portion of any incremental sales tax increase generated by an event, for use in the recruitment, promotion and retention of high-value events. SB 976 would condense the timeline for communities to apply for Quality Events funds, allowing them to pursue events less than one year out. The measure modifies the definition of a Quality Event to include negotiated events, such as the National Arabian Horse Show in Tulsa and the World Quarter Horse Show in Oklahoma City.
Please feel free to contact me at the state Capitol by calling (405) 521-5566 or by email at brinkley@oksenate.gov.
