Special Session On Tax Cuts Will End Moments After It Starts
Oklahoma’s Senate leader says a special session next week won’t result in any tax cuts.
Governor Kevin Stitt wants to slash Oklahomans’ income taxes and he wants to see which state lawmakers agree with him. So he called a special session to accomplish those goals.
He’s getting neither, at least on the Senate side.
Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat says his chamber will simply gavel in and gavel out on Monday when they are constitutionally obligated to go into special session.
Treat says Stitt’s choice to call a session now is political theater, the legislature hasn’t even determined how much money there is to spend. He says he feels like the governor’s numbers justifying the cut are inaccurate.
While it’s unclear what the House of Representatives will do. House Speaker Charles McCall has indicated he might hold a vote.
Regardless, regular session starts a week later. Budgets and potential tax cuts will be considered.
Governor Appoints New Education Secretary
Governor Kevin Stitt named a new Secretary of Education to his cabinet Wednesday.
Nellie Tayloe Sanders sits on the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, where she often advocates for school choice and resources for students with learning disabilities. As a board member, Sanders voted for what would be the nation’s first publicly funded religious school, the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School. She is currently named in the two lawsuits filed after that vote — including one that was brought by the Oklahoma attorney general.
Due to her new cabinet appointment, she says she will be stepping down as a voting member of the board.
Sanders will be taking the place of former Education Secretary Katherine Curry, who resigned in November after three months on the job, citing mismanagement at the State Department of Education.
USDA Reappoints Oklahoma Farmer To The Advisory Committee For Minority Farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reappointing an Oklahoma farmer to a committee supporting minority farmers.
According to the USDA, the Advisory Committee for Minority Farmers was established by Congress in 2008 to ensure underserved farmers have equal access to its programs, like mental health services and education on building streams of income and climate-smart agriculture practices.
Arnetta Cotton has farmed in Wagoner, Oklahoma, for over 40 years. During her first term, she developed several workshops that help farmers in her community learn about regenerative agriculture and how to make money. She says she sees herself as a voice for her community.
“Our farmers work in an industry where they very rarely make a profit. They need not to be another number. They need to be humanized and they need to be served as they work so desperately to serve us." Cotton said.
Cotton says, in this role, she’ll continue to grow the programs she started locally and help farmers build trust with the government.
Cherokee Nation Scholarships
The Cherokee Nation approves additional financial support for its citizens pursuing higher education.
On Tuesday, Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. officially signed into law an additional $95,000 in merit scholarships for undergraduate students as part of the Comprehensive Cherokee Nation Education Act of 2024.
The funding would provide various scholarship opportunities for on-reservation students as well as those at-large through the Cherokee Nation Foundation.
Currently, funds are awarded with the promise of students fulfilling certain requirements in return, such as completing community service hours.
The new legislation would create new opportunities for students to complete these conditions, such as taking Cherokee language classes.
The new legislation is expected to take effect no later than the fall 2024 semester.
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