Governor Stitt Continues Push For No Income Tax
As the Oklahoma legislature opened a special session on tax cuts Tuesday morning, Gov. Kevin Stitt spoke to reporters about why he feels the state should eliminate income taxes.
Stitt says he hopes the special session will put Oklahoma on the path to zero percent income tax, which he says is necessary if the state wants to keep attracting new businesses and residents.
“People are fleeing from high tax states to low tax states. We have to compete against Texas every single day, and they have zero income tax,” Stitt said.
Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall says he’s on board for eliminating income tax down the road. He expects the House to advance a quarter-percent tax cut during the special session.
But Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat has called for more long-term planning to ensure the proposed tax cuts are sustainable.
When asked why the state hasn’t eliminated its 4.5% grocery tax yet, Stitt replied that’s up to the legislature.
State Senate Candidate’s Office Vandalized
A candidate for state Senate in Lawton says his office was vandalized following a debate in Southwest Oklahoma.
Larry Bush is one of two Democrats seeking the Senate District 32 seat in Southwest Oklahoma.
He says his office was vandalized following a debate. The perpetrators did not steal any money or football memorabilia from the former OU defensive back.
Bush says the incident will only make him campaign more.
“All it’s done is just motivate me to work that much harder and put that much more effort to win this race and to get this seat,” Bush said.
The primary election for the race is next week and the general will occur on Dec. 12.
Four Republicans and two Democrats are vying for the seat vacated by John Michael Montgomery, who resigned from the senate this summer to serve as Lawton - Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce President.
Site Selected For New Oklahoma County Jail
Oklahoma County commissioners selected a site near Will Rogers World Airport for the new county jail.
Commissioners decided to begin negotiations for a city-owned 192 acre site at South Newcastle Road and SW 54th Street.
Commissioner Carrie Blumert says the site checked nearly all the boxes the county was looking for in a location, especially in its potential to "limit the impact on neighborhoods and schools."
Blumert says the location is in a predominantly industrial area, and the federal government operates at least two correctional facilities in the area.
The city and county still have to settle on a price. The new jail is expected to cost $300 million.
It will replace the current, deeply troubled Oklahoma County jail downtown, where detainee deaths are common and health and safety concerns continue to pile up.
Seven inmates have died there just this year, most recently in September.
Plugging Orphaned Oil Wells
Red Dirt Energy is working with the Kiowa tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to plug orphaned oil wells on tribal land and at the Deep Fork Wildlife Refuge.
Over seventeen thousand wells are abandoned in the state of Oklahoma according to a list published by the state.
Orphaned oil wells can leak toxins into the environment. According to the US Department of the Interior, abandoned wells across the country also emit 7.1 million metric tons of CO2 a year.
Scott St. John is the chief operations officer for Red Dirt Energy. He says 21 wells will get plugged at the Deep Fork Wildlife Refuge.
“States and the federal government are also implementing some rules to sort of prevent this in the future. Wells are getting plugged, and things are getting cleaned up," St. John said.
St. John says the wells are getting plugged through federal grants and Oklahoma’s orphaned well program.
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