State House Lawmakers Approve Governor’s Proposed Tax Cut
State House members voted along party lines Wednesday to pass a quarter of a percent cut to the state income tax.
House Bill 1002 passed on a 71 to 20 party-line vote. It represents a quarter of a percent income tax cut.
But, the bill is unlikely to go anywhere for the moment as Senate leaders look to use their support for the measure as leverage on other legislative priorities.
House Republicans say an income tax cut means more money in Oklahomans' pockets. They say the state can afford it with more than $4 billion in savings.
Their Democratic rivals who opposed the measure argue the revenue lost could pay for infrastructure improvements or health care costs.
The State Senate can pick the bill up at any time during the regular session and cast its votes.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has thrown his support behind the bill and would likely sign it if it reaches his desk.
Temporary Library Planned For Norman During Mold Remediation Work
A temporary solution is in place in Norman to help while mold clean-up work continues at the Central Library.
Officials plan to relocate some library services to a building on South Santa Fe in downtown as a pop-up location during the mold remediation process.
The Pioneer Library System Board of Trustees approved a six-month lease for the temporary setup.
The board closed the Central Library in November after mold was discovered on every floor of the building.
The library opened less than five years ago.
StateImpact, Oklahoma Watch Defend Investigation Amid Walters’ Attacks
State Superintendent Ryan Walters continued his attacks against StateImpact Oklahoma and Oklahoma Watch during a news conference Wednesday.
He called the outlets' investigation released last week “fake news.”
The story was about mismanagement of Walters' teacher bonus program.
“I believe that these efforts from the press of lying to Oklahomans, lying to their viewers, lying to their readers is a disservice to Oklahoma,” Walters said.
“It undermines our Republic when you lie to the public in a way that undermines their very trust in the work that you do.”
Reporters from both organizations spent weeks investigating the fact that some teachers got bonuses that were vetted and approved by the state Department of Education that the agency is now trying to claw back.
The investigation found no evidence that teachers lied on their applications, and Walters has presented no evidence that anything about the reporting is inaccurate.
StateImpact and Oklahoma Watch stand by our reporting.
Walters said teachers who mistakenly received bonuses may not have to repay them.
He said that the State Department of Education is exploring alternative solutions for teachers who received erroneous signing bonuses.
Thunder Players Selected For NBA’s Rising Star Challenge
Three Oklahoma City Thunder players will be among 28 players to participate in the upcoming NBA Rising Star challenge.
Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace were selected.
The Rising Star is an exhibition match pitting NBA rookies, sophomores and players from the organization’s G-League against one another.
Holmgren and Wallace are rookies, and Williams is a sophomore.
The Rising Star matchup is part of the lead-in to NBA’s All-Star weekend. It takes place Feb. 16 in Indianapolis.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief.