TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider, taking you inside politics, policy, and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor along with Quorum Call publisher, Shawn Ashley. Shawn, one of the most significant accomplishments of the Stitt administration has been the establishment of business courts in Oklahoma, Those are new courts that focus on business matters. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that the bill establishing business courts violated the state constitution. What was the court's rationale? Now, the five justice.
Shawn Ashley: Now, the five justice majority said the bill had two problems. First, it created a court system that was not authorized by the Oklahoma Constitution, which lists the type of courts the legislature can establish. Second, its method for selecting judges for the courts, recommended by the House Speaker, appointed by the Governor, and approved by the Senate, was inconsistent with the Constitution's process for selecting judges. Therefore, they concluded the bill was unconstitutional.
Dick Pryor: Is the business court concept something that is likely to come up again in next year's legislative session?
Shawn Ashley: Governor Kevin Stitt has been pushing business courts for the past two legislative sessions. It was part of the budget negotiations in 2024 and again this year. In a post on social media, Stitt said he was disappointed by the decision. And he also wrote, “there is still strong bipartisan support and a clear path forward.” So, it appears likely we will see a new proposal as we get into the 2026 legislative session.
Dick Pryor: Does sound that way. Legislative interim studies are in full swing at the Capitol. Two studies held this past week looked at expanding state tax incentives. One, by State Representative Danny Williams of Seminole would incentivize the production of faith-based films. How would that be done?
Shawn Ashley: Under the current law, films can increase their incentives if they qualify for certain enhancements. Williams suggested a faith-based or family values-oriented story could be one of those enhancements, but representative Scott Fetgatter, who carried the Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021 that reestablished Oklahoma's film tax credit, expressed concern that specifying a specific type of movie might be problematic. How would one determine whether a film was faith-based? And might that run afoul of the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions, Fetgatter asked. Fetgatter also noted that faith-based films currently can and do qualify for the incentive. He suggested a better approach would be simply to increase the cap on the incentive from $30 million to $80 million, which would make Oklahoma's credit more competitive with those in other states.
Dick Pryor: And would help the overall film industry in the state. The other study examined tax incentives for major professional sports leagues. Now this sounds reasonable, but the idea is complicated.
Shawn Ashley: Yeah, this was very interesting. Oklahoma has an incentive program for professional sports teams. It's called the “Oklahoma Five Major Sports Leagues Rebate Program, but all five of those sports are men's sports - the NBA, the NFL, NHL, MLB, and major league soccer. Tuesday's interim study focused on Senate bill 820, which was filed by Senator Mary Boren and Representative Emily Gise for the 2025 session. It would expand the rebate program to include three women's sports - the Women's National Basketball Association, Women's Professional Fast Pitch Softball, and the National Women's Soccer League. Senate Bill 820 passed the Senate during the 2025 session, but it was not taken up by the House Appropriations and Budget Committee. Boren and Gise are hoping the study, as well as public support for the measure, will push it to a passing vote on the House floor in 2026.
Dick Pryor: And finally, the State Board of Education held its first meeting under new Superintendent Lindel Fields on Thursday. There appears to be a lot on his agenda, and one of the items is to revisit the department's budget request to the legislature.
Shawn Ashley: When he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, Fields said his turnaround team was reviewing the $4 billion budget request that was developed by his predecessor, former superintendent Ryan Walters. That request was put on hold at the September 25th board meeting. It was tabled. Now Fields hopes to review that proposal and put a new one before board members when they meet October 23rd, which would then be submitted to the executive branch and the legislature.
Dick Pryor: All right, thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find video of Capitol Insider segments on the KGOU You Tube channel. Audio and transcripts are at kgou.org, and look for Capitol Insider where you get your podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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