Is Everyone Feeling Special?

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

           

       The special session has set sail.

The question is, will this ship accomplish its mission, or be so tossed and battered by the storms of political squabbling that it returns to port with nothing in its holds?

On Monday, the Governor of the Great State of Oklahoma had the legislature convene for an extraordinary session to deal with the $215 million budget shortfall created by the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the cigarette fee. (A good decision, by the way.) She also requested that we deal with inefficiencies in state government, clarify exemptions on the new 1.25 percent sales tax on vehicles, come up with the money for a teacher pay raise, and work on solutions to problems in the budgeting process.

On Wednesday we recessed until further notice with nothing to show for our efforts.

Well, that’s not entirely true. While many are complaining about the money being spent on the special session, the first two days were necessary and expected to be uneventful. Oklahoma’s constitution does not allow the legislature to vote on bills during the first two days of session. So now those days are out of the way.

Anything else to report?

Not much.

I have filed two bills for this session. The first is a soft cap on the payouts for wind generation tax credits. That is, electricity produced from zero-emission facilities. The cap begins at $50 million for the first two years and gradually steps up in the following years until the credit is paid in full. In other words, if there are $75 million in credits claimed during those years, they would receive 67 percent of the claim, and then use the remaining credit in future years.

This limits the state’s liability so we can budget without fear of surprises (since it is possible for claims to exceed $100 million a year), yet still pay over time the full amount of credits promised the wind industry.

The second bill cuts by 25 percent, for two years, many business tax credits.

Both bills are works in progress, but the idea is to help us fund necessary government services while keeping the budget in check, at least a little.

Other bills have been filed that I am hoping leadership will consider in order to try to get the budget even more under control. Next regular session I hope we will be returning to line item budgeting to force department heads to make cuts that are appropriate, and not the ones that cause pain to the state’s citizens.

Hopefully common sense will prevail during this session.

      I welcome your questions and concerns, so please feel free to contact my office at the State Capitol if you would like to discuss a particular issue or problem.  Our office can be reached by phone at 405-521-5561 or by email at bergstrom@oksenate.gov.   If you visit the Capitol, we are located in Room 527A.

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Budgets are an issue, Federal and State

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

           

           Budgets.

           I’m spending a lot of time looking at budgets.

           Here in Oklahoma there is the state budget, which must now be balanced since the Oklahoma Supreme Court has overturned the cigarette fee that was passed during the last legislative session. It is a $215 million hole, and it is a hole in funding to three agencies, which, when we consider the loss of matching federal funds, will result in a $500 million budget failure.

           For those agencies, Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) and for the Oklahomans these agencies serve, this will be a devastating shortfall if not corrected. That is why we will be returning for a special session on September 25.

           I have also been looking at the federal budget.

            From September 12-15, I was in Phoenix, Arizona attending the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) Planning Convention as a delegate. This gathering prepared the rules and guidelines for a future Article V Convention of the States for proposing an amendment.

           Just one amendment. A balanced budget amendment.

           The national debt just surpassed $20 trillion and it is projected to increase by a trillion dollars a year for the next decade. We are borrowing trillions of dollars from foreign countries. We have had the Federal Reserve Bank printing money to pay our bills. We have looted all of our Federal trust and pension funds, including our military retirement funds, to pay for our government. This is just not sustainable.

           Since Congress has failed to restrict its spending, it is up to the states to act, and that is what we are doing. Article V of the United States Constitution provides two methods for proposing amendments to the Constitution. It may be either a resolution adopted by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or by the states at a convention called for that purpose. At this time 27 states, including Oklahoma, have signed on to the convention, with seven more needed for the convention to be called.

          In Phoenix we created a model set of rules, set up a standard for the next convention, and re-established a mechanism for the states to come together and exercise their authority to restrain the federal government.

        We are on the path to a financial disaster that will make the Great Recession of 2008 seem like an economic speed bump in comparison.

         That is why states like Oklahoma are stepping forward to force Congress to change its behavior. We must do this to protect our children, grandchildren and future generations from a crippling national debt, and I’m proud to be a part of this process.

        In my next column I will address the other budget I’m trying to understand and the special session we are preparing for in the Oklahoma legislature.

I welcome your questions and concerns, so please feel free to contact my office at the State Capitol if you would like to discuss a particular issue or problem.  Our office can be reached by phone at 405-521-5561 or by email at bergstrom@oksenate.gov.   If you visit the Capitol, we are located in Room 527A.

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With Federal Budget Out of Control, States Move Toward Article V Amendment

Bergstrom attends Balanced Budget Amendment Planning Convention

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Micheal Bergstrom is in Phoenix, Arizona as a delegate attending the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) Planning Convention, which commenced on September 12 and is scheduled to complete its work on September 15. The gathering is preparing the rules and guidelines for a future Article V Convention of the States for proposing amendments.

“The national debt just surpassed $20 trillion this week, and it is projected to increase by a trillion dollars a year for the next decade. This is just not sustainable,” said Bergstrom, R-Adair. “Since Congress has failed to restrict its spending, it is up to the states to act, and that is what we are doing.”

Article V of the United States Constitution provides two methods for proposing amendments to the Constitution. It may be either a resolution adopted by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or by the states at a convention called for that purpose. Currently, 27 states, including Oklahoma, have signed on to the convention, with seven more needed for the convention to be called.

“What we are preparing for is a convention which will focus on only one amendment, one that will limit our federal government from spending more than it takes in,” Bergstrom said. “At this time, we are spending more than our nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is the size of the U.S. economy. We are borrowing trillions of dollars from foreign countries. We have had the Federal Reserve Bank printing money to pay our bills. We have looted all of our Federal trust and pension funds, including our military retirement funds, to pay for our government.”

“We are on the path to a financial disaster that will make the Great Recession of 2008 seem like an economic speed bump in comparison,” added Bergstrom.

In 1990, foreign entities owned six percent of the nation’s gross debt. That has climbed to more than 34 percent. The United States is beholden to China, Japan, Russia and many other countries for loans that finance the government.

“Congress has put our nation in a dangerous position, where we are subject to the political influence of other nations over U.S. foreign and trade policy because of its willingness to run up an insane amount of debt and take money from nations who do not have our best interests in mind,” Bergstrom said. “That is why states like Oklahoma are stepping forward to force Congress to change its behavior. We must do this to protect our children, grandchildren and future generations from a crippling national debt, and I’m proud to be a part of this process.”

The Oklahoma delegation consists of state Senators Micheal Bergstrom, Nathan Dahm and Julie Daniels as well as Reps. Mark Lepak and John Bennett, former Rep. Gary Banz and attorney Mark Nuttle. 

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For more information, contact:Sen. Bergstrom: (405) 521-5561