The Oklahoma Education Lottery Fund. Was it raided? Here's the truth, but shhh, it's a secret.

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

           

 Let Me Tell You A Secret

The Oklahoma Education Lottery Trust Fund was raided once again, or was it?

Well, it all comes down to a secret formula.

On Tuesday the Senate passed, unanimously, Senate Bill 1582 which restores money to the trust fund that the State Board of Equalization had determined was supplanted. That money, almost $20 million, was taken from a surplus in the Unclaimed Property Fund.

So, why in the world would the legislature siphon money from the Education Lottery Fund?

Here’s the reality, we didn’t. Or at least we don’t think we did.

The problem is that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), which did the calculations for the Board of Equalization, has a formula to determine, when a budget is passed, whether or not the amount being spent on education from sources other than the lottery results in money being supplanted from the lottery trust fund.

It’s a secret.

Nobody in the legislature has any idea how they make their determinations, even though legislative leaders have repeatedly asked the Governor’s office and OMES for an explanation. We’ve been asking for this information since June 2017.

So did OMES warn us about this issue?

Why, of course not.

OMES could have informed the legislature anytime from June 2017 until now about the so-called supplanting so we could have remedied the problem with a supplemental appropriation. The Governor’s office and budget director, you know, the head of OMES, were a part of all budget negotiations, and never raised this point about the budget.

We suspect that there is a great deal of education funding that is not being taken into consideration by this secret formula.

Still we thought we were fine when we finalized our budget in the still ongoing second special session, which we had to fix after the Governor creatively vetoed our budget in the first special session.

But when OMES declared we had supplanted the lottery fund, it threw a monkey wrench in our efforts to shut down the second special session and focus on the 2019 budget. We had no choice but to restore those funds so we can move on.

Thus the unanimous vote in the Senate on Tuesday.

Hopefully OMES will enlighten the legislature regarding its mysterious formula. When that will happen? Your guess is as good as mine.

After all, it’s a secret.

P.S.

A few hours after I originally released this column, I was told by someone in leadership that they had just received an explanation of the "secret" formula. 

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 428B.

-30-

Another One Bites the Dust

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom 

Another One Bites the Dust

Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it.

There.

That sound you heard was the “doink doink” of the Oklahoma House of Representatives closing down the vote Monday night on House Bill 1033xx.

And another revenue bill just bit the dust. Whether or not it can be resurrected is only to be seen.

Now there will be some who will be jumping for joy over this, while others are in mourning. Some will be crying from the rooftops, cellphones and social media, “Hurrah, the tax is dead.” Some will be shouting from those same places, “The teachers are leaving and our children are dying.”

Most will probably be wondering just what this does mean and what comes next.

In the previous session we had a plan, called the A-plus plan, that increased the motor fuel tax, cigarette tax and the gross production tax on oil and gas from two to four percent. Exactly the same levels of increase as in this new Step-Up Plan which also includes a tax on wind energy generation. The A-Plus plan passed the Senate but failed in the House by 5 votes. It failed because the oil and gas industry intensely lobbied against it.

On Monday night the Step-Up Plan, which is being pushed by the oil and gas industry because they fear a petition initiative to get a state question on the ballot to raise the gross production tax to seven percent, was defeated in the House by 13 votes.

So, unless we can pull a rabbit out of our hat, we are going to end up with cuts across most agencies, including education. It is likely there will be a move to remove exemptions on sales taxes of services, since that is a 50 percent vote, unlike new revenue bills that require 75 percent in both houses of the legislature. Your barber may have to start collecting such a tax. It is possible we will see the closing of some of our state parks. Some bridges will not be repaired or replaced, and some roads will have to wait as well.

Oh, and oil and gas, it’s likely they have seriously miscalculated and that state question will go to the ballot and be passed.

What can one say, but “doink doink.” 

(By the way, that’s the sound you hear at the beginning of each Law and Order television episode, for those who didn’t know.)

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 428B.

-30-

Thoughts on Governor Mary Fallin's State of the State Speech and Kicking Off the Session

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Back In the Saddle Again

As of Monday, February 5, we are back in session, back in the saddle again.

No, let me correct that, we are still in the second special session.

Well, to be accurate, we are in a new regular session and continuing the second special session concurrently. So, in a way I might say I am back in the saddle again, but we’ve been in the saddle so much this past year that some might be getting saddle sores.

Of course, Governor Mary Fallin kicked off the new regular session with her state of the state speech and it was a good speech. Especially when compared to the one she gave in 2017. I was glad to see that the Governor's speech was not a lengthy laundry list of proposed tax increases like last year's.

She described this as being a “historic, defining moment.” Maybe she’s right. Maybe we will begin to move away from budget failures and one-time budget fixes. Maybe we will see significant reforms this year and our state government will run more efficiently. Maybe we will be able to take on the challenges of prison overcrowding and increasing teacher salaries.

I hope so, but as the Governor stated in her speech, it will require cooperation.

Compromise will be necessary for the legislature to deal with long-term funding issues and to reform the government to make it more efficient. The governor also noted that the legislature is no rubber stamp for her or any group's proposals. While she indicated she supports the Step-Up Oklahoma Plan, which is a collection of revenue measures and reforms, proposed by the business community, intended to stabilize the budget and make government more efficient, she stated that there are portions of the plan that we, the legislature, may choose to modify or scuttle, and that is what I expect will happen.

Even if portions of the Step-Up plan pass, and bills related to the Step-Up plan will probably begin being heard in Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget (JCAB) in the House this week, we have a great deal of other problems to take on.

For example, since our prisons are at 112 percent capacity, the governor’s call for us to take on the challenge of prison overcrowding and finding alternate ways to deal with those with addictions is spot on. We need to deal with that now, before we end up with the Department of Justice deciding it wants to take control of the situation away from the state. It has happened before and it can happen again.

And that is just one of the problems the legislature must act on 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 428B.

-30-

Why We Must Increase Teacher Salaries

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

           

       We must raise teacher salaries.

Last session I filed a bill to provide Oklahoma’s teachers with a $5,000 pay raise that would have been phased in over three years. One of the reasons I sponsored the bill was that during my campaign for office one question I was asked repeatedly was: what would I do about improving things for our teachers?

Needless to say, the bill never came to a vote on the floor and despite my efforts and those of others there was no pay raise. The largest reason for that was the budget deficit which just seemed to keep getting worse.

Most I speak with today on the subject tell me this is still a serious concern, but then there are the few who disagree. I have heard things like, “Well if they don’t like what they’re getting paid here, let them go somewhere else.”

Admittedly, there are some in the teaching profession whose primary interest is the money and the kids are just an afterthought, but that’s not the norm. There are those in any profession who would be better off doing something else or going to a different employer.

Here, though, are reasons why we must pass a pay increase.

We are in a nationwide teacher shortage and we must be reasonably competitive to retain and recruit quality teachers into our classrooms. I was talking with a superintendent the other day who had lost several teachers over Christmas break, some to other schools across the state line, others to significantly better paying jobs outside of education.

This brings me to my next point.

Teachers are leaving the classroom to pursue better paying careers. That bachelor’s degree that teachers must possess (and many attain higher degrees, not counting the continuing professional development requirements) will often open the door to far more lucrative careers, and many teachers, especially with families to provide for, choose to step through that door out of financial necessity.

It has been a decade since Oklahoma teachers received a pay raise. Back then, the legislature was trying to play catch-up as it is today.

Business is opting to NOT relocate in Oklahoma.  Economic development is one of my primary areas of concern as a legislator. When I talk with business leaders, CEOs, and others about bringing business to and helping businesses grow in my district and the state as a whole, education is a major concern. A well educated work force is critical, and our state’s ranking in education compared to other states, and our inability to pay a competitive wage to our teachers is something that negatively impacts us.

Increasing teacher pay will not solve all our education issues, but it will let those who daily pour themselves into instructing our children and grandchildren know they are valued.  It will also help us retain and recruit classroom teachers, while showing businesses that are considering moving to Oklahoma that we are serious about education in our state.

      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 428B.

Tourism Scandal Seems To Be Nothingburger

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Tourism's Whole Lot of Nothing 

I recently heard a candidate for statewide office bemoan the troubling situation in the Department of Tourism. He compared it to the fiasco in the Department of Health where stupidity and possibly criminal actions resulted in the legislature having to bail the Oklahoma agency out to the tune of $30 million.
As someone who serves on the Business, Commerce and Tourism committee in the Senate and who has met repeatedly with the agency heads of Commerce and Tourism, I was very interested in this. I had, in fact, asked about accusations of misappropriation in the Department of Tourism months ago and I was assured that there was no serious issue there.
Now, it seems, an investigation by a House committee is confirming that's the case.
The scandal at Tourism is a nothingburger.
(Sorry, but I had to use that term just once in my columns.)
Here's what the Oklahoma House Special Investigation Committee has uncovered about the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation of the Tourism Department discovered that six employees were owed back pay by the agency. The total owed, now get this, was $744. That's it. $744. No penalties, nothing else.
It's been paid.
In addition, four checks had been written out of the wrong checking account by the agency. When the agency's executive director, Dick Dutton, learned of the mistake he got with the appropriate budget officials to correct it.
Other than an employee survey (taken when the director was taking over at the agency) that cited employee frustrations over issues within the agency that generally pre-dated Dutton's arrival, there were no other significant revelations.
What a scandal, right?
It is my hope that those who run for office will focus on legitimate issues. There are plenty of those out there.

An Idea for Retaining and Recruiting Oklahoma Teachers

Bergstrom files bills to help fund post-secondary 

education for children of classroom teachers

OKLAHOMA CITY –   State Senator Micheal Bergstrom filed two bills this week aimed at helping to recruit and retain teachers in Oklahoma schools. 

Senate Bill 1188 would allow a certified classroom teacher to earn a tuition waiver worth 12 credit hours of resident tuition each year the teacher is employed by an Oklahoma public school district to be used for the postsecondary education of the teacher’s child or children. 

Under the provisions of SB1188, to be eligible to use the tuition waiver, the child or children of the certified classroom teacher must be a resident of Oklahoma or be enrolled in a school district located in Oklahoma that serves students who reside in both the state and an adjacent state pursuant to a specific contract.  The student must also be a United States citizen or lawfully present in the U.S.   To be eligible, the student would also be required to have graduated within the last three years from an accredited Oklahoma high school with a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA for all schoolwork from grades 9 through 12.  If the student graduated from a non-accredited high school with a minimum GPA of 2.5, he or she would still be eligible for the waiver if they also score a 22 or higher on the ACT test.  Students who satisfactorily complete an alternative public or private school program are also eligible with an ACT score of 22 or higher. 

“This should be a strong message to our educators that we want to build a more stable education system in the state of Oklahoma and that we want good quality classroom teachers to come to Oklahoma and stay here throughout their career,” said Bergstrom, R-Adair.  “Hopefully, through a measure like this, we can also ensure that their children have the opportunity for quality education and encourage them to stay in Oklahoma to help build the future of our state.”

Bergstrom’s second bill, Senate Bill 1092, provides for a child of a certified Oklahoma classroom teacher to be eligible for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), or  OK Promise, as it is commonly identified today.   OK Promise/OHLAP is a state funded program that pays pay tuition at an Oklahoma Public two-year college or four-year university for students who qualify. Historically, to be considered eligible, students must have signed up during their 8th, 9th, or 10th grade year with a validated household income of less than $50,000 and complete the required coursework and conditions outlined by the Oklahoma State Regents Office.  SB 1092 would remove the income cap on eligibility for children of certified classroom teachers.

“OHLAP/OK Promise is a program which helps Oklahoma students who work hard at their education to get a college education,” Bergstrom said. “By removing the cap on eligibility for the children of long-time Oklahoma classroom teachers, we are creating a powerful retention and recruitment tool that will continue to benefit the future of Oklahoma.  The proposal is directed at full-time Oklahoma classroom teachers only, since that is where the need is in this state.”

Bergstrom said both proposals were filed out of concern for many teachers leaving Oklahoma in search of higher paying jobs in other states.

“The State of Oklahoma needs to be competitive with our neighboring states in regard to recruiting and retaining quality teachers to Oklahoma schools,” said Bergstrom.  “Both of these bills provide mechanisms by which teachers who make a long term commitment as classroom teachers will earn tuition waivers for their children to attend Oklahoma colleges and universities.”

-30-

A Little Under the Weather in OKC

Capitol Considerations 

by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Other than the two-plus hours I spent on the Senate floor, in caucus, and in a meeting in my office on Monday, I was in bed in my apartment near the Capitol trying to recover from whatever the crud is that has me down.

I didn’t have much to say during caucus or on the floor, partly because I was trying to avoid contact with other members to avoid passing this on, and also because I was trying to save my voice for the meeting in my office.

I’m a little under the weather.

It would seem that the State of Oklahoma is as well.

Now if you listen to some, the State is not just sick but practically in a state of decomposition.

Admittedly we have some issues, but a lot of the comments about the state’s condition are overkill.

Some of our issues:

First, the Governor vetoed, using a very creative line item veto, the amended budget we sent her at the end of the first special session. This has resulted in some serious issues. We had gone into special session with the express purpose of restoring funding to three agencies, Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS), which were stripped of much of that money. The CIRB fund (County Improvements for Roads and Bridges) had an extra $50 million swept from its revolving fund on top of the $30 million the legislature intended to use, and about $48 million in revenue from legacy wells was left undirected, not being used.

So, we must find a way to immediately restore funding to agencies like OKDHS and deal with some of the numerous other issues created by the veto, and do it this week. Eventually we need to restore the CIRB funding.

To give credit where credit is due; for weeks the Republican leadership has been meeting with the Governor, with leadership from the minority party, and with business and industry leaders to find a long-term solution to our budget issues. They seem to be making some progress. But that won’t be ready until probably January.

Moving onto the next issue. The Department of Health was using inappropriate, if not illegal, bookkeeping to hide its financial condition from the legislature and the Governor. This is being investigated. Hopefully it will be made right soon.

Remember the meeting I mentioned earlier? That was with Director of Corrections, Joe Allbaugh. Another issue is that our prisons are definitely sick.

Let’s see, serious overcrowding, dilapidated prisons like McAlester where we spend $41,000 per year on each inmate, and contraband like drugs and cellphones flooding the prisons, putting the guards and the inmates’ lives at risk. It still boggles the mind that we have prisons without fences around them, so prisoners just walk away from time to time. Director Allbaugh assured me that’s an issue he’s aiming to correct.

The director and I were able to discuss some common sense solutions to issues as well as legislation I am working on. It reminded me of the disease that is weakening our state. It might be called “catchup-itis.” You know, where we are constantly trying to catch up, to repair that which should have been replaced long ago, where the efficiencies we expected a decade ago might be instituted sometime in the future, and where the state finds itself being financially strangled by poorly planned and projected tax credits and rebates, that only get dealt with when it’s almost too late.

A few more days of mostly sleeping and I hope to be right as rain.

When we will actually take on the illness plaguing the State of Oklahoma? That, I don’t know, but hopefully soon.

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.

-30-