Governor says ‘no budget deal’
Dems claim otherwise
House Democratic leader Scott Inman claimed in a Thursday news conference that he and Gov. Mary Fallin agreed to a tax package, a claim the governor later denied.
Inman, D-Del City, said he and the governor met in the past week and agreed to a list of tax hikes that could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars over the next year, and would fill the government’s $215 million budget shortfall.
The deal he presented used elements of a list circulated among budget negotiators last week that Fallin called an “inventory of ideas.” Those ideas have been introduced by both Democrats and Republicans, but the governor said it wasn’t a proposal from her office.
At Inman’s news conference, he said Democrats would support GOP ideas to raise the tax rate on motor fuel, cigarettes and some “luxury” services like long-term car leases and airplane rentals.
In return, Democrats are asking for a 5 percent production tax rate on all new oil and gas wells and an income tax increase.
He also said Democrats would support eliminating the manufacturing sales tax exemption
for the wind industry, but that vote would only require 51 members of the House — a number well within Republican control. Raising new taxes needs some combination of Republicans and Democrats to reach 76 votes.
All of this, Inman said, is the biggest bipartisan deal at the state Capitol since House Bill 1017, a landmark education funding bill signed into law almost three decades ago.
“My caucus is proud to say we are in agreement with the plan that the governor and I, and House and Senate Republicans have at least contributed to over the last six weeks,” Inman said. “For the first time in the negotiations over the last two years, the governor and I have come to an agreement on a series of revenue-raising measures around the gross production tax and the income tax that is actually palatable to us.”
In her own news conference Thursday, Fallin said it’s important to have thoughtful, honest negotiations among all parties.
“Let me just start out by stating bluntly — there is no budget deal,” Fallin said. “First off, if I had reached a budget deal, I would have announced it.”
Fallin said she is disappointed with the lack of progress in the special session, which began almost two weeks ago but stalled after Democrats refused to support a vote on the cigarette tax.
“I hope that soon we can announce that there is a budget agreement,” she said. “But as of right now, let me be clear — if there’s only one person at the altar, there is no marriage.”
Inman, an announced candidate for governor, replied via Twitter.
“It was her proposal,” he tweeted in response to coverage of Fallin’s remarks. “She invited us to the altar. We said yes. If she is having cold feet, the people of Oklahoma are in serious trouble.”