OEA vs. Step Up: How do they compare?

Capitol Bureau ddenwalt@oklahoman.com

Several revenue and teacher pay raise plans have been introduced both inside and outside theLegislature. One of the most prominent proposals was from a statewide coalition of business and civic leaders known as Step Up Oklahoma.

Lawmakers in the Oklahoma House considered the Step Up plan in February, but the major revenue bill did not get enough votes to become law. On Friday, the Oklahoma Education Association, which is organizing a statewide teacher walkout set for April 2 if the Legislature fails to act, released its own proposal for a pay raise and revenue plan.

The Step Up plan includes state government reforms, like lowering the threshold for raising taxes in the Legislature, creating a budget stabilization fund and creating an independent budget office. The OEA plan does not.

Revenue projections:

• OEA: $905.6 million

• Step Up: $717.7 million

What is proposed:

• Salary Increases: The OEA plan asks for a $10,000 raise for teachers, $5,000 for support personnel, and $7,500 for state employees. Step Up suggests teachers should receive an additional $5,000 plus a pay raise for principals.

• Gross Production Tax: The Step Up plan asks lawmakers to increase the tax rate on new oil and gas production from 2 percent to 4 percent. The proposal issued Friday by the OEA would raise the rate to 5 percent.

• Cigarette Tax: Both plans include a $1.50 tax on cigarettes, plus a 10 percent tax on smokeless tobacco.

• Wind Power Generation: Oklahoma does not tax the production of wind power, but both groups recommend lawmakers create one. Both plans would raise about $20 million additional revenue from the wind industry each year.

• Casino Games: Both plans support tribes launching traditional roulette and dice games in their casinos.

• Sales Tax: The OEA proposal would have Oklahoma begin taxing some things that are now exempt — such as prewritten software, installation and delivery service — and the enforcement of online sales tax collections. The Step Up proposal makes no mention of sales tax code changes.

• Motor Fuel: Another common tax change proposal is to raise the motor fuel tax on gasoline and diesel by 6 cents per gallon. Both organizations propose this.

• Car Tags: The OEA recommends having a two-year car tag drivers could buy. This proposal is not explicitly listed in the Step Up plan.

• Income Tax: Step Up Oklahoma proposes a list of changes to the income tax that it said would raise $112 million. OEA's proposal would raise $177 million, the group said. Notably, the OEA plan proposes eliminating the capital gains deduction, while the Step Up plan does not.

• Lodging Tax: Only OEA proposes a statewide hotel/motel tax of $5 per room.