Lawmakers poised for another Capitol standoff

House Democratic leader Scott Inman is holding firm to his desire for broader tax increases to help the ailing Oklahoma state budget, even as his GOP counterpart calls for a simpler special session to raise the cigarette tax.

Inman, D-Del City, repeated his desire Friday for a suite of revenue changes that would, he said, reverse losses incurred over several years of budget shortfalls. His comments came after House Speaker Charles McCall said he would only support a tax hike on cigarettes

replace the $215 million cigarette fee struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

McCall said he would also count on Oklahoma’s Rainy Day Fund and cash left over from last year to fill the gap.

“The speaker clearly doesn’t understand the gravity of the budget situation facing the state of Oklahoma,” Inman said.

“If he believes we only need $215 million to make education, health care and public safety whole again in this state, he’s sadly mistaken.”

It’s an argument that’s

well-known at the Capitol. Inman is fond of saying Oklahoma hasn’t faced successive budget shortfalls because the price of cigarettes is too low. The cigarette tax, Inman said, would be just a bandage to fix the state’s ailments.

Democrats have used the tax as a bargaining chip, saying there could be more votes for it if their Republican colleagues consider raising the income tax rate on the state’s highest earners or raise the rate on oil and gas production.

“Unlike our Democratic colleagues, House Republicans have no intention or desire to tax the life out of Oklahomans just to grow government — especially at a time when our citizens

are living on less,” McCall said after Gov. Mary Fallin announced she would call a special session.

“We are not going to raise a billion dollars in taxes to fill a $215 million budget hole.”

Fallin has the authority to limit the scope of any special session she calls. The governor could tailor the order narrowly, but Inman said he thinks the call would let lawmakers address other important issues. The official announcement is expected soon.

“I think the governor’s going to call a special session that’s broad enough to include a variety of sources of revenue, that won’t be narrowly tailored to just a cigarette tax discussion,”

he said.

Pat McFerron, a pollster who frequently works with Republican candidates and causes, said Inman’s proposals resemble logrolling, or tying support of one proposal to another.

“I have no doubt that kind of horse-trading goes on, but the reality is we need to have a vote up or down on the cigarette tax alone to fund these entities,” said McFerron.

“We’re dealing with one issue. This is a legislative response to the court’s response to the legislative action, and it’s solely about the cigarette tax or fee. At some point, the public’s going to get tired of politicians using policy as a bargaining chip.”