FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2012

House Democratic Caucus
Democratic Leader Scott M. Inman
State Capitol Building Rm. 548
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Contact: Eric Russell
405-962-7819

House Democrats Unveil 2012 Legislative Agenda

OKLAHOMA CITY (February 1, 2012) House Democrats on Wednesday unveiled their caucus agenda for 2012, emphasizing job creation and retention through tax reforms, protecting public education from kindergarten through college, investing in our transportation infrastructure and safeguarding our natural resources.

The Democratic Minority Leader of the House, Scott Inman, stated that the measure of this upcoming session is going to be the values and priorities that come out of it, which will be reflected in our budget.

“First and foremost, our budget shortfalls over the past few years are a consequence of the decisions the legislature has made,” said Leader Inman, D-Del City. “We have a revenue crisis, not a budget crisis. Republican leaders are again calling for further cuts to state services, claiming there’s a budget shortfall and their hands are tied, but this reeks of hypocrisy given that our budget shortfall does not deter them from radical efforts to again further reduce the income tax for the wealthiest among us.”

The Democratic caucus strongly supports job creation and retention, which in part entails providing small businesses a stable working environment.

“Every year we’re changing regulations for businesses, some of which are good, some of which are bad – but we need to take a breather and let the them catch up to these changes,” said Leader Inman.

The caucus supports ending any state assistance for companies that ship businesses out of the state, and rewarding companies that create and retain jobs in Oklahoma

“Our caucus seeks real solutions to our economic woes,” said Leader Inman.

Public education, from kindergarten through college, is also a high priority for the Democratic caucus, as these institutions have received consistent funding cuts and criticisms from Republican leaders who actively promote and push taxpayer dollars towards private and charter schools.

“I don’t understand the logic in cutting funding for K-12 schools and still talking about how we’re going to be competitive in the 21st century,” said Rep. Ed Cannaday, D-Porum. “For those who think education is too expensive – consider the alternative. We have a responsibility to prepare our children for a complex and complicated future, and our caucus will be at the forefront of this movement to protect and improve our public education system.”

Safeguarding our natural resources and Oklahoma’s water is a major component of the legislative agenda.

“We are very concerned about efforts to sell our water to other states,” said Brian Renegar, D-McAlester. “Much of this discussion has been without adequate public input, and in my opinion, not enough careful legislative deliberation. Benjamin Franklin put it best when he said, ‘when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.’ We are all prepared to fight to preserve this precious natural resource.”


The budget and the economy are certain to dominate much of this session, but House Democrats, as the conscience of the body, plan to focus on the human element of proposals to remove the few tax credits on the books that aid low and middle-class working families.

“I firmly believe there’s truth that we are what we legislate – and with this in mind it is self-evident that part of the Republican agenda has been, and continues to be, an all-out attack to dismantle institutions that serve average Oklahomans. People afflicted with mental illness, the developmentally disabled, the sick, the injured, the unemployed, kids, students, the working poor, the struggling and shrinking middle class - they are all under attack. None of these people are better served by a Republican agenda that shields corporations and the wealthy at whatever cost to all others. Right now they are working every angle to reduce the top income tax bracket, despite study after study that shows the little benefit to most Oklahomans, and despite the consequences of these lost dollars to public services. We have to come together as one and show them that there are repercussions to GOP overreach.”

Campaign finance reform is also on the forefront given the infamous Citizens United decision that essentially allows unfettered corporate spending in campaigns.

“We need to do all we can to preserve the integrity of the political process, and there’s no question that we face monumental challenges with this infusion of unlimited corporate money in support of or opposition to a targeted candidate,” said Seneca Scott, D-Tulsa. “The average citizen candidate, concerned about the status quo, is finding it harder and harder to compete against a corporate-sponsored candidate. We have to work towards the formation of a public financing mechanism that will encourage full participation of all interested, as right now too many people are shut out of the process.”

The Second Session of the 53rd Legislature is scheduled to convene on Monday, February 6, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

-30-