OK State Wire

Published: Apr 26, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation its author says is designed to reduce unemployment benefit fraud.

Sen. Dan Newberry of Tulsa says the bill would deter fraud and encourage unemployed workers to actively seek job opportunities.

Newberry says unemployment benefits are supposed to help a worker when they lose their job and are transitioning to new opportunities. But Newberry says the benefits should not be a disincentive to work.

The measure requires those who file for unemployment benefits to provide documentation within seven days showing they are actively seeking a job. Newberry says curbing unemployment benefit fraud saves the state money and lowers the cost of doing business for small businesses in Oklahoma.

The measure was approved by the Senate Wednesday and now returns to the House for further consideration.

Associated Press OK State Wire

Published: Apr 25, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Gov. Mary Fallin’s plan to slash and phase out the state’s income tax has passed the Senate, even though there is still no agreement on how much of a cut may be possible this year.

The Senate voted 30-16 on Wednesday for Fallin’s bill that would cut the top personal income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 3.5 percent and then further reduce the rate by one-quarter of 1 percent each year that state revenue grows by 5 percent or more. Fallin’s plan also gets rid of numerous personal and corporate tax exemptions to help offset the lost revenue.

But Republican legislative leaders say they’re still negotiating several tax cut plans and have acknowledged it’s unlikely that a cut of more than 1 percent can be accomplished this year.

Time is running out to sign up for our special reception in conjunction with the 14th annual Small Business Day at the Capitol, hosted by Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb.

NFIB/Oklahoma’s reception will be Monday, April 30, from 8:30-10 a.m. in the Governor’s Large Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln, Blvd. This is a great opportunity to network with small-business owners from around the state and members of the Legislature.

Small Business Day begins at 10:30. Speakers will include Gov. Mary Fallin, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, Attorney General Scott Pruitt and legislative leaders.

To register for NFIB’s reception, contact Member Support Manager Kathy Peerson at kathy.peerson@NFIB.org or 866-782-6390.

Click here to register for Small Business Day at the Capitol.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The optimistic outlooks of small business operators in Oklahoma dropped slightly in March, according to the latest survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Jerrod Shouse, state director of NFIB/Oklahoma, said the industry organization’s Small-Business Optimism Index fell by almost 2 points after six months of gains, settling at 92.5. And nine of 10 index components dropped last month, most notably hiring plans and expected real sales growth, in spite of owners reporting the largest increase in new jobs per firm in a year.

Shouse said the responses were collected from business operators nationwide. Even though Oklahoma’s economic outlook has been generally more positive than other regions of the country, he said, conversations with local retailers have revealed the same downturn in attitudes.

“I think it’s clear from the survey that a lot of small business owners are still worried about the economy and where it’s headed,” he said. “Our folks in Oklahoma may be just a little more optimistic, but their concerns are largely the same.”

Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist, said the mood of business owners is subdued.

“They just can’t seem to shake off the uncertainties out there,” he said. “What we saw in March is painfully familiar. This was the same pattern of growth followed by months of decline from 2011. History appears to be repeating itself – and not in a good way.”

The March survey results ended what appeared to be a steady, slow trend of improvement for the small business sector. The percentage of owners reporting inflation as their primary business concern is now at 9 percent, an increase from 6 percent in January.

Dunkelberg said job creation was the bright spot in March’s index, as nationwide the net change in employment per firm was 0.22, considered a large improvement over January’s zero reading.

And after adjusting for seasonal factors, 10 percent of the owners added an average of 3.1 workers per firm over the past few months, while 13 percent reduced employment an average of 2.1 workers per firm. The remaining 77 percent of owners made no net change. Shouse said figures specific to Oklahoma were unavailable.

The ability to find qualified applicants for available jobs continues to be a problem for many small business owners. The number of owners reporting hard-to-fill job openings fell 2 points to 15 percent, the second monthly decline since reaching 18 percent in January.

And business owners reporting higher sales over the past three months gained 8 points, rising to a net 1 percent and providing the best reading since December 2007, NFIB officials said. However, 22 percent of owners surveyed still reported weak sales as their top business concern.

AGENDA

8:30 -10:00 am    NFIB’s Thank You Small Business Reception
Governor’s Large Conference Room, Second Floor

9:30 – 10:30  Registration in Rotunda

Program begins at 10:30

Welcome to Small Business Day 2012 - Lt. Governor Todd Lamb

Introductory Remarks - Governor Mary Fallin
President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman
Speaker Kris Steele

Small Business in the Sooner State
Attorney General Scott Pruitt

Legislative Update
Oklahoma State Chamber

Investing in Oklahoma’s Entrepreneurship
Banking Commissioner Mick Thompson

Bidding for Better Business
Matt Thomas, Lum Enterprises

11:30 am - Legislative Luncheon and Meet and Greet with Legislators

For more information or to Register Online for Small Business Day at www.ok.gov/ltgovernor or call Ashley Kehl at 405.521.2161

Limited parking is available in the lot directly south of the Capitol.
More parking is available in the lot east of Lincoln.

LEARN MORE AT NFIB.COM/Oklahoma

By Kevin Bogardus | This article ran on TheHill.com on March 28, 2012

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/218927-small-business-lobby-grabs-share-of-spotlight-at-the-supreme-court

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is gunning for the history books with its challenge to President Obama’s healthcare law, and it has boosted its status among Washington’s business groups in the process.

The small-business lobby, along with 26 states, is a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the healthcare law that the Supreme Court considered this week. The case has attracted wall-to-wall media coverage and raised the potential for a history-making precedent — one that would be linked forever to the NFIB.

Observers said the lawsuit is reminiscent of the business group’s prior battles, when it was at the tip of the spear in opposing President Clinton’s healthcare reform initiative in the early 1990s.

“To a great extent, it’s a return to their roots, which is representing small business against big government, whether federal or state,” said John Motley, a former NFIB vice president of legislative affairs during the Clinton healthcare fight. “It certainly elevates NFIB. The heads of other major business organizations are probably thinking, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ ”

Barring a Republican sweep in the November election, the lawsuit might be the best chance for opponents of President Obama’s healthcare law to overturn it. Efforts to repeal the legislation in full have stalled in Congress, though some progress has been made in rolling back small portions of it.

Dan Danner, NFIB’s president and CEO, said his group tried to convince lawmakers that the individual mandate was unconstitutional during the debate over the law, which led them to join the lawsuit challenging it.

“When we first filed, there were lots of people across town — people in the administration, people on the Hill — that said this was foolish, it was all politically motivated, and tended to dismiss it out of hand,” Danner said. “We would certainly say given the historic amount of oral debate by the Supreme Court and the attention that it’s getting now, no one is saying this is a silly effort anymore.”

The hoopla surrounding the Supreme Court case has given the business group unprecedented national exposure. NFIB staffers have been camped out in the courtroom or on the front steps of the Supreme Court during this week’s proceedings. On its website, NFIB asks visitors to sign a pledge in support of the group’s bid to “make history” and “repeal ObamaCare.”

Danner said the NFIB’s 350,000 members expect the group to be aggressive.

“Are we getting good exposure in town? Absolutely. But is that why we got into this? Absolutely not,” Danner said. “We are certainly not against the kind of visibility and exposure we are getting, but the bottom line is we are doing this because this is what our members want and expect.”

Danner could not give a precise estimate for how much the healthcare lawsuit is costing NFIB, though he said it “is a number of millions.”

“We gave a lot of thought on that on day one because, once you put your foot in the door for this, you have to anticipate that if you’re successful, it goes to the Supreme Court, and there’s a cost involved,” Danner said.

Many credit Danner — who joined NFIB in 1993 and took charge in 2009 — for the group’s no-holds-barred approach.

“They are a different animal. It is kind of the Dan Danner model. They are very strategic, and it pays off,” said Ralph Hellmann, a former NFIB lobbyist who is now a partner at the Lugar Hellmann Group.

On May 14, 2010 — just two months after passage of the healthcare reform law — NFIB announced that the group was joining the legal challenge by the states. At the time, other business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), did not join in.

Danner said he knew that NFIB was taking a risk with the lawsuit.

“If we want to wait around to see which way the wind is blowing, we are not very effective as an organization. There are times when you’ve got to say, ‘We’ve got to have some guts. That’s the right thing to do, so let’s do it.’ So that’s the decision we made,” Danner said. “I think we are prouder than ever of that decision today.”

Later, in October 2011, the chamber would file an amicus brief to NFIB’s lawsuit, one of five amicus briefs the group filed in different courts challenging the law. The chamber has also worked to modify the law’s regulations, lobbied for changes on Capitol Hill and sponsored voter educations ads.

NFIB does lean toward the GOP. So far this election cycle, 98 percent of the more than $200,000 given by the group’s political action committee has gone to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Danner said that’s a reflection of the group’s membership, who “are entrepreneurs and risk-takers and philosophically they believe in less government, less regulation and lower taxes.”

“If one party supports that more than the other, then we support people who support small business in those positions,” Danner said.

NFIB has also come under criticism that it doesn’t really represent small business.

Helen Dally was on the Supreme Court steps Tuesday, speaking on behalf of herself and her parents, who own a Portland, Ore., auto shop. She said that her family’s business has received almost $13,000 in small-business tax credits and its employees’ health insurance premiums have gone down 3 percent since the law was passed.

“NFIB definitely doesn’t speak for me,” Dally said. “I don’t think they speak on behalf on the majority of small businesses in this country.”

The Main Street Alliance, a small-business group that supports the law, helped organize Dally’s trip to Washington.

Danner said he thinks NFIB’s critics are “surprised and pretty frustrated” that the lawsuit has gotten this far and said they can “throw up all the smoke you want.”

Motley, formerly with NFIB but now a partner at Policy Solutions Motley-Scher-Truitt, said whatever the Supreme Court decides, NFIB has already won.

“They have gotten credit for being courageous. They have gotten credit for being true to their members and their philosophy of government. That’s where they won,” Motley said. “And if you look at the business community, they have won there too, because they were first out on this lawsuit and their name’s on it.

“I don’t care what the decision is,” Motley said. “They still won.”

Lt. Governor Todd Lamb

Our Oklahoma troops are my heroes. They embody what makes Oklahoma great – determination, integrity, bravery and a love for freedom.  These troops have given their time and talents to serve our great state and country. In some cases, they have even given their lives – since September 9, 2001, Oklahoma has lost a total of 19 troops. Oklahoma currently has 1,600 Oklahoma National Guardsmen serving overseas. At the peak of the conflict, Oklahoma had 2,300 Guardsmen in Iraq and 2,200 in Afghanistan. We still have 800 serving in Afghanistan now.  To say I admire our troops is an understatement. To our fellow Oklahomans who have volunteered to serve our country, I offer you my heartfelt thanks.

As one way to show my thanks, last week I joined with Google to announce the Oklahoma launch of Google for Veterans and Families, an online toolbox for veterans and returning soldiers. This program was designed by the Google Veteran Network – the company’s employee community of veterans, reservists, guardsman, family members and supporters with first-hand experience of serving, returning and transitioning back into civilian life. The site includes several tools such as Google’s Resume Builder, a 3D Tour Builder, video transition tips and Vet Connect for Google +.

The announcement coincides with the return of Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry from Afghanistan. The entire 45^th will be back in Oklahoma by early next month. I am proud to welcome our troops back home. They have sacrificed so much. I am also proud to help them in any way possible. I look forward to seeing the impact of Google for Veterans and Families. I am also proud to offer my respect and admiration to our soldiers and officers who have served and are continuing to serve Oklahoma. We owe you everything.

To learn more about Google for Veterans, visit http://www.googleforveterans.com/. As always, my office is open and ready to assist you in any way we can. I am excited to hear your ideas on how we can increase economic development across the state. Feel free to visit our website at www.ok.gov/ltgovernoror call our office at 405.521.2161.

Oklahoma consumers continue to show their confidence that Oklahoma’s economic recovery will be long lasting, Office of State Finance Director Preston Doerflinger said Tuesday as he released a report again showing double-digit growth in the General Revenue Fund.

“We had almost a 15 percent jump in total General Revenue Fund collections in February, compared with the same month a year ago, and consumer spending was one of the biggest factors for the increase,” Doerflinger said.

“It’s evident that Oklahomans feel good about the future and believe the policies of the administration of Gov. Mary Fallin are making a difference,” added Doerflinger, secretary of finance.

“I believe this is reflected by the surge in sales tax collections this year. Our citizens have more money to spend and evidently think this is a good time to make big ticket purchases,” he said. ”This is borne out by a sharp increase in motor vehicle sales.”

Doerflinger pointed out that last month’s report showed more state sales tax collections were recorded in January than in any month in state history — $165 million.

“We followed that up in February with another strong showing in the sales tax category. That revenue source produced $145 million for the General Revenue Fund, beating the amount collected for the same month a year ago by more than 14 percent.

“Meanwhile, general revenue from the sale of cars, trucks and other motor vehicles soared by 134 percent. February is not normally such a strong month for motor vehicle collections. Consumers likely took advantage of unseasonably warm weather to express their confidence in the Oklahoma economy through vehicle upgrades.”

Governor Fallin said the OSF report is “great news for Oklahoma and shows our pro-growth policies are helping the state recover from the national economic recession. Oklahoma is proving that low taxes, fiscal responsibility and limited government are the recipe for a strong economy.

We can ensure our recovery continues by using the increased revenue to pay for tax cuts which will allow families and small business owners to keep more of their hard-earned money while making Oklahoma more competitive economically.”

Total collections to the General Revenue Fund through the first eight months of FY-2012 were $3,506.5 million. This amount was $404.5 million and 13 percent above collections for the first eight months of FY-2011 and $347.1 million, or 11 percent above the total estimate for the same period of FY-2012.

In February, total collections for the General Revenue Fund were $283.4 million, an increase of $36.4 million and 14.7 percent from a year ago. The amount collected in February was $43.1 million a

nd 17.9 percent more than projected.

It was the 22nd consecutive month that GRF collections have exceeded the same month for the prior year, and the 10th straight month receipts were higher than projected.

“It was also the 10th time in 15 months that we have recorded double-digit growth in our General Revenue Fund. That is impressive,” Doerflinger said. “Our recovery from the Great Recession has been broad-based and should continue in the months ahead, barring some kind of calamity on the national scene.”

The General Revenue Fund is the main source of funding for state government operations.

The March GRF report showed natural gas collections down again because of low prices, but the drop in receipts from that source was more than made up by increased oil revenue.

“Activity in the oil patch appears to still be contributing significantly to our economy.” Doerflinger said. ”We’re hoping for a rebound in future months in natural gas prices, which would be a bonus.”

Major tax categories in February contributed the following amounts to the General Revenue Fund:

Income taxes – The total collected from individual and corporate income taxes in the month of February was $33.3 million for the FY-2012 General Revenue Fund, which was $5.6 million or 20 percent more than prior year collections and $32.5 million above the estimate.

Individual income tax receipts of $32 million were $5.2 million and 19.3 percent above the prior year and $36 million above the estimate.

Corporate tax collections contributed $1.3 million to the General Revenue Fund for the month, which was $0.4 million or 41.2 percent above February 2011 collections and $3.5 million or 73.4 per cent below the estimate.

Sales tax – Sales tax collections in February produced $144.7 million for General Revenue Fund, which was $18.1 million or 14.3 percent more than the prior year and $11 million or 8.2 percent above the estimate.