Ending Forced School Consolidation

As my constituents know, one of the issues on which I am most passionate is my effort to end forever the idea of forced school consolidation.

In both of the past two years, I have written legislation that would end that despicable practice. We should amend Oklahoma’s Constitution to take the power to consolidate school districts away from the politicians, judges and bureaucrats and put it in the hands of the people of Oklahoma – where it belongs.

That effort, which was killed last year in the House of Representatives, has picked up a lot of momentum this year. This week, the Senate Education Committee on a unanimous bipartisan vote approved Senate Joint Resolution 1, the constitutional amendment that would put the power to consolidate in the hands of voters in the affected districts.

While some tough but fair questions were asked, when the roll was called every member of that important committee – Democratic and Republican, rural and urban – voted for the bill, which would give we the people the right to decide whether to amend our Constitution.

While I am encouraged, we have gotten this far in the past. Last year, an identical measure made it through a Senate committee and then passed the full Senate on a 43-1 vote only to meet an untimely demise in the House when an urban Republican committee chair refused to even consider the bill.

This year, I have sought out co-authors from the get-go. Hopefully, this sends the message that support for this measure is widespread across the state – and across party lines.

As I write this, there are 12 co-authors for this bill in the Senate – legislators from both parties. In the House of Representatives, where the measure met its demise because of pressure from the Republican leadership last year, we have an astonishing 33 sponsors.

The primary House authors of the bill are a pair of Republican lawmakers who share my commitment to put this power in the hands of the people. That sends a strong message to the politicians who traditionally and greedily want to keep the power to consolidate schools for themselves; there is no doubt, this power truly belongs in the hands of the people.

The decision whether to consolidate schools can literally mean life or death for a rural community. That decision is of greatest consequence to the children and families who depend on rural schools and the quality education they provide. Surely, a decision of such magnitude deserves to be made by the people affected and not by politicians hundreds of miles away.

Forced rural school consolidation kills rural communities and takes power away from the people. Perhaps now, we have the momentum to end this practice and make a real difference for our rural communities and the families who live there.

Fighting for a "Back to School" Sales Tax Holiday

One of my top legislative priorities, as it has been over the past few years, is to enact Oklahoma’s version of the “Back to School” sales tax holiday. For years, Texas shoppers – and those Oklahomans who cross the border – enjoy tax-free shopping during the first weekend in August on clothing and shoes costing less than $100 per item.

Millions of dollars in economic activity and sales tax revenue are lost from Oklahoma every year as thousands of our residents cross the border for the sales tax exemption. In addition to the revenue loss our cities, counties and the state endures, Oklahoma’s retailers are at a huge competitive disadvantage that weekend.

Even more heartbreaking, those Oklahoma families who cannot afford to make a trip are stuck paying the full sales tax on back to school clothes. There is no compelling reason to oppose an Oklahoma “Back to School” sales tax holiday.

However, one group continues to fight the proposal: the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML). This organization of city governments, funded with our tax dollars, sends their lobbyists to intimidate legislators with scare tactics and distortions.

They tell the tall tale that a “Back to School” sales tax holiday would destroy the budgets of cities and counties that depend on sales tax revenue. That argument appears compelling, until you look at the facts.

Every state that has passed a “Back to School” sales tax holiday has seen revenues increase, not decrease as the OML warns. The reason is increased economic activity – more people spend more money during the sales tax holiday. That will happen here, too.

Also, millions of dollars that annually flow across the border to Texas – lost forever to our economy – would stay at home if we had a sales tax holiday. The result would be an even stronger sales tax boost for cities and counties.

The second reason cities and counties would not suffer a revenue loss is a provision we have written into the bill. The measure states that should any city or county suffer a revenue loss when compared to the year before, the state would make it up to them.

Given those facts, the only reason the OML would continue to oppose a “Back to School” sales tax holiday is what my mother used to call “pure-D stubborness.” It would be a shame if stubborness stood in the way of this common sense tax cut targeted to help Oklahoma working families and retailers.

As in years past, I have reached across party lines, creating a bipartisan effort to pass this law. A Republican senator and I will co-author the measure in the Senate, while the new House majority leader is our sponsor in the House of Representatives.

While we have a tough road ahead of us, given to the lengths to which OML lobbyists go to kill this bill every year, I will continue to do everything I can to enact this law. I will continue introducing this measure until it becomes the law of the land, or my time in the Senate is over.

Public Cord Blood Bank Can Save Lives

We’ve all heard about the potential of stem cells to cure a wide range of life threatening illnesses. We also know the controversy surrounding this research and the moral questions it raises.

There is a means to collect stem cells that is free from controversy: the collection of stem cells from umbilical cords of newborn babies. Cord blood donated following the birth of a healthy baby is rich in blood-making cells. These cells can be used to treat children and adults with certain cancers and otherwise fatal blood disorders.

Sadly, this potentially life-saving option is not available to most of us due to the high cost of testing, processing and storing cord blood cells. We’ve all seen commercials for private cord blood banks that never mention the cost. It’s almost like the old saying, “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.”

Also, private cord blood banks cater to family members genetically related to the infant whose cord blood is collected. The benefit is narrowly directed, and private banks never tell you there are a few public cord blood banks across the nation.

Senate Bill 139 would create the first publicly funded cord blood bank here in Oklahoma, allowing every family to donate their infant’s cord blood without regard to their personal wealth. A family’s socioeconomic status should never stand between life and death.

By making this service available to more people, chances are increased that more Oklahomans could benefit from cord blood cells. Immune types are specific to ethnic groups. Because of that, cord blood from a diverse array of individuals increases the chances to save lives.

How important is this? Almost three-quarters of children and adults requiring a bone marrow transplant do not have an immune matched sibling who could be a donor.

In those desperate cases, the only option is to find an unrelated donor through the national bone marrow and cord blood registries. The more people who donate cord blood, the better chance there is to save a life.

Texas is ahead of us in this effort. The Texas Legislature approved between $2-$3 million in grants that began their cord blood bank in 2005. That state money is being combined with private donations, a model that could serve as a good template here in Oklahoma.

We owe it to ourselves to catch up. There are cases of children whose lives flickered before transplants of stem cells made possible by cord blood donations. Many of those once-flickering souls now shine brightly in the form of healthy children.

Think of it: $3.5 million – about one dollar for every man, woman and child in our state – could save countless lives today and those yet unborn. It is a small price to pay, and we dare not let this chance to save and improve lives pass us by.