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Oklahoma Senate
(For digital audio, go to www.oksenate.gov and select Media)
The full Senate has given approval to a measure that would repeal an economic trigger that would lower the states top income tax rate from 5 percent to 4.85 percent. Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, is the author of Senate Bill 170 which was approved by a wide margin in the Senate on Monday.
read more.State Sen. Roger Thompson has scheduled an informational meeting to examine Oklahoma’s tax code at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 18, in room 535 of the state Capitol. Thompson said as chair of the Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance, he wants to provide an opportunity to fellow senators to learn more about the state’s tax laws.
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State Sen. Roger Thompson is calling his just-concluded study on Oklahoma’s tax code a success. The second of two meetings, featuring in-depth presentations on state taxes, exemptions, credits and spending, concluded Wednesday with eighteen members of the Senate attending the final hearing. Thompson, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance, organized the hearings.
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Seven members of the Oklahoma State Senate have co-authored legislation aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in exactly how tax dollars are being used by the agencies receiving the vast majority of state appropriations each year. Senate Bill 875 would require the Legislature to approve line-item budgets for agencies appropriated more than $100 million in state funds.
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Senator Greg Treat, Majority Floor Leader and Republicans’ selection to serve as the next Senate leader, on Wednesday announced the senators who will round out his leadership team.
Treat said Senator Kim David, current Senate Appropriations Committee chair, will serve as the next Majority Floor Leader and that Senator Roger Thompson, current chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance, will serve as the next Appropriations Committee chair. David, the first woman to serve as Appropriations Committee chair, will be the first woman to serve as Majority Floor Leader.
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OKLAHOMA CITY Senate leadership on Wednesday were cautiously optimistic about next years budget after a state board certified an estimated $612 million in new funding for the upcoming budget year.
However, Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat and Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson both said lawmakers and the public should not set unattainable expectations for next year.
read more.The full Senate has given unanimous approval to a bill to give court reporters throughout the state a $2,000 pay increase. State Sen. Roger Thompson is the author of SB 349 which was approved by the Senate Wednesday. Thompson, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said because court reporters’ salaries are specified in Oklahoma statute, last year’s state employee pay increase didn’t apply to them. He said it was a technicality that needed to be corrected.
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The full Senate has given unanimous approval in the Senate for legislation exempting the American Legion from state sales taxes on goods and services. House Bill 1003, by Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson and House Majority Leader Mike Sanders, was approved by the full Senate on Wednesday.
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A bill designed to promote innovation without risking tax dollars has been approved by the Senate and is now heading to the governor for his consideration. Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Thompson is Senate principal author of House Bill 2670, the Pay for Success Act, which was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate Tuesday. The House principal author for the measure is Rep. Kevin Wallace, Chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee.
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The Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to the state budget, which includes huge investments in public school classrooms, a teacher and state employee pay raise, as well as significant investments in criminal justice reforms all while saving $200 million.
The Fiscal Year 2020 budget bill, House Bill 2765, passed on a 37-11 vote.
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