Oklahoma House of Representatives
Mike W. Ray, Media Division Director
February 11, 2004

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The state House of Representatives recently saluted Oklahoma's soldiers in arms, sweetened a tax break for ethanol production, endorsed a longer but cheaper registration period for boats and motors, and passed a measure intended to ensure accountability in state government.

For the second consecutive week the House held short floor sessions to enable members to attend committee meetings where scores of House bills and resolutions were examined and debated.

HONORING VETERANS
Any U.S. military veteran who has "a service-connected disability rating of no less than 100 percent" would be exempt from paying the state excise tax on up to two vehicles he/she purchased during a calendar year, under House Bill 2143. The spouse of a completely disabled veteran who died also could claim the exemption.

The House gave the proposal a green light, 98-0, and sent it to the Senate.
The state Department of Veterans Affairs has counted 365,456 military veterans in Oklahoma, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 44,720 of those Oklahoma vets receive compensation for service-connected disabilities. It is not known how many of those veterans are completely disabled.

Under House Bill 2143, also exempt from the state excise tax would be any vehicle bought by the spouse of a soldier killed while on active duty with U.S. armed forces.

In a related matter, the House praised one soldier recently and paused to remember another.

U.S. Army Capt. Justin Covey, son of state Rep. James Covey, was praised in a House citation for helping to preserve the "freedoms and privileges we hold so dear." The younger Covey, 29, returned recently from an 11-month tour of duty in Iraq, the last six months spent at Mosul. His unit, Co. B, 6th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, is based
at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The House of Representatives observed a somber moment of silence for another Oklahoman, Army 2nd Lt. Luke James, a Hooker native who was killed last month in an explosion near Iskandariyah, Iraq. James, 24, an Oklahoma State University graduate, was an infantry platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 505th Infantry based at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

JUMP-STARTING
ETHANOL PRODUCTION
The House divided over whether to allow ethanol production tax credits, which the Legislature authorized last year, to be transferrable. House Bill 2361 passed by a vote of 72-28 and was referred to the Senate.

The author of the proposal said the tax credits cannot be claimed until the plant is built and in production. Ethanol is a highly oxygenated liquid that results in a cleaner burning fuel when used as a gasoline additive. It has become a popular agriculture product in several Midwestern states.

At least one opponent of the measure recalled that the Legislature authorized $24 million in tax credits for Great Plains Airlines, at least $9 million of which were transferrable and were sold to raise money for the passenger carrier. Nevertheless, Great Plains crash landed anyway; the company filed for bankruptcy in January
The author of HB 2361 said the ethanol plant envisioned in his legislation would cost $142 million to build, and the tax credits would represent about one-fifth of that expense. The facility would generate an estimated $7.8 million in tax revenue annually, he told his colleagues. A consultant is reviewing five potential sites in Oklahoma
for an ethanol production plant.

BOAT REGISTRATION
IDEA FLOATS
A measure that would allow boats and their motors to be registered once every three years, instead of annually, sailed through the House. Representatives approved House Bill 2132 by a vote of 93-0.

The registration fee for a three-year license for a boat and/or motor would be 90 percent of the fees "that the person would have otherwise paid" if he/she had registered the vessel or motor "on an annual basis over the three-year period."

Approximately 225,000 boats and a little over 100,000 motors are registered in Oklahoma each year, on average.

ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE OK'd
Accountability in state government is the focus of the first bill to pass the House of Representatives this year.

A compromise version of House Bill 1577, which was pending from last year, cleared the House in a bipartisan vote, 98-1, and was transmitted to the Senate.

The bill spells out some of the guidelines for performance audits.
"A typical audit looks at numbers: how money is spent, making sure it is spent properly," the principal author of the bill said. "A performance audit is intended to make sure the money is spent wisely.

The auditor looks at job descriptions, determines whether duplication occurs, and evaluates whether an agency is doing a job it shouldn't be doing or is not doing a job it should be doing."

HB 1577 is related to zero-base budgeting, in which every penny must be accounted for, the author of the measure said.

The law provides that the State Auditor and Inspector's Office "may examine all books and accounts of all public officers, institutions and other governmental entities ... to instruct the proper officers ... in the performance of their duties and to prescribe and enforce cost-effective methods of operating..."
In modifying the law, HB 1577 decrees that:
* The agency being examined can reimburse the State Auditor for the cost of the audit via monthly installments rather than a lump-sum payment.

* To ensure that performance audits can receive public scrutiny, a copy of the examinations must be provided to the audited agency, to the Governor, to the top leaders of the state House and Senate, to the appropriations and budget chairmen of both houses of the Legislature, and to the minority leaders in the House and the Senate.

* An audit can be requested by the Governor, by the chief executive officer of a governmental entity, or by the Legislature adopting a joint or concurrent resolution.
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