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McCurtain Daily Gazette
Tadlock comments on issues affecting McCurtain County
By Bob West
Oklahoma House and
Senate members were in ses-
sion late Wednesday trying to
meet the deadline for advanc-
ing hundreds of bills from the
house or origin to the other
legislative chamber.
State Rep. Johnny Tadlock,
R-Idabel, meeting with con-
stituents ahead of continua-
tion of debates on the House
floor, was hopeful Thursday
would be an easier day.
He notes some of the bills
he supported or authored that
will advance to the Senate.
One of these is a $1,200
teacher pay raise. Another is
the County Road and Bridge
Fund funding. One of his key
bills would give forestry
equipment the same sales tax
exemption for equipment
given to farmers.
While Tadlock says these
bills have advanced during the
first six weeks of his fourth
House session, there are other
hot-button issues. It’s just half
over, and the next six weeks is
when the House looks over –
and possibly works over –
Senate bills, and the Senate
does the same with House
bills. It’s Tadlock’s plan to try
to get amendments passed on
Senate bills that would extend
the days of instruction for
four-day schools without pay-
ing for the additional costs of
operation. Seven of the coun-
ty’s schools have a four-day-
per-week schedule.
It’s just one of many issues
to be worked out in the final
half of the legislative session.
On the positive side,
Tadlock has been given fair
treatment by House leaders
meets weekly with the senior
leadership committee, headed
by House Speaker Charles
McCall.
Tadlock says there are new
voices in the 101-member
House, 40 new state represen-
tatives this year and several
others the previous two years.
Another positive is that there
is more revenue this year and
an effort to restore cuts shared
by all state agencies during the
lower-revenue decade from
2008 to 2018.
Still to be worked out is an
infusion of Medicaid dollars
to help struggling hospitals in
the state.
For years, the issue of bad
debt from uninsured patients
(especially at the emergency
room) has crippled McCurtain
Memorial Hospital financial-
ly. House Bill 1902, which
passed 92-1, gives nursing
homes more access to
Medicaid.
Another bill proposes to uti-
lize an existing state insurance
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
plan (initiated by former Gov.
Mary Fallin who rejected
Medicaid expansion).
Gov. Kevin Stitt cam-
paigned on the issue and
reportedly supports legislation
that would tap into more
Medicaid money. But how
that can be funded is likely to
be one of those wrangles that
could go down to the wire,
feels Tadlock.
The three-term legislator,
former sheriff and Idabel
rancher says it has been chal-
lenging to explain to people
who know little about forestry
how this county’s economy
will benefit from a sales tax
exemption on logging equip-
ment.
He said there are at least
150 logging contractors and
very few buy new equipment
in Oklahoma. Their money is
going out of the state due to
Oklahoma’s sales tax.
A long-standing sales tax
exemption for farming equip-
ment should be the same for
forestry equipment, he has
argued (so far successfully).
But now Tadlock must edu-
cate senators about forestry’s
importance as the leading part
of agriculture in far southeast
Oklahoma.
County residents who are
over 200 road miles from the
Capitol are watching with
interest several bills advanc-
ing in the legislature:
•A bill by Sen. Marty Quinn
to compromise Senate Bill
441, which earlier passed the
education committee and was
being debated on the Senate
floor. Advocated by Senate
President Pro Tempore Greg
Treat, it would require 180
days a year of school classes.
An alternate version would
require 165 days of instruction
but requires being above the
City approves the purchase
of partially owned buildings
A dispute between the city
and the partial owner of five
dilapidated downtown build-
ings could be resolved by the
end of the week, according to
City Manager Vickie
Patterson. The Broken Bow
City Council voted to pur-
chase the one-third share in
the structures on Tuesday.
Patterson said the owner of
the properties, Kathy Guthrie
(formerly Tucker) will still
have to accept the deal, but
city officials were hoping the
purchase of Guthrie’s one-
third interest could close by
Friday.
The five buildings in ques-
ti 14 b ildi
state scholastic averages and
proof that the four-day-a-week
schedule has saved money.
•Making virtual charter
schools (Epic is the biggest)
meet the same transparency
standards for state aid that K-
12 and K-8 schools follow.
HB 1395 passed committee
95-0 this week and goes to the
Senate.
•A bill giving teachers a
$1,200 pay raise and provid-
ing $1,000 in tax credits for
tural collapse after storms this
weekend. The city recently
blocked off the alley behind
some of these buildings as it’s
believed they present a danger
to pedestrians and vehicles
there.
Nine of the 14 buildings
were donated to the city by
other members of the Tucker
family in 2018, and 2/3rds
interest in five more were
donated later.
City officials have stated it
took some time to establish
communications with Guthrie,
and Broken Bow eventually
filed a partition lawsuit to gain
control of the structures.
Att f G th i l t
teacher classroom expenses. It
earlier passed the House with
room to spare and has
advanced to the Senate.
Local educators think there
is a good chance the Senate
will compromise on a bill that
the House will likely amend
but still pass.
Giving some ground on this
hard-line issue could lessen
the charge that the Senate is
undermining local control of
schools.
five buildings.
Patterson said that, barring
any further delay, she hopes to
advertise for demolition bids
over the next month so that a
winning bid could be
approved at the next council
meeting.
Should these plans proceed
as hoped, work to remove the
structures could proceed from
there, Patterson said.
Following the donation of
the structures in 2018, the city
did investigate whether the
buildings could be repaired or
marketed, but discovered that
the structures was in extreme
di i d d id d th t ll