Terrill Named To Head House A and B Subcommittee on Judiciary & Public Safety

House Speaker Chris Benge today named state Rep. Randy Terrill chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Judiciary & Public Safety.

In that position, Terrill will help craft the state’s $7 billion budget in the 2009 session of the Legislature. Terrill previously served as chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation committee, where he sought tax reductions.

“Rep. Randy Terrill has many talents and with his legal background I believe his appointment to chair the Judiciary and Public Safety budget subcommittee is well-suited to his skills and interests,” said Benge, R-Tulsa. “Rep. Terrill could have stayed as Chairman of the Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee. When offered, he made the decision to step up to serve the caucus in this capacity. I have full and complete confidence in his knowledge of the process and ability to perform in this new role and I look forward to working closely with him.”

“I am proud of my tenure as chair of Revenue and Taxation, which included the passage of major tax cuts for working families, but with the national economy in a downturn I believe our focus must now move to greater control of spending,” Terrill said. “As chair of the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Judiciary & Public Safety, I will have oversight of 16 agencies with a combined budget of approximately $800 million and be in a position to ensure those tax dollars are spent wisely and efficiently. This is a great honor and I am excited by the opportunity.”

During Terrill’s time as chair of the Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee, he helped move legislation that cut the state’s income tax rate from 6.65 percent to 5.5 percent today, with another reduction scheduled to lower the rate to 5.25 percent.

Terrill also helped increase the standard deduction (which dramatically lowered the tax burden for many low-income families), phase out the death tax, reduce the franchise tax burden of small businesses, and enact a host of targeted tax breaks for veterans and senior citizens.

“I believe the tax policies championed by House Republicans are helping working families in Oklahoma survive the national economic downturn,” Terrill said. “Our policies have ensured that Oklahomans have more take-home pay and entrepreneurs have more incentive to create jobs in our state. Now it’s time to protect those gains by encouraging state agencies to do more with less whenever possible.”