Death Tax Repeal Gains House Approval

Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted today to speed up the elimination of Oklahoma's death tax.

"The death tax is simply immoral and the sooner we get rid of it, the better," said state Rep. Rob Johnson, House author of the measure. "Families shouldn't have to face both the undertaker and the tax collector in the same week."

Senate Bill 1383, by state Sen. Mike Johnson (R-Kingfisher) and Rep. Johnson (R-Kingfisher), would accelerate the repeal of Oklahoma's
death tax, also known as the "estate tax."

Currently, the state death tax is set to be repealed beginning January 1, 2010. Senate Bill 1383 advances the repeal to January 1, 2009. The measure would save grieving families an estimated $30.2 million per year.

"Most Oklahomans believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should have the chance to be successful and eventually provide a better life for your children," Rep. Johnson said. "The death tax essentially robs families of the American Dream and I'm pleased that my colleagues have joined me in eradicating it."

Senate Bill 1383 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on an overwhelming, bipartisan 73-22 vote. It now returns to the state Senate.

Oklahoma Speeding Up Elimination of Death Tax Passes Senate

By a vote of 31 to 16 the Oklahoma Senate adopted legislation to speed up the elimination of the state’s death tax by one year. The bill would have no impact on the upcoming budget year.

State Senator Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher, authored the legislation.

“The death tax is a burden to farmers and small businesses in Oklahoma, so Senate Republicans believe this tax should be eliminated sooner rather than later,” said Johnson. “This is tight budget year, so we structured the bill so it does not impact the upcoming budget year.”

SB 1383 eliminates the death tax on January 1, 2009. Under current law, the death tax, also known as the estate tax, won’t be phased out until 2010.

Senate Republican Rural Caucus Op-ed

Senate Republican Rural Caucus Op-ed

Rural Oklahoma has roots that extend deep into our state’s history. With a variety of elements, rural Oklahoma is the unrivaled backbone for Oklahoma, and rural Oklahoma’s success and livelihood directly affect our entire state.

As a citizen and senator from rural Oklahoma, it is an honor for me to serve as chairman of the Republican Rural Caucus in the Oklahoma State Senate. As a caucus, we are dedicated to ensuring the voices of rural Oklahoma are heard at the State Legislature.

Last session we accomplished several reforms that benefited rural Oklahoma. The Republican Rural Caucus provided landowners and farmers with protection for their livestock and land, strengthened trespassing laws and modified the permission to hunt and fish on certain land, and authorized the State Board of Agriculture to collect fines from violators of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act.

In addition, we successfully classified animal waste as nonhazardous to protect Oklahoma’s livestock industry from attacks by radical environmentalists, and we increased the funding for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.

The Republican Rural Caucus is dedicated to advancing and protecting the interests of rural Oklahoma. We recently unveiled our agenda for the 2008 Legislative Session, our “Vision for Improving the Quality of Life in Rural Oklahoma.”

At the top of our agenda is the dedication of more existing motor vehicle taxes and fees to the improvement of county roads and bridges. Too often counties are not even able to afford the upfront price tag of road and bridge improvements, so these remain unfixed. These efforts will not take away from the portion of motor vehicle taxes and fees that are already dedicated to education.

Providing quality education in our local schools is a top priority for us as well. Our children are our future and deserve to have great opportunities for learning and growth. The members of the Senate Republican Rural Caucus know that local schools are the lifeblood of our rural communities, which is why we have made very clear that we will OPPOSE any legislation that requires the forced consolidation of public schools.

Another priority for the Republican Rural Caucus will be to immediately eliminate Oklahoma’s Death Tax. Many people have worked hard all their lives to build up a farming operation or small business to pass on to their family. Unfortunately, many families are forced to sell these assets to pay the death tax when a loved one dies. The Legislature has voted to phase out the Death Tax in the year 2010, but we will work to immediately abolish it.

The Senate Republican Rural Caucus will continue to work to ensure the protection of personal property rights in dealing with land and water. In addition to the trespassing bill passed last year, we want to protect property rights with respect to water, and to provide for water conservation. When addressing water conservation, we also will work to improve water quality and quantity.

In Oklahoma, it currently takes too long to move an oversized load as a result of the slow, archaic trucking permit system. This means that products and commodities that should be moving are often sitting on the side of a highway while waiting for a permit. The Senate Republican Rural Caucus will work to modernize this system by putting all Oklahoma roads on a computer-based system to keep the state’s valuable resources moving.

The final area we wish to address is healthcare for rural Oklahoma. Excellence in rural healthcare is vital to economic development and job growth. The Senate Republican Rural Caucus is committed to saving rural hospitals, making healthcare more affordable, and improving access to healthcare by attracting and keeping physicians in rural Oklahoma.

Rural Oklahoma can take pride in our people, our resources and our contribution to this great state. Protecting these assets is essential to the survival of the rural way of life.


Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha

Republican Rural Caucus Chair

Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Committee Co-Chair

Senate Republican Rural Caucus Members Announce Vision for Rural Oklahoma

Senate Republican Rural Caucus Members Announce Vision for Rural Oklahoma

Members of the Oklahoma State Senate’s Republican Rural Caucus released today their policy agenda for the 2008 legislative session, which includes their “Vision for Improving the Quality of Life in Rural Oklahoma.”

The Republican Rural Caucus’ agenda calls for more funding for county roads and bridges, opposing forced school consolidation, attracting and keeping physicians in rural Oklahoma, among others.

“As senators who represent a number of rural communities, we understand the significance tied to rural Oklahoma,” said Senator Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, Republican Rural Caucus Chairman. “The success and livelihood of rural Oklahoma directly affects our entire state. Our vision for the 2008 legislative session echoes this thought and aims to bring support to rural families and businesses.”

“We as rural senators experience first hand the quality of Oklahoma’s resources,” said Senator Owen Laughlin, Republican Floor Leader. “Water is a necessary resource. We must find ways to increase the amount and quality of water.”

The Republican Rural Caucus vision includes:

Dedicating more motor vehicle taxes and fees to the improvement of county roads and bridges.

Opposing any legislation that requires the forced consolidation of public schools.
Immediately eliminating Oklahoma’s Death Tax, instead of its current date of elimination, 2010.

Ensuring the protection of personal property rights in dealing with land and water.
Modernizing the slow, archaic trucking permit system to help keep the state’s valuable resources moving.

Improving access to healthcare by attracting and keeping physicians in rural Oklahoma, and by protecting the financial viability of rural hospitals and ambulance services.

The Republican Rural Caucus is made up of 11 members: Senators Ron Justice of Chickasha, District 23; Patrick Anderson of Enid, District 19; Don Barrington of Lawton, District 31; Harry Coates of Seminole, District 28; John Ford of Bartlesville, District 29; Mike Johnson of Kingfisher, District 22; Todd Lamb of Edmond, District 47; Owen Laughlin of Woodward, District 27; David Myers of Ponca City, District 20; Mike Schulz of Altus, District 38; Anthony Sykes of Newcastle, District 24.

The purpose of the Republican Rural Caucus is to provide a voice for the citizens of rural, small town Oklahoma and promote their issues at the State Capitol.,/b>