Ron Paul Wins Oklahoma Straw Poll

With a 21% lead, Ron Paul won the first Oklahoma Straw Poll conducted online at http://www.OklahomaStrawPoll.com from November 21st to December 5^th.

The results were:

Ron Paul - 46%

Herman Cain - 25%

Newt Gingrich - 17%

Mitt Romney - 6%

Rick Perry - 3%

Michele Bachmann - 2%

Rick Santorum - 1%

Gary Johnson - less than 1%

Other Polls

If the general election were held today, only Ron Paul could beat Barack Obama in Iowa.

According to an NBC-Marist survey (pdf) conducted Nov. 27-29 among 2,896 registered voters, Paul ties Obama, with each contestant gaining 42% of the vote.

Other Republicans do significantly worse against the presumed Democratic candidate: Romney -7, Gingrich -10, Perry -11 and Bachmann -23. The margin of error is 1.8 percentage points.

Ron Paul 42%, Obama 42% (tied)

Mitt Romney 39%, Obama 46% (-7)

Newt Gingrich 37%, Obama 47% (-10)

Rick Perry 37%, Obama 48% (-11)

Michele Bachmann 31%, Obama 54% (-23)

Two recent Rasmussen polls show that Ron Paul is not only statistically tied with Obama (38% vs. 39%); he does better against the current president than any other declared or potential GOP candidate:

1. Ron Paul 38%, Barack Obama 39% (1% difference)

2. Rick Perry 40%, Barack Obama 43% (3% difference)

3. Michele Bachmann 39%, Barack Obama 43% (4% difference)

4. Mitt Romney 38%, Barack Obama 46% (8% difference)

5. Sarah Palin 33%, Barack Obama 50% (17% difference)

In the Iowa voters result, Paul took 82%. Following him were Herman Cain with 14.7%, Rick Santorum with 1%, Newt Gingrich with 0.9%, Michele Bachmann with 0.5%, Rick Perry with 0.5%, Gary Johnson with 0.2%, with Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman 0%.

The Illinois Republican Party says Ron Paul has won a statewide straw poll that sought to determine voters' unofficial preference for the GOP presidential nomination.

The Texas congressman won Saturday's poll with 52 percent of the vote. Paul won in both online and total votes.

Oklahoma Economy Appears Headed into Happy Holiday Season

Oklahoma’s economy continues its upward trend as the state enters the Christmas season, State Treasurer Ken Miller said today as he released the state’s monthly gross receipts report.

“We are again seeing growth in all areas measured by revenue collections, which points to an economically healthy holiday season,” Miller said.

November collections were 13.2 percent higher than in November of last year, showing solid improvement in the state’s economy. It was the fourth time in the past seven months that collections grew by more than 10 percent over the prior year. Collections over the past 12 months are up more than nine percent from the previous 12 months.

Miller said gross revenue, a reflection of the state’s economic performance, has grown for 21 consecutive months.

“The last time 12-month receipts were higher than today was two-and-a-half years ago, in May 2009, when collections stood at $10.77 billion. Since we hit the depths of the recession in February 2010, almost two-thirds of the lost revenue has been recovered,” he said.

Positive signs

On the national level, initial reports on Black Friday spending and the latest consumer confidence measure point to an improving economic picture. Numerous sources are reporting healthy increases in consumer spending at the start of the Christmas shopping season and The Conference Board reports consumer confidence surged in November from the month before.

Miller said the information bodes well for Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma’s economy has consistently outperformed the national average, and there is no indication that will change going into the holiday season,” he said.

This month’s revenue collections don’t yet reflect holiday shopping, as sales tax on purchases made after November 15 will not be reported until next month.

In October, statewide unemployment was set at 6.1 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. National unemployment in October was 9.0 percent. Oklahoma’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment is down by 0.8 percentage points compared to October of last year.

In analyzing the increase, state economists, including Miller, continue to believe the uptick is likely another sign of economic improvement as formerly discouraged job seekers are reentering the labor force.

November collections

The revenue report for November shows gross collections at $803.02 million, up $93.79 million or 13.2 percent from November of last year.

Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $241.45 million, an increase of $30.54 million or 14.5 percent from the previous November.

Personal income tax collections for the month are $236.81 million, up $34.71 million or 17.2 percent from the prior year. Corporate collections are $4.64 million, a decrease of $4.17 million or 47.4 percent.

Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $321.55 million in November. That is $22.19 million or 7.4 percent above November of last year.

Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $75.28 million in November, an increase of $7.13 million or 10.5 percent from last November. Compared to October reports, gross production collections are up by $6.92 million or 10.1 percent.

Motor vehicle taxes produced $49.1 million, up by $5.49 million or 12.6 percent from the prior year.

Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, horse race gambling and alcoholic beverages, produced $115.64 million during the month. That is $28.43 million or 32.6 percent higher than last November.

Twelve-month collections

In the past 12 months, gross revenue totals $10.586 billion. That is $907.08 million or 9.4 percent higher than the 12-month period ending in November 2010.

Gross income taxes generated $3.627 billion for the 12 months, reflecting an increase of $379.86 million or 11.7 percent from the trailing 12 months.

Personal income tax collections total $3.116 billion, up by $253.64 million or 8.7 percent from the prior 12 months. Corporate collections are $471.15 million for the period, an increase of $126.22 million or 36.6 percent over the previous 12 months.

Sales taxes for the period generated $3.820 billion, an increase of $268.95 million or 7.6 percent from the prior 12-month period.

Oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $1.042 billion during the 12 months, up by $101.03 million or 10.7 percent from the previous period.

Motor vehicle collections total $653.74 million for the period. This is an increase of $50.55 million or 8.4 percent from the trailing 12 months.

Other sources generated $1.443 billion, up $106.68 million or 8.0 percent from the previous period.

Overtime and Taxes

Many of us put in extra hours at work to help make ends meet, buy Christmas presents and just have a few more dollars. I have always heard that the government takes most of the overtime pay so I decided to do some calculations.

If you do a lot of overtime though, you need to be conscious of how your additional earnings will affect your tax liability at the end of the year. If you know your overtime rate, you can calculate how much more of your money is withheld over the course of a year and whether you need to think strategically about the hours you're putting in.

The first thing to consider is that you are taxed annually, not on each check. That is why some people can pay quarterly taxes and so forth. The taxes of each paycheck are based on your annual earnings assuming that pay were the same throughout the year.  So it is true that you may move into a higher bracket for a specified time period while not necessarily moving into the higher bracket for the year.  

The employer can elect how the tax is withheld from your pay. The simple overview is they can simply add it to the regular hours and withhold taxes form that amount or they can elect to use one of the supplemental methods. The simple example is at the end of the post.

Supplemental Method

According to the IRS’ Circular E- Employers Tax Guide, supplemental wages are wage payments to an employee paid during the payroll period that are not regular wages. They include, but are not limited to, bonuses, commissions, overtime pay, and payments for accumulated sick leave, severance pay, awards, prizes, back pay, retroactive pay increases, and payments for nondeductible moving expenses. Other payments subject to the supplemental wage rules include taxable fringe benefits and expense allowances paid under a non-accountable plan. How you withhold on supplemental wages depends on whether the supplemental payment is identified as a separate payment from regular wages. See Reg- 2. Section 31.3402(g)-1 for additional guidance for employee’s regular wages paid after January 1, 2007. Also see Revenue Ruling 2008-29, 2008-24 I.R.B. 1149, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2008-24_IRB/ar08.html.

Since these are taxes there is no simple answer. The fact is that the employer has a choice on how to withhold the tax from your paycheck. Here are some examples.

Example 1 is to simply withhold the tax based on the total amount (regular hours + overtime).

Example 2- You pay a base salary on the 1st of each month. She is single and claims one allowance. Her May 1 pay is $2,000. Using the wage period covered by the wage payment bracket tables, you withhold $195. On May 14 she receives a bonus of $1,000. Electing to use supplemental wage withholding method 1-b, you;

1. Add the bonus amount to the amount of wages from the last wage payment made during the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) ($2,000 + $1,000 = $3,000).

2. Determine the amount of withholding on the combined $3,000 amount to be $345 using the wage bracket tables.

3. Subtract the amount withheld from wages on the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) from the pay an employee for a period of less than one week, and combined withholding amount ($345 – $195 = $150

4. Withhold $150 from the bonus payment.

Example 3-The facts are the same as in Example 2, except you elect to use the flat rate method of withholding on the bonus. You withhold 25% of $1,000, or $250, from wages subject to withholding, the employee’s bonus payment.

Example 4-The facts are the same as in Example 2, except you elect to pay a second bonus of $2,000 on May 28. Using supplemental wage withholding method 1-b, you:

1. Add the first and second bonus amounts to the amount of wages from the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) ($2,000 + $1,000 + $2,000 = $5,000).

2. Determine the amount of withholding on the combined $5,000 amount to be $811 using the wage bracket tables.

3. Subtract the amounts withheld from wages on the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) and the amounts withheld from the first bonus payment from the combined withholding ($811 – $195 – $150 = $466).

4. Withhold $466 from the second bonus payment.

The “Simple” Example

As you can see the amount of tax on overtime may vary depending on the method used.  Even if your employer decides to simply add the amounts together for taxation, there is a Wage Bracket Method and a more complicated Percentage Method.  For simplicity (a bit late maybe) we will use the Wage Bracket Method for our own example.

If you normally earn $1550.00 (gross taxable income) biweekly then your withholding would be $183.00 (with one dependant claimed). If you then earn an extra $300.00 in overtime the tax is $258.00 (1550.00 + 300.00 = 1850.00). This adds $75.00 to your tax for the paycheck with the additional hours. That is 11.8% on the regular wage while paying 25% for the additional 300.00 if you break it up (183/1550=.118) and (75/300=.25). More accurately the total tax is 13.9% (258/1850=.139).  The overtime will put you in a higher tax bracket for a given pay period.

If you earned this $1550.00 throughout the year you would earn approximately $37,200.00 annually. And if you earned $1200.00 in overtime for the year the total is now $38,400.00. The tax (according to the IRS Tax Calculator) would be $3179 or 8.5% for the $37,200 while the tax on the $38,400 is estimated to be $3359 or 8.7%. The difference is $180.00. Using the break up method you pay 15% on the overtime pay (180/12000=.15) which is still 10% less than the 25% of a single pay period overtime tax.

All of this to say you will pay more tax on more income. The statement that you get taxed more for overtime is not necessarily accurate in that there is not a single rule to tax overtime using a different method. The choice for the amount withheld per pay period is up to your employer. 

Overtime and Taxes

Many of us put in extra hours at work to help make ends meet, buy Christmas presents and just have a few more dollars. I have always heard that the government takes most of the overtime pay so I decided to do some calculations.

If you do a lot of overtime though, you need to be conscious of how your additional earnings will affect your tax liability at the end of the year. If you know your overtime rate, you can calculate how much more of your money is withheld over the course of a year and whether you need to think strategically about the hours you're putting in.

The first thing to consider is that you are taxed annually, not on each check. That is why some people can pay quarterly taxes and so forth. The taxes of each paycheck are based on your annual earnings assuming that pay were the same throughout the year.  So it is true that you may move into a higher bracket for a specified time period while not necessarily moving into the higher bracket for the year.  

The employer can elect how the tax is withheld from your pay. The simple overview is they can simply add it to the regular hours and withhold taxes form that amount or they can elect to use one of the supplemental methods. The simple example is at the end of the post.

Supplemental Method

According to the IRS’ Circular E- Employers Tax Guide, supplemental wages are wage payments to an employee paid during the payroll period that are not regular wages. They include, but are not limited to, bonuses, commissions, overtime pay, and payments for accumulated sick leave, severance pay, awards, prizes, back pay, retroactive pay increases, and payments for nondeductible moving expenses. Other payments subject to the supplemental wage rules include taxable fringe benefits and expense allowances paid under a non-accountable plan. How you withhold on supplemental wages depends on whether the supplemental payment is identified as a separate payment from regular wages. See Reg- 2. Section 31.3402(g)-1 for additional guidance for employee’s regular wages paid after January 1, 2007. Also see Revenue Ruling 2008-29, 2008-24 I.R.B. 1149, available at www.irs.gov/irb/2008-24_IRB/ar08.html.

Since these are taxes there is no simple answer. The fact is that the employer has a choice on how to withhold the tax from your paycheck. Here are some examples.

Example 1 is to simply withhold the tax based on the total amount (regular hours + overtime).

Example 2- You pay a base salary on the 1st of each month. She is single and claims one allowance. Her May 1 pay is $2,000. Using the wage period covered by the wage payment bracket tables, you withhold $195. On May 14 she receives a bonus of $1,000. Electing to use supplemental wage withholding method 1-b, you;

1. Add the bonus amount to the amount of wages from the last wage payment made during the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) ($2,000 + $1,000 = $3,000).

2. Determine the amount of withholding on the combined $3,000 amount to be $345 using the wage bracket tables.

3. Subtract the amount withheld from wages on the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) from the pay an employee for a period of less than one week, and combined withholding amount ($345 – $195 = $150

4. Withhold $150 from the bonus payment.

Example 3-The facts are the same as in Example 2, except you elect to use the flat rate method of withholding on the bonus. You withhold 25% of $1,000, or $250, from wages subject to withholding, the employee’s bonus payment.

Example 4-The facts are the same as in Example 2, except you elect to pay a second bonus of $2,000 on May 28. Using supplemental wage withholding method 1-b, you:

1. Add the first and second bonus amounts to the amount of wages from the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) ($2,000 + $1,000 + $2,000 = $5,000).

2. Determine the amount of withholding on the combined $5,000 amount to be $811 using the wage bracket tables.

3. Subtract the amounts withheld from wages on the most recent base salary pay date (May 1) and the amounts withheld from the first bonus payment from the combined withholding ($811 – $195 – $150 = $466).

4. Withhold $466 from the second bonus payment.

The “Simple” Example

As you can see the amount of tax on overtime may vary depending on the method used.  Even if your employer decides to simply add the amounts together for taxation, there is a Wage Bracket Method and a more complicated Percentage Method.  For simplicity (a bit late maybe) we will use the Wage Bracket Method for our own example.

If you normally earn $1550.00 (gross taxable income) biweekly then your withholding would be $183.00 (with one dependant claimed). If you then earn an extra $300.00 in overtime the tax is $258.00 (1550.00 + 300.00 = 1850.00). This adds $75.00 to your tax for the paycheck with the additional hours. That is 11.8% on the regular wage while paying 25% for the additional 300.00 if you break it up (183/1550=.118) and (75/300=.25). More accurately the total tax is 13.9% (258/1850=.139).  The overtime will put you in a higher tax bracket for a given pay period.

If you earned this $1550.00 throughout the year you would earn approximately $37,200.00 annually. And if you earned $1200.00 in overtime for the year the total is now $38,400.00. The tax (according to the IRS Tax Calculator) would be $3179 or 8.5% for the $37,200 while the tax on the $38,400 is estimated to be $3359 or 8.7%. The difference is $180.00. Using the break up method you pay 15% on the overtime pay (180/12000=.15) which is still 10% less than the 25% of a single pay period overtime tax.

All of this to say you will pay more tax on more income. The statement that you get taxed more for overtime is not necessarily accurate in that there is not a single rule to tax overtime using a different method. The choice for the amount withheld per pay period is up to your employer. 

New OK Law Cuts Wasteful Benefit Spending

OKLAHOMA CITY (November 30, 2011) – A new law allowing state employees to opt out of state-funded insurance is already generating savings of more than half-a-million dollars, state Rep. Dustin Roberts announced today.

“Until this year, lawmakers and state employees were required to accept state-funded insurance even when they already had private coverage,” said Roberts, R-Durant. “That was a ridiculous waste of limited state dollars and I am pleased the reform I authored is now generating savings.”

House Bill 1062, by Roberts, allows legislators and state employees to opt out of state-funded insurance coverage if they already have policies through the private sector. The law took effect at the start of November.

So far, 91 people have opted out of state-funded coverage. It is conservatively estimated those opt-outs will result in at least $536,150 in savings, although final numbers are not yet available.

A fiscal analysis developed during session estimated that 2 percent to 5 percent of state employees may eventually opt out of state-funded coverage, ultimately saving $1.5 million to $3.5 million annually. 

“Obviously, when you are dealing with a state budget of $6.5 billion, the savings achieved by this legislation alone will not reverse the cuts imposed in recent years,” Roberts said. “However, every dollar saved is a dollar that can now be used for schools, roads and public safety. Good budgeting requires finding savings wherever you can in ways big and small, and I am proud to have eliminated wasteful spending in state government.”

OK General Revenue Fund on the Rise

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oil revenue is coming in at a faster pace than last year, providing an unexpected boost to General Revenue Fund collections, Office of State Finance Director Preston Doerflinger said Tuesday as he released the OSF's monthly revenue report.

"We saw increases in all major sources of revenue in October and the General Revenue Fund received a deposit from gross production oil taxes 2 months earlier than occurred in 2010," Doerflinger said.

"Increased production in the oil patch, combined with the addition of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the last several months, are among the main reasons our economy is performing stronger than most other states," he said.

The state's unemployment rate stood at 5.9 percent in September, which is well below the national rate of 9.1 percent. The heightened activity in the oil fields is illustrated by the fact that, during the first 4 months of the 2012 fiscal year, the state had 48 to 64 more rigs operating compared with the same four months of 2011.

Total collections for the General Revenue Fund in October were $408.1 million. This amount was $24.3 million and 6.3 percent above collections for the same month in 2010 and $9.3 million or 2.3 percent above the monthly estimate for 2011.

The GRF received a $7.6 million deposit from oil gross production taxes in October after the cap of $150 million was reached for funds earmarked principally to education.

After the cap is hit, 81.4 percent of oil taxes go into the GRF. A year ago, a dramatic rise in oil prices led to the cap being reached in December, earlier than expected. This year, the cap was reached four months earlier than anticipated.

"You can't overestimate the impact of a boon in oil drilling as it leads to increases in income, sales and motor vehicle tax collections, as well as severance taxes," said Doerflinger, Secretary of Finance. "But it's important to remember that pending energy industry tax rebates and credits this fiscal year will substantially reduce the amount of money that would normally flow into the General Revenue Fund.

"Overall, we are expecting that Fiscal Year 2013 budget will be relatively flat, which is an improvement over the recent series of revenue shortfalls linked to the national recession. If oil revenue collections remain strong and natural gas receipts pick up, our budget outlook could improve. We'll just have to wait and see."

Governor Mary Fallin said, "Oklahoma’s economy and tax revenues have both been growing steadily, and that's great news for the state. The pro-business, pro-growth policies we have been pursuing are paying off. Additionally, the energy sector in Oklahoma continues to thrive, creating private-sector jobs while boosting revenues for the state. Moving forward, the Oklahoma First Energy Plan will continue to help build that momentum.

"Despite the recent growth and upwards trends, however, we're still feeling the effects of the recession. Revenue continues to be below 2008 pre-recession levels, and one-time funding sources that previously have been used to balance the budget are no longer available. That means agencies will have to continue to work on maximizing efficiency and doing more with less."

Income Taxes

Corporate and individual income taxes grew by 6.1 percent over the previous year which equates to $9.5 million more.

Sales Taxes

Sales tax collections produced $147 million for the General Revenue Fund, $12.8 million or 9.5 percent more than last year.

Gross Production Taxes

October taxes on natural gas accounted for $24.4 million in General Revenue Fund receipts, which was $2.4 million or 10.9 percent above the prior year and oil tax collections to the General Revenue Fund for October were $7.6 million. No collections were deposited into the General Revenue Fund from this source in October of last year and none were estimated to be received in the current fiscal year until February. Overall, gross production oil collections to all funds for July through October are up $58.1 million or 42.8 percent over collections from the same time period of the prior year.

Motor vehicle taxes

This tax source produced $17.1 million, which was $4.1 million or 31 percent above the prior year and $820,000 or 5 percent above the estimate.

Other Revenue

Other revenue produced $73.6 million in September. This was $30.3 million or 70.2 percent above the prior year and $14.7 million or 25 percent above the estimate.

Anytime the state funds increase normally reflects increases in income, spending and production.  Added to the fact that the state has a balanced budget amendment the federal government should take heed of Oklahoma’s growth and overall management of the peoples’ money.

OK Pension Reform Results in Historic Debt Reduction

Pension reforms implemented earlier this year have reduced the state’s pension debt by $5.5 billion. This is the largest single-year debt reduction in Oklahoma history, lawmakers were informed today.

Thanks to recently enacted reforms, the unfunded liability of all the state pension plans has fallen from over $16 billion to $10.6 billion, officials announced.

“The reforms are making a meaningful difference. At a time when nations in Europe as well as other states in our country struggle to even address their structural debt problems, Oklahoma’s financial condition is already exhibiting remarkable improvement,” said state Rep. Randy McDaniel, an Oklahoma City Republican who chairs the House Pension Oversight Committee.

“This is good news for all Oklahomans,” said state Rep. Todd Russ, a Cordell Republican who is vice-chair of the House Pension Oversight Committee. “Workers depending on state pension systems benefit from greater long-term security, and all working families are protected from the tax increases that might have otherwise occurred.”

In addition to reducing debt, the state pension plans are experiencing growth in asset levels. The state’s major pension plans now have $21.5 billion in assets, an increase of over $3.5 billion in the past year due to healthy investment returns.

The combination of a reduced unfunded liability and asset growth has improved the integrated ratio of Oklahoma state pensions from 56 percent to 67 percent, McDaniel noted.

“The reforms we approved this year are working exceedingly well. Our debts are declining significantly while our assets are increasing,” McDaniel said. “Although more can be done to solidify our pension system, this has been an exceptional year for improving the financial stability of our pension plans.”

The reforms enacted this year included House Bill 2132, which requires a funding source before cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) can be granted, and several acts that increased the retirement age for future employees.

Oklahoma Economy Rises Above Worldwide Chaos

OKLAHOMA CITY – In spite of external threats, volatile markets and global instability, Oklahoma’s economy is rising above the chaos, State Treasurer Ken Miller said as he released the state’s monthly gross receipts report.

“With yet another month of healthy collections, it appears Oklahoma’s economy is hitting its stride,” Miller said.

October collections were 7.4 percent higher than in October of last year, showing steady improvement in the state’s economy. Collections over the past 12 months are up almost nine percent from the previous 12 months.

Miller said gross revenue, a reflection of the state’s economic performance, has grown for 20 consecutive months.

“We have regained almost 60 percent of the revenue that disappeared during the recession,” he said. “We saw a more than $1.9 billion drop in 12-month receipts between December 2008 and February 2010. Since then, we have seen an increase of more than $1.1 billion.”

Oklahoma: A positive example

As world financial markets react to uncertainty in Washington, Europe and the Middle East, Miller said Oklahoma’s economy is setting a positive example.

“Oklahoma’s two major revenue streams, income tax and sales tax, are showing remarkable resilience,” he said. “Income tax collections – up by almost 12 percent this month – show Oklahomans are making more money, and sales tax collections – up by almost nine percent – show we are also gaining confidence.”

Miller said the latest Business Conditions Index for Oklahoma continues to reflect a positive outlook for the state’s economy. The index for October shows anticipated growth for the next three to six months.

By contrast, the index for a nine-state region of the Midwest and Plains, of which Oklahoma is a member, dipped slightly below the positive benchmark. Oklahoma and North Dakota, both energy-rich states, continue to outperform the other states in the region.

“In spite of record levels of money circulating throughout our economy, core inflation in the region is at its lowest level since the end of the recession,” Miller said. “Low price levels help both consumers and policymakers as we work our way back to fiscal health.”

The nine-state region includes Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma.

In September, statewide unemployment was set at 5.9 percent, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous month. National unemployment held steady at 9.1 percent. Oklahoma’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment is down by one percent compared to September of last year.

Miller said the increase in unemployment is likely another sign of economic improvement.

“The slight uptick can be interpreted as a sign of recovery and renewed optimism for employment prospects, as formerly discouraged job seeks reentered the labor force,” he said.

Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in September 7,920 Oklahomans began looking for employment and 3,240 were successful in obtaining a job.

Collections in all major categories increased in October, except for gross production. However, Miller said the decrease was expected as remittances from the tax on oil and natural gas production reflect prices and volumes from two to three months ago.

October collections

The revenue report for October shows gross collections at $838.01 million, up $57.5 million or 7.4 percent from October of last year.

Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $269.27 million, an increase of $28.21 million or 11.7 percent from the previous October.

Personal income tax collections for the month are $239.56 million, up $11.49 million or 5 percent from the prior year. Corporate collections are $29.71 million, an increase of $16.72 million or 128.7 percent.

Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $324.31 million in October. That is $25.59 million or 8.6 percent above October of last year.

Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $68.36 million in October, a decrease of $9.44 million or 12.1 percent from last October. Compared to September reports, gross production collections are down by $19.19 million or 28.1 percent.

Due to a technical glitch in electronic funds transfers, $8.32 million in gross production taxes were remitted in October but not recorded until November. If recorded in October, gross production collections would have been $76.68 million, a reduction of $1.12 million or 1.4 percent from the previous year.

Motor vehicle taxes produced $52.2 million, up by $6.05 million or 13.1 percent from the prior year.

Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, horse race gambling and alcoholic beverages, produced $123.87 million during the month. That is $7.09 million or 6.1 percent higher than last October.

Twelve-month collections

In the past 12 months, gross revenue totals $10.49 billion. That is $844.14 million or 8.7 percent higher than the 12-month period ending in October 2010.

Gross income taxes generated $3.596 billion for the 12 months, reflecting an increase of $349.77 million or 10.8 percent from the trailing 12 months.

Personal income tax collections total $3.121 billion, up by $219.27 million or 7.6 percent from the prior 12 months. Corporate collections are $475.33 million for the period, an increase of $130.5 million or 37.8 percent over the previous 12 months.

Sales taxes for the period generated $3.798 billion, an increase of $270.35 million or 7.7 percent from the prior 12-month period.

Oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $1.035 billion during the 12 months, up by $106.98 million or 11.5 percent from the previous period. If the $8.32 million in gross production remitted in October but recorded in November were included, 12-month collections in the category would have been $1.043 billion, an increase of $115.3 million or 12.4 percent from the prior 12 months.

Motor vehicle collections total $648.24 million for the period. This is an increase of $46.59 million or 7.7 percent from the trailing 12 months.

Other sources generated $1.414 billion, up $70.45 million or 5.2 percent from the previous period.

Fewer Americans Feel Good About Financial Situations

Forty-nine percent of Americans are feeling better about their financial situations these days, representing a continuing downturn from the average of 53% who were feeling better in mid-summer. The drop in Americans' positive attitudes about their finances in August occurred just after the congressional wrangling over the Aug. 2 debt ceiling deadline, suggesting that there may be a similarly negative impact from this week's failure of the supercommittee to reach its budget-cutting deadline.

Americans' broader assessment of the U.S. economy also fell at about this same time. The timing of the drop in these economic measures, coinciding as it did with the debt ceiling debate, suggests that Congress' difficulties in reaching a decision on crucial budget and economic matters had an effect on the way Americans look at their financial situations.

Americans this week are hearing news reports that their elected representatives have failed to reach an agreement on cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal budget. Any possible impact of this on Americans' views of their personal financial situations will become evident in the weeks ahead.

A majority of Americans (55%) believe Republicans and Democrats on the U.S. debt "supercommittee" are equally to blame for its inability to reach an agreement.

These results are based on a Nov. 21 Gallup poll, conducted after the committee of six Republicans and six Democrats conceded Monday afternoon it would not be able to reach an agreement by its Nov. 23 deadline. The supercommittee was created as part of the legislation to raise the federal debt limit in August. Because it did not reach an agreement, automatic cuts in defense and entitlement spending will be made in 2013, though Congress is considering its options for preventing those automatic cuts from being made.

A majority of Republicans and independents blame supercommittee members from both parties equally. In contrast, Democrats are most likely to blame Republicans for the failure to reach an agreement.

It is not a surprise that Congressional job approval remains at 13% in November, identical to October and tying the all-time Gallup low on this measure. The 2011 average is on track to be the lowest annual rating of Congress in Gallup's history.

TSA Releases VIPR Venom on Tennessee Highways

TSA Releases VIPR Venom on Tennessee Highways

If you thought the “Transportation Security Administration” would limit itself to conducting unconstitutional searches at airports, think again.  The agency intends to assert jurisdiction over our nation’s highways, waterways, and railroads as well.  TSA launched a new campaign of random checkpoints on Tennessee highways last week, complete with a sinister military-style acronym--VIP(E)R—as a name for the program.

As with TSA’s random searches at airports, these roadside searches are not based on any actual suspicion of criminal activity or any factual evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever by those detained.  They are, in effect, completely random.  So first we are told by the U.S. Supreme Court that American citizens have no 4thamendment protections at border crossings, even when standing on U.S. soil.  Now TSA takes the next logical step and simply detains and searches U.S. citizens at wholly internal checkpoints.

The slippery slope is here.  When does it end?  How many more infringements on our liberties, our property, and our basic human rights to travel freely will it take before people become fed up enough to demand respect from their government?  When will we demand that the government heed obvious constitutional limitations, and stop treating ordinary Americans as criminal suspects in the absence of probable cause?

The real tragedy occurs when Americans incrementally become accustomed to this treatment on the roads just as they have become accustomed to it in the airports. We already accept arriving at the airport 2 or more hours before a flight to get through security; will we soon have to build in an extra 2 or 3 hours into our road trips to allow for checkpoint traffic?

Worse, some people are lulled into a false sense of security and are actually grateful for this added police presence!  Should we really hail the expansion of the police state as an enhancement to safety?  I submit that an attitude of acquiescence to TSA authority is thoroughly dangerous, un-American, and insulting to earlier freedom-loving generations who built this country.

I am certain people will complain about this, once they have to sit in stopped traffic for a few extra hours to allow for random searches of cars.  However, I am also certain it merely will take another "foiled" plot to silence many people into gladly accepting more government mismanagement of safety.

Vigilant, observant, law-abiding, gun-owning citizens defend themselves and stop crimes every day before police can respond.  That is the source of real security in America:  the 2nd Amendment right to defend oneself.  The answer is for people to be empowered to protect themselves.  Yet how many weapons might these checkpoints confiscate?  Even when individual go through all the legal hoops of licensing and permits, the chances of harassment or outright confiscation of weapons and detention of citizens when those weapons are found at a TSA checkpoint is extremely high.

Disarming the highways and filling them full of jack-booted thugs demanding to see our papers is no way to make them safer.  Instead, it is a great way to expand government surveillance powers and tighten the noose around our liberties.

Ron Paul

OK Lawmakers Consider Implementing Statewide Beverage Container Recycling Program

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 26, 2011) – Creating a state recycling program that allows Oklahomans to redeem money when beverage bottles are returned for recycling could have a significant impact on litter in the state, experts told lawmakers this week.

“It appears passage of a ‘bottle bill’ in Oklahoma could create an incentive for people to recycle bottles instead of putting them in the trash, aiding existing industry in our state while also reducing litter,” said state Rep. Mark McCullough, a Sapulpa Republican who requested the study. “There are still some details that must be addressed, but today’s study showed this idea has great promise.”

McCullough said he and others have worked on the issue for the past three years and he conducted the study to gather information from as many viewpoints as possible.

“This is not a Sierra Club bill or an idea from someone with a big-government approach to problem-solving,” McCullough said. “Instead, this is a market-driven proposal brought to me by the manager of a local glass plant. It seems the time is ripe to use market forces to reduce litter in our state while helping existing plants in Oklahoma better compete nationally and internationally.”

Michael Patton, an official with the Metropolitan Environment Trust in Tulsa, noted that litter is a big issue in Oklahoma and said the proposal could help reduce that problem.

Where “bottle bills” have been implemented, he said the average redemption rate is 84 percent. In comparison, just 4 percent of containers are recycled in Oklahoma today.

Steven Segebarth, an official with St. Gobain Containers, noted that glass packaging is now a national industry that would benefit from increased recycling efforts. He said there are 48 glass plants in 22 states comprising a $5.5 billion industry and those facilities handle 30 billion glass containers per year.

Such facilities employ 18,000 individuals nationally, including 1,000 in Oklahoma, Segebarth said. Unfortunately, he said estimates indicate 1.8 billion of the 2.4 billion beverage containers now sold annually in Oklahoma wind up in landfills instead of being recycled.

Mike Smaha, an official with Owens-Illinois Glass, told lawmakers his company obtains 80 percent of their recyclable material from “bottle bill” states.

And Fenton Rood, an official with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, noted there are now 41 landfills in Oklahoma that are rapidly filling.

At the same time, there are now three glass plants and three paper plants in Oklahoma that would benefit from a more robust recycling program that would reduce landfill challenges.

However, some opponents raised concerns about implementing a “bottle bill” law in Oklahoma.

Jim Griffith, CEO of OnCue Express, told lawmakers that most retailers have limited space in their stores and cannot handle the challenge of storing bottles returned for redemption.

McCullough said he would not support any bill forcing retailers to act as collection agents.

“I do not support forcing retailers to become trash collectors for the state and, fortunately, we are way beyond the point where that is necessary. Modern recycling redemption models left the idea of forced participation by retailers in the dust a long time ago,” McCullough said. “Today, there is definitely a robust market for recycled commodities and market incentives will readily generate a cottage industry of vendors who will accept the recycled containers and pay the redemptions.”

Another critic, Kevin S. Dietly, an official with distributor Northbridge Environmental, said “bottle bill” laws could involve significant implementation costs and disrupt sales. He said a 1999 study in Kentucky projected that a “bottle bill” would reduce sales at border stores by 4.6 percent.

Overall, McCullough noted that manufacturers liked the proposal while distributors opposed it – an “interesting and ironic situation.” However, while there was disagreement on some issues, there was broad agreement on others, he noted.

“There is a significance divergence on what the actual impact of a recycling program would be on distributors and consumer behavior,” McCullough said. “But the one thing everyone agrees on is that it would reduce litter.”

Overall, the Sapulpa lawmaker was pleased the study included significant participation from a diverse group of experts on both sides of this issue.

“The purpose of this study was to gather information on the feasibility of implementing a state-wide beverage container recycling program utilizing a refundable container assessment,” McCullough said. “It’s clear that there would be benefits to such a program, but we will have to address some of the potential problems to ensure there is buy-in from as many constituencies as possible.”

Stronger DUI law starts Tuesday

Starting next Tuesday, November 1, Oklahomans who drive drunk will face tougher penalties—changes that supporters say will save lives. Sen. Clark Jolley and Rep. Jason Nelson authored the Erin Swezey Act last session, which won overwhelming approval by the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin. The legislation was named for a 20-year-old Oklahoma State University student from Edmond who was killed in 2009 by a drunk driver with numerous DUI arrests and convictions.

“We want people to know that if they choose to drink too much and get behind the wheel, they will face greater consequences. Hopefully that may discourage some people from driving drunk in the first-place,” said Jolley, R-Edmond. “If not, the provisions of the Erin Swezey Act will make it much more difficult for them to drink and drive once they’ve been convicted of DUI.”

As of November 1, an interlock device will be required for 18 months on a first conviction for those with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .15 or higher. For a second or subsequent offense, the interlock will be mandatory for those with a BAC of .08 for a period of four years, and for five years on subsequent offenses. Under the new law, those convicted will have the designation “Interlock Required” on the face of their driver licenses as long as they’re required to have an interlock device.

The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office has already begun airing a new Public Service Announcement about interlock devices, which can be viewed on their website (http://ok.gov/ohso/) and will also be working to raise public awareness about the Erin Swezey Act.

“Keeping the public safe on Oklahoma roadways is a top priority for law enforcement,” said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Major Rusty Rhodes. “This law provides stricter rules for DUI offenders and will help us keep impaired drivers off the roads.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, interlock devices are credited with reducing repeat drunk driving offenses by an average of 67 percent, with a 30 percent reduction of alcohol related fatalities. However some states have seen even greater results.

“In Arizona, they’ve cut their fatalities by nearly half. That’s pretty dramatic,” said Nelson, R-Oklahoma City. “We’ll never know whose life we’ve saved with this law, but it could be any one of us or our own children or grandchildren.”

Among those attending Thursday’s State Capitol press conference to raise public awareness about the new law were Erin’s parents, Keith and Dixie Swezey, her brothers, and other friends and family members.

“Drunk driving is not a victimless crime. Erin’s life was cut tragically short by a senseless and 100 percent preventable act,” said Keith Swezey. “But if this new law is properly enforced, countless Oklahoma citizens will not have to suffer the tragedy that our family and so many others have gone through.”

More Polls

64% Say Government has too much money and power

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. Adults shows that 64% think the government has too much power and money while just nine percent (9%) says it has too little of both. Nineteen percent (19%) think the government has about the right amount of power and money.

The number of adults that believes the government holds too much power and money is up slightly from 61% a year ago and 60% in April 2009.

Only 10% believe the federal government spends taxpayers’ money wisely and fairly, down six points from last year. Seventy-eight percent (78%) disagree and say the government does not spend money from taxpayers the way it should while 12% are undecided.

84% say country heading in wrong direction

Sixteen percent (16%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, October 23.

The latest finding is up a point from a week ago, but is down a point from a month ago and 16 points from this time last year. 

Since the third week in July, the number of voters who are confident in the nation’s current course has resembled levels measured in the final months of the Bush administration, with voter confidence remaining in the narrow range of 14% to 19%.

When President Obama assumed office in January 2009, optimism rose to 27% and climbed to the low to mid 30s peaking at 40% in early May of that year.  In 2010, confidence steadily decreased and hasn’t topped 30% since February 2011.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of voters say the country is heading down the wrong track, down a point from last week.  Since January 2009, voter pessimism has ranged from a low of 57% to a high of 80%. This time last year, 64% said the United States was heading down the wrong path.

Congressional Favorability Ratings

While Congress’ overall job approval continues to hover around record lows, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi remains the most unpopular Congressional leader.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of Likely Voters have at least a somewhat unfavorable opinion of Pelosi, just below her worst rating ever (64%) measured in July and February.

For House Speaker John Boehner, 38% have a favorable opinion of him while 46% view him unfavorably.  That includes nine percent (9%) who have a Very Favorable view of the Ohio Republican and 22% who have a Very Unfavorable impression of him.   These findings show little change from last month.  When Boehner took the reins as speaker from Pelosi, he enjoyed a 45% favorable rating and a 34% unfavorable rating.

Just 21% of voters have a favorable opinion of House Majority Leader Harry Reid, matching his all-time low first measured in late May. Fifty-seven percent (57%) view Reid unfavorably.  These figures include eight percent (8%) who have a Very Favorable impression of the Nevada Democrat and 36% who share a Very Unfavorable view of him.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell earns favorable reviews from 32% of voters and unfavorable marks from 40%.  These figures include six percent (6%) who have a Very Favorable impression of McConnell and 20% who have a Very Unfavorable view of him.  But nearly one-third (28%) don’t know enough about him to offer an opinion, as has been the case for years now.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of voters now say members of Congress are more interested in their own careers than helping people.  That matches the highest level measured since regular tracking began in November 2006 but is generally consistent with findings since the spring.  Nine percent (9%) feel members of Congress are more interested in helping people. 

And 71% of Likely U.S. Voters favor establishing term limits for all members of Congress. Just 14% oppose setting such limits, and 15% are undecided about them.

The President and the Economy

Perceptions of President Obama’s handling of the economy – the most important issue on voters’ minds – have fallen to a new low. 

The latest national telephone survey finds that 28% of Likely Voters believe the president is doing a good or excellent job on the economy.  While this finding has been hovered around 30% since early August, it’s the lowest level measured of Obama’s presidency.

Gallup Polls show President Barack Obama's job approval rating has shown modest improvement in the past week. His latest rating, based on Oct. 24-26 Gallup Daily tracking is 43%, and his approval has been at or above 42% in each of the last seven days. In the prior two weeks, his averages were generally at or below 40%.

The Second Amendment

Forty-seven percent of American adults currently report that they have a gun in their home or elsewhere on their property. This is up from 41% a year ago and is the highest Gallup has recorded since 1993, albeit marginally above the 44% and 45% highs seen during that period.

Republicans (including independents that lean Republican) are more likely than Democrats (including Democratic leaners) to say they have a gun in their household: 55% to 40%. While sizable, this partisan gap is narrower than that seen in recent years, as Democrats' self-reported gun ownership spiked to 40% this year.

Most of us favor the adherence to the second amendment with private gun ownership. A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years.

A solid majority of the U.S. public, 73%, believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns.

Legislative Study Reviews Shared Parenting from Conception

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Anastasia A. Pittman said today’s legislative study on shared parenting from conception examined how Oklahoma child protection statutes can be expanded to provide paternal support for infants in utero.

“Oklahoma law defines an ‘unborn child’ as a human from fertilization until birth,” said Pittman, D-Oklahoma City. “Our law also makes anyone who injures an unborn child knowingly to be guilty of a felony. Given those precedents, it seems only logical that we would expect some degree of paternal responsibility and aid from the moment of conception. For the first nine months, many unintended and out-of-wedlock pregnancies become the shared responsibility of the mother and our government. It is only after the child is born that the state ramps up efforts to establish paternity and initiate child support collections. Today, we looked at how we can ensure shared parenting takes place from the moment an unborn child is created.”

The study showed that paternity can be established in the 14th week of pregnancy in a non-invasive procedure using prenatal fetal DNA present in the mother’s plasma. Invasive procedures such as amniocentesis cost almost twice as much as the fetal DNA test, which is 99 percent accurate in determining whether a man is or is not the father of an unborn child.

Teen childbearing in Oklahoma cost taxpayers at least $190 million in 2008, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy. Meanwhile, student teen moms and their children are receiving less aid. For example, the Emerson Alternative High School Early Head Start clinic, which had helped teen mothers for 30 years, was forced to close due to a $141,000 funding cut as part of legislative efforts to balance the state budget.

Oklahoma is among the states with the highest teen birth rates, according to 2009 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vital Signs report. Meanwhile, budget cuts have led to higher co-payments and reduced eligibility for child-care subsidies through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

“The emotional burden born by expectant mothers is really incalculable when dads don’t step up right away,” Pittman said. “With fewer services available to teen moms, it is critical that fathers share parental responsibility from conception. Deadbeat dads cost the state of Oklahoma and single mothers to cover prenatal and postpartum costs. By strengthening our child neglect-and-abuse laws and mandating shared parenting from conception, we will not just save tax dollars, but we will also ease the burden on mothers and possibly save the life of the unborn child.”

Attitudes on Healthcare

On Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Rasmussen polled 1,000 adults with the following question- Do you favor or oppose a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone?

Roughly half (49%) of Americans oppose a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 35% of American Adults favor a single-payer health care system. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.

In another poll earlier this month Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 25% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is more important for the federal government to determine a minimum level of health insurance that all Americans must buy rather than letting individuals choose their own plan. Seventy percent (70%) disagree and say it is more important to give individuals the right to select their own health insurance plans

Seventy-six percent (76%) believe that people should be allowed to buy health insurance coverage for issues like unexpected surgeries or cancer but pay for routine doctor visits on their own without insurance. Just 12% say Americans should not be able to buy only major medical insurance and pay out-of-pocket for routine doctor visits.

Majority oppose Student Loan Forgiveness

One of the loudest demands by the Occupy Wall Street protesters is for forgiveness of the nearly $1 trillion worth of student loans, but Americans strongly oppose forgiving that debt. Even as President Obama talks about easing the burden on those with student loans, in fact, Americans are more inclined to think the government should help those who haven’t gone to college instead. 

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 finds that just 21% of American Adults think the federal government should forgive the nearly $1 trillion in loans it made or guaranteed to help students pay for a college education. Sixty-six percent (66%) oppose the forgiveness of all student loans. Yet, in a poll on Monday, Thirty-four percent (34%) feel the views of the Occupy Wall Street protesters are closer to their own.

66% of Americans Dislike the Fed

Most voters don’t like the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central banking system, which one presidential candidate, Ron Paul, would like to abolish.

Thirty-four percent (34%) of Likely U.S. Voters share at least a somewhat favorable opinion of the Federal Reserve. That includes just five percent (5%) with a Very Favorable view of it. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% have at least a somewhat unfavorable regard for the Fed, with 15% who see it Very Unfavorably. Another 16% are undecided.

The Political Class strongly disagrees.  Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the Political Class views the Fed favorably, while 57% of Mainstream voters hold an unfavorable opinion of the institution created in 1913 to regulate America’s money supply and oversee the nation’s banks. It is no wonder then that Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe that government and big business work together against the interests of consumers and investors.

“This unholy alliance between the largest corporations and the government is a natural and inevitable result of moving away from a national commitment to self-governance,” wrote Scott Rasmussen in his book In Search of Self-Governance.  “As a result, the gap today between Americans who want to govern themselves and politicians who want to rule over them may be as big as the gap between the colonies and England during the 18th century. And that’s true whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge.”

Additionally, a recent poll shows that 51% believe the chairman of the Fed has too much power over the economy. Only nine percent (9%) disagree and say he does not have too much power.

Only 26% of Americans share a favorable view of Bernanke, including seven percent (7%) who view the chairman Very Favorably. Fifty-one percent (51%) view Bernanke unfavorably, with 29% who share a Very Unfavorable opinion of him. Another 24% have no opinion of the chairman.

Seventy-four percent (74%) agree with Ron Paul that auditing the Federal Reserve Board is a good idea, even though Bernanke is not willing to go that far.

A related survey finds that only seven percent (7%) of American Adults believe the average taxpayer benefited more than Wall Street from the bailouts. Seventy-four percent (74%) now think Wall Street benefited more. Overall, 68% believe that most of the bailout money went to the very people who created the nation’s ongoing economic crisis.

A Gallup Poll finds Americans are more than twice as likely to blame the federal government in Washington (64%) for the economic problems facing the United States as they are the financial institutions on Wall Street (30%).

These reports mirror the recent increase in dissatisfaction and distrust of the government. Keep in mind, these are the very folks we requested or allowed to be in power. 

Family Law Process Harming Children

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 20, 2011) – Oklahoma’s family law is dangerously failing the children it is supposed to protect, leading some lawmakers to consider reform of both divorce statutes and the foster-care system.

Following a recent legislative study, state Rep. Mark McCullough said it is clear that “no fault” divorce is a failed policy.

“I respect the views of those who argue that no-fault divorce creates less havoc than the alternatives, but I question that orthodoxy,” McCullough said. “There is very little in the divorce process that is even remotely connected to the interest of the children.”

State Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, who grew up a child of divorce, said his experiences with the system were life changing, negative and all too typical.

“When you get down to it, our current divorce system is a racket that enriches attorneys and makes children and communities poorer,” Nelson said. “Divorce scars children and leaves them emotionally disfigured. The current divorce laws are perverse and they are destroying children and our society. If the best interests of children were actually taken into consideration the divorce rate would be considerably less.”

During the study, one legal practitioner estimated that that vast majority of disputed custody cases are due to one parent trying to reduce the amount of child support payments.

James Reid, an Oklahoma City attorney, told lawmakers of the challenges he faced representing a client who sought to have custody modified due to concerns of serious child abuse by the former wife’s new boyfriend. The process drug out for eight years without court resolution and involved nine judges and multiple DHS investigations.

Another individual, Chris Gregory, told lawmakers he has spent over $160,000 on attorney’s fees (including paying for his wife’s lawyer) during a divorce case that has been ongoing for three years.

In cases involving termination of parental rights, Oklahoma Supreme Court rulings have required that that there must be due process, and a clear and convicting standard of proof.

However, Oklahoma is one of only 10 states where the right to a jury trial is part of that process, which can dramatically increase the time involved and turmoil for children.

Furthermore, even when children are removed from the home, state policies often prevent reasonable outcomes.

At McCullough’s study, several foster parents told lawmakers of problems they had attempting to adopt children due to Oklahoma’s convoluted law and continuing problems with the Department of Human Services.

Foster parents Keith and Tammy Winn told lawmakers they were given custody of a child in April 2010, due in part to the mother’s meth addiction.

When the Winns attempted to adopt the child, DHS fought that effort and continued to push reunification with the birth mother who continued to test positive for drug use and had not shown interest in the child.

Floyd McKee, a Baptist pastor who took in three foster children, also told lawmakers of similar problems. When he attempted to adopt the children he took in, the adoption/parental termination process took five years.

“It seems DHS policy is reunification at all costs,” McCullough said. “State law does not require them to do that. That is a policy decision made at the agency level. Clearly, we need to reform the law to prevent such mindless bureaucracy from ignoring the best interest of a child in the future.”

Another problem in the system is that judges are overloaded, officials noted.

Currently, there are five judges in Oklahoma City handling family court. Those five judges have overseen 3,600 cases so far this year.

In Tulsa County, there are over 400 divorces are filed every month and 52 percent involve children.

Mike Jestes, executive director of the Oklahoma Family Policy Council, urged lawmakers to devote more state dollars to prevention of family disintegration and also urged them to fix the foster-care system in Oklahoma.

McCullough said potential reforms should progress along two tracks. First, he called for limited consideration of fault in divorce proceedings. And in cases where a parent is abusing and neglecting children, McCullough said there must be immediate consequences and swift termination of parental rights.

“There need to be penalties that disincentivize courtroom strategies that traumatize children, and there must be swift consequences for the worst cases involving parents who abuse or severely neglect their children,” McCullough said. “Obviously, our first goal as policymakers is to create an environment conducive to family survival. However, when things don’t work out, the legal process needs to be objective, efficient and prioritize the needs of the child. Our current laws don’t meet that standard and innocent children are the ones paying the price.”