Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

For Immediate Release: April 14, 2003

Audio Clip

Sen. Glenn Coffee


For Second Time in a Week, Senate Democrats Thwart GOP Attempt to Lower Tax Burden on Oklahoma Seniors

State Capitol, Oklahoma City – For the second time in a week, Senate Democrats used a procedural move to stop Republican efforts to reduce taxes for retirees, stated Senator Glenn Coffee.

Senator Coffee offered amendments to bills on Monday and last week that would have eliminated half of the state income tax for retirees once the economy improved.

“My amendments were based on legislation I authored aimed at giving tax relief to older Oklahomans. But my original bill, SB 550, was never even given a committee hearing,” said Coffee, R-OKC.

“Twice in the last week I attempted to include that language in another bill on the Senate floor, and twice the Democrats used procedural moves to stop my effort. Their actions are a blow to Oklahoma retirees and to future economic growth in Oklahoma,” he said.

Senator Coffee noted that the plan to give Oklahoma’s seniors income tax relief was one of Governor Brad Henry’s campaign planks for helping grow the state’s capital base. Senator Coffee said he was disappointed the governor had remained silent on the proposal during legislative debate on the issue.

“During past economic downturns, the Legislature has come together to create opportunities for growth such as the Quality Jobs Act and OCAST. It is important that the Legislature has shown it can balance the budget in a bipartisan fashion this year. But if we don’t combine that with a serious effort to jumpstart our state’s economy, it will be a disappointing session,” said Coffee.

For more information, contact:

Senator Glenn Coffee
Assistant Republican Floor Leader
(405) 521-5636