Senate Leader Says Legislature Has a Choice: Tax Cuts for the Rich or Education for Middle Class

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan called on House Speaker Todd Hiett today to allow a hearing for Senate Bill 1993, which would expand eligibility for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program.

The measure passed the Senate on a 37-10 vote on February 28. It has been assigned to the Appropriations and Budget Committee in the House but has not yet been considered.

“Speaker Hiett is supporting a package of tax cuts that will reduce state revenue by $650 million a year, yet he says he’s concerned that the state can’t afford to expand educational opportunities for Oklahoma high school students,” Morgan said.

OHLAP offers tuition scholarships for high school students who complete a college preparatory curriculum, make good grades and stay out of trouble. It is currently limited to students whose annual family income is $50,000 or less. Senate Bill 1993 would increase the maximum income eligibility level to $75,000, making 75 percent of the high schools students in Oklahoma eligible to participate in the program.

“OHLAP isn’t a hand out. Students earn their scholarship. They must commit to the program before the end of the 10th-grade year in high school. They have to take the right courses, make the right grades and act right to get a scholarship. It’s a program that encourages young people in Oklahoma to take on more personal responsibility for their future,” Morgan said.

The first fiscal impact of the measure won’t be felt until Fiscal Year 2010. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have projected that expanding the program will increase costs by $10 million in that first year and add $66 million to the cost of the program by FY 2015.

“We have a choice here. We can invest in our young people from the middle class who are, in fact, the true future of our state, or we can engage in a tax cut giveaway that favors the wealthiest Oklahomans,” Morgan said.

In Fiscal Year 2015, the expanded OHLAP program is estimated to provide scholarships for 50,100 students at a total cost of $176 million.

“The naysayers seem to be scared by the $176 projected price tag for OHLAP in FY 2015 if we expand the income eligibility. But that figure, which it’s going to take us eight years to reach, is less than the cost next year of the Speaker’s tax cut package,” Morgan said.

The fiscal impact of the Hiett tax cuts is estimated at $191 million in FY 07 and the annualized fiscal impact of the package reaches $650 million in FY 08.

Legislators need to decide whether they are willing to look beyond the next election and focus on the next generation, the Senate leader said.