My view as we announced a tax cut agreement,
Last night, Governor Fallin and legislators announced an agreement to cut taxes. Specifically, the income tax rate. In 2013, the rate will drop from 5.25 to 4.8. If revenues are healthy enough, the rate will drop again in 2015 to 4.5.
As the only Republican Senator who authored a tax cut in 2011, and the primary author of legislation to eliminate the income tax in 2012, I am thrilled that we are finally making progress in providing tax relief to Oklahomans.
This week, I authored a resolution to celebrate the Centennial of Jim Thorpe’s 1912 Olympic performance. It also provided an excuse to talk about Oklahoma’s current Olympic movement, particularly as we approach the 2012 London Olympic Games.
I was honored to host some very special guests for our resolution, SR 61. They included two living sons of Jim Thorpe – Bill and Richard Thorpe, Bart Conner, Nadia Comaneci, and representatives from the Oklahoma River, the Jim Thorpe Association, and the University of Central Oklahoma.
For more information, the press release and audio can be found here.
This week, Governor Mary Fallin signed Senator David Holt’s and Rep. Guy Liebmann’s welfare reform bill, HB 2388. The bill establishes that welfare applicants using illegal drugs will no longer be able to receive welfare cash benefits. More coverage can be found at the Tulsa World and Channel 6 from Tulsa.
I was honored this weekend to be elected by the Oklahoma Republican Party as one of our party’s seven electors. When the Republican ticket wins Oklahoma in November (it has every year since 1968), then I will become one of the 538 members of the Electoral College, as provided for in Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
Today, Governor Mary Fallin signed SB 1875 into law. This bill allows all counties to create community service programs modeled on the Oklahoma County SHINE program created by Commissioner Brian Maughan. Here is more info on the bill.
We have now entered the final month of the 2012 legislative session.
Oklahoma’s legislative session is just one long process of elimination. Deadlines come every few weeks, and what starts as 2,000 bills ends up being just a few hundred. We are now coming down to the final weeks, and the bills that remain are few.
Today, two Senate bills I authored headed to the Governor’s desk for her consideration. One ensures Bricktown’s continued growth as the state’s premier entertainment district, and the other formalizes Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan’s excellent SHINE program that forces convicted criminals to serve the community in productive ways. The latter was named for late Oklahoma County employee Safari McDoulett.
Three House bills for which I served as Senate author have been signed by the Governor. I also have a few other Senate and House bills still working their way through the legislative plumbing.
The Legislature as a whole still faces some big decisions, most notably the budget and the much-anticipated income tax cut. I intend to do all I can to ensure that the size of our state government does not grow and that the tax cuts are as bold and aggressive as possible.
If you have any feedback in the coming weeks, don’t hesitate to contact me at (405) 521-5636 or Holt@oksenate.gov.
I passed out medals yesterday at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, which has grown to be one of our city’s greatest events.
The Marathon is both meaningful and fun, and it raises a lot of money for the important work of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, where I serve on the board.
Today, George and I dropped by a Rebuilding Together house in Warr Acres in the 30th Senate District. Here we are with owner Arlen.
Rebuilding Together helps seniors fix up their homes. ATC Freightliner was the volunteer crew working on this house.
Today, Rebuilding Together has over 35 houses going across the metro.
This week, I served as master of ceremonies for the annual Putnam City Foundation banquet. We added Steve Largent to the Putnam City Schools Wall of Fame. He was very gracious, and it was a wonderful evening. Here is some coverage from The Oklahoman of the day’s events.
Today, Senator David Holt is quoted in an Associated Press article about Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s visit this week to Oklahoma City. You can read it here.
The Presidential field is now set. Let’s do this thing…
Today, Senator David Holt has an op-ed in The Oklahoman about the 25th anniversary of Ron Norick’s election as OKC mayor and the renaissance that has ensued, largely due to the leadership of the “three mayors.” You can read the op-ed here.
KOKH FOX 25 aired a report last night on Senator David Holt’s legislation to require a court order to remove offenders from the sex offender registry. It can be viewed here.
Rep. Sanders, Pres. Bush and I
This week, my family joined the family of Rep. Mike Sanders for a journey down to Dallas to dedicate the President George W. Bush Bridge that Mike and I got named in 2011.
As a former White House staffer to President Bush, it was a fantastic opportunity to see him in his Dallas offices and hear his thoughts on current events. We had the opportunity to spend almost an hour with him. It was especially nice to bring our kids, who will now have very special pictures for the rest of their lives.
Here is the press release on the visit.
Among the media outlets that reported on the visit, here is coverage from the McCarville Report, and here from KTUL Tulsa.
Senator David Holt was recently interviewed by SoonerPoll about cutting the Oklahoma income tax. The interview can be viewed here.
May 18, 2012 10:44 pm 
