The measure, Senate Bill 1819, withstood a barrage of amendments being attached to it Monday and passed, 66-32. It now goes to the Senate, which is expected to take up the measure this week. The NBA owners meet Thursday and Friday in New York.
Resistance to the bill came mostly from rural House members and several Republicans from the Oklahoma City area who said they oppose granting tax breaks to a professional sports team owned by millionaires. Tax incentives from the state's Quality Jobs Act should be reserved for manufacturing jobs, they said.
Rep. Darrell Gilbert, D-Tulsa, asked why legislators should act on the measure before the NBA owners voted, saying it seemed to make more sense to see whether the team would move here without the state tax breaks.
House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, who carried the bill in the House, said the tax breaks are part of the financing plan that was put together by the owners of the Sonics and presented last month when a group of owners visited Oklahoma City.
Not approving the deal could jeopardize the team's move to Oklahoma City, he said.
"It's very possible they could reject the proposal and ask for a resubmission of the application,” Benge said.
The bill would expand the state's Quality Jobs program to include major league teams. For the Sonics, it would amount to about $4 million a year.
Benge said the NBA team would generate about $1.5 million in state and local sales tax revenue.
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I have detailed many of the problems with this at www.reveserobinhood.com the Senate passed it today and now it is back to the House. On Friday the NBA vote and they have to throw the money away by then, because after that they won't have to.
This state government is p****g me off. First off, they can pass this crap by 66 to 32 without any fights like they did when they voted against the sales tax break on groceries. Giving tax breaks to millionaires is the dumbness thing i ever seen. And what is this crap on giving out of state people a three year income tax break for them to move here and buy or build a home in a rural area. First of all, no one wants to live in a rural area, largely because there are no jobs in those areas. Why do we think these areas are declining in population. It's unfair that the guy next door from, say, Arkansas is enjoying a tax break for three years; while at the same time the other guy who has lived here all his life is still being tax to death. Also this ideal in using tax money generated by a NBA team to help rural areas is a joke. The reason why these areas are not making enough money is because they don't have a huge tax producing businesses like those in the big cities. Plus, there's very little retail in these areas. This is one reason why the sales tax rate is much higher in the rural areas because of the lack of any tax producing businesses. Is this the way to bring economic prosperity to these rural areas. How ironic is this whole thing. OKLANOMICS 101 has struck again.
Phillip may be one of the Sonics 7 well paid lobbyists, or part of the PR firms that enrich themselves at taxpayers expense. I put up all the information about what is going on. Phillip wants people's information limited. I am looking out for citizens and trying to keep money in the budget - who is Phillip looking out for? I have an open a window on my life - Phillip? Personal attacks mean you have no real arguments.
Do you people not pay attention to current events? Did you not see that OKC passed an $835 million bond issue in December to get our roads fixed? I swear about three out of four hundred actually do any sort of research before they come on message boards to complain.
I do thing the roads should be 1st priority of getting fixed. I do think the owners are rich and can afford to build a new gym or find other means of building a gym for our NBA team. US single mothers, just barely making it, now have to pay additional taxes on everything!!Clothing, Food,Gas everything is effected as a whole. And what about the roads who will pay to fix them or do we generate a new 1/2 cent tax increase again!!Someone needs to here from us, not only who will benefit from the NBA!!
David is an attention hog and is using the newsok.com comment section to promote his website, to avoid having to pay for advertising. He's a shameless self promoter and nothing more.
I was in the gallery watching the legislators. Many seem like sheep believing whatever they are told. I have linked to the AP and other stories which give more details than the Oklahoman - see them at www.reverserobinhood.com
Someone has said, "A conservative wants the government out of his business and into your bedroom." I guess those days are long past. These days, a conservative wants the government into his business when he can benefit from this "interference." But try to extend debt relief to homeowners facing the lost of their house, you hear the cry of "socialism!" "Class warfare." Every time I feel I am getting too cynical, my level of cynicism is shown to be too high.
The deals and compromises of integrity that this bill must have cost have got to be staggering. What possible benefit does Oklahoma City having an NBA team have for the people of Tishomingo or Atoka? Apparently Mr. Roan thinks there is some..Maybe Mr. Carey has got a promise of an exhibition in Durant? The price still seems a bit high. On many levels.
Isn't it amazing that the "cream of the yokels crop" can pass legislation like this through in almost no time but for important matters it can't get done because there is "no time left" in this session?? I'm referring to the loophole in the rape law as reported in the Jokelohoman on Sunday.... As far as this NBA tax break deal is concerned....I'd say that guys like Clay Clay have made a few "deposits" into key legislators bank accounts to "get 'er done"....
There is a price to pay for a clear lack of integrity...particularly when new owners sign legal docs and don't understand how the internet works. Hopefully Mr. Starbucks can stop this injustice and the entire NBA will be better off.
It's time to vote out these irresponsible legislators that think we believe what they say anymore - This is the beginning of the end - We just need your slaes tax, we just need a practice facility, we just need tax breaks, we just need relocation costs, we just need legal fees. We just need to wait until they come here before we give them anything at all.
We can't fund teacher's salaries and retirement packages but let's make sure all these millionaires get richer. I'm all for an NBA team in OKC but at the price of what?? Our health care is thru the roof, education is in need and our roads are horrible. I don't see why we are just handing EVERYthing to them.
The bill did not pass the House unscathed. Twenty-one amendments were filed with the bill. Most were rejected, but amendments that passed along with the bill would:
•Give three-year income tax exemptions to people from another state to buy or build a home in a rural area.
•Give three-year income tax exemptions to Oklahoma medical school graduates who buy or build a home and set up a practice in a rural county of fewer than 200,000 people or a community of fewer than 50,000 people.
•Reduce the tax break to the Sonics from 15 years to 10 years.
•Allocate some of the state sales and income tax revenue generated by the Sonics to a fund to help rural areas, with all counties except Oklahoma and Tulsa eligible to receive money.
•Expand the Quality Jobs Act to include defense contractors in the Lawton area.
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