Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Game of Thrones, but someone may want to check the Oklahoma Capitol basement for wildfire (or fracking fluid), otherwise the whole building may go up in flames.
Yesterday evening, on the eve of the inaugural Oklahoma Energy Day at the Capitol, the Oklahoma House of Representatives did something that many thought was impossible – vote to raise taxes on oil overlords to fund teacher pay raises.
The bill, which still needs to get 75% of the votes in the Senate and then be signed into law by oil puppet Mary Fallin (and still doesn't do enough to address our state's other revenue problems) would raise $477 million to fund a $6,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise, and include smaller pay increases for other school support staff and state employees.
Here are some more details via NewsOK.com:
The special session version of House Bill 1010 passed by a vote of 79 to 19. If it becomes law, it would be the first legislative state tax increase in 28 years. The last time lawmakers approved a tax increase was House Bill 1017, which raised money for education funding.
House Bill 1010 that passed Monday contained familiar elements that have been discussed at the Capitol. It would add a $1 tax on cigarettes, which is lower than the previous attempts to raise it by $1.50. It also would have a 10-percent tax on smokeless tobacco, but GOP leadership agreed to remove the provision at the behest of Democrats.