Budget & Tax
Trent England | August 18, 2017
Court upholds taxpayer protections
Trent England
The Oklahoma Supreme Court today struck down the revenue provisions in Senate Bill 845 and, in so doing, upheld limits on legislative power that were added to the Oklahoma Constitution by voters a quarter century ago. Those who passed State Question 640 “did not intend that the Legislature could blatantly tax them without complying with [the amendment] by merely wordsmithing their bills,” writes Justice Patrick Wyrick.
Writing for the Court, Justice Wyrick points out that the Oklahoma Constitution contains several provisions all designed to limit the taxing, spending, and borrowing power of state government. (State Question 640, when passed, became Article V, Section 33, of the Oklahoma Constitution.)
Trent England
David and Ann Brown Distinguished Fellow
Trent England is the David and Ann Brown Distinguished Fellow at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, where he previously served as executive vice president. He is also the founder and executive director of Save Our States, which educates Americans about the importance of the Electoral College. England is a producer of the feature-length documentary “Safeguard: An Electoral College Story.” He has appeared three times on Fox & Friends and is a frequent guest on media programs from coast to coast. He is the author of Why We Must Defend the Electoral College and a contributor to The Heritage Guide to the Constitution and One Nation Under Arrest: How Crazy Laws, Rogue Prosecutors, and Activist Judges Threaten Your Liberty. His writing has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Times, Hillsdale College's Imprimis speech digest, and other publications. Trent formerly hosted morning drive-time radio in Oklahoma City and has filled for various radio hosts including Ben Shapiro. A former legal policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, he holds a law degree from The George Mason University School of Law and a bachelor of arts in government from Claremont McKenna College.