Budget & Tax , Education , Health Care
Dave Bond | February 17, 2017
Legislative Update: Feb. 17
Dave Bond
On Monday, the House Appropriations and Budget Committee passed one of many tax increases proposed by Gov. Fallin in her State of the State Address. HB 1841 passed the committee by a vote of 17-10 and could move on to the House floor. This measure would increase taxes on cigarettes by $1.50 per pack in order to create multiple new revolving funds.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education approved six teacher pay raise bills on Wednesday. While there are several approaches to providing a raise, the Speaker of the House has reiterated that a pay raise is possible without raising taxes. He has expressed his support for Rep. Michael Roger’s bill, HB1114. This bill, which is up for a hearing on Monday, would give a total of $6,000 raise spread out in 6 years.
Access to rural health care remains a concern for many Oklahomans. A joint resolution was passed this week to create the Rural Health Care Infrastructure Fund. This bill would give voters the opportunity to vote on redirecting funds from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund to support rural healthcare and rural hospitals.
Dave Bond
Vice President for Advocacy
Dave Bond serves as Vice President for Advocacy at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. He was previously the CEO of OCPA Impact, OCPA's 501(c)4 action partner. Since 2011, Dave has advocated at the Oklahoma Capitol on issues of free enterprise, individual initiative and limited government. He has been referred to in the Tulsa World as "a prominent Oklahoma anti-tax lobbyist". Prior to his advocacy efforts, Dave worked in Oklahoma elections, focused mostly on state legislative campaigns. He was the executive director of the Republican State House Committee, the campaign arm of the Republican caucus of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Dave also worked with the campaign consulting firm A.H. Strategies and with the inaugural campaign of former Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud. In addition, he served in the media and communications divisions of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Dave has lived in Oklahoma most of his life and is a graduate of Oklahoma State University. He and his wife Marsha have two sons and live in Yukon.