EDMOND —
State Rep. Randy McDaniel was elected chairman of the Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee of The Council of State Governments’ southern office, the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC).
“I’m very honored,” said McDaniel, R-Edmond. “I think I am the only one from Oklahoma who is chair of a committee.”
As part of its mission to foster and encourage cooperation among its 15 member states, the SLC met in Charleston, W.Va., for its 66th annual meeting, bringing together about 600 delegates, legislative staff and guests from across the south. The Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee is one of six SLC standing committees.
One of the SLC topics focused on bolstering the financial position of state unemployment insurance trust funds, a topic shared by Clyde Cristman with the Virginia Senate Finance Committee. The state of Oklahoma made it through the recession in better shape than most other states, McDaniel said.
“Of the 15 members of the Southern Legislative Conference, nine of them had to borrow money from the federal government,” McDaniel said. “Those numbers are pretty substantial. Our trust fund is in better shape.”
Oklahoma did not have to borrow funds from the federal government, which is partly due to the state’s low unemployment rate, McDaniel said. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted the June unemployment rate in Oklahoma was 4.7 percent. The state’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percentage points lower than the national rate for the month. Oklahoma topped off in December 2009 at 7.2 percent.
Other structural flaws plaguing state tax systems involve the fact that due to inaction at the federal level, states cannot levy a sales tax on online purchases, the committee noted.
jcoburn@edmondsun.com
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