TAHLEQUAH — During Friday’s Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce-hosted Legislative Focus, three area elected officials drew attention to an income tax proposal, funding for nationally certified teachers, and water rights protection.

District 3 Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah; District 9 Sen. Earl Garrison, D-Muskogee; and District 4 State House Rep. Mike Brown, D-Tahlequah, were on hand at Go Ye Village to discuss the upcoming 53rd legislative session set to begin on Monday.

The monthly forum is held during the legislative session for local citizens to hear from and ask questions of their elected state government officials.

Wilson began the day’s political discussion imploring listeners to become more familiar with the tax shift proposed by the Legislature’s tax reform task force on the last Friday session of 2011. Per the Oklahoma Policy Institute fact sheet Wilson provided, the proposed income tax reduction or elimination would raise taxes for most Oklahomans, with the measure’s impact significantly affecting seniors and families with children.

“We have a relatively small income tax,” said Wilson. “If you’re retired, we exempt your retirement. Retired people aren’t being hurt by income tax. There is no optimal rate if we don’t have an income tax. Our purpose in the Legislature is to take your money and spend it, and hopefully, we do a good job of that.”

As listed on the fact sheet, taxes would increase for 55 percent of Oklahomans, while only 31 percent would receive a tax cut. A group made up of childless single and married couples with incomes smaller than the standard deduction would not experience a tax cut. Sixty percent of the bottom earning households would see an average tax increase of $107, whereas those making $357,400 or more - the top 1 percent - would receive the largest benefit, with an average tax break of $2,833.

It’s especially hard on families with at least two children, due to the proposed elimination of personal exemption for every household member, including children. Proposed elimination of the child tax credit and earned income tax credit also contribute. The largest tax increase would be felt by families earning $25,000, with two children . A family meeting this scenario would pay $647 more in state income taxes. Married couples with two children would not receive a tax cut unless their annual income is at least $117,000.

Due to losing the personal exemption status and sales tax relief credit, a senior couple with an income of $35,000 would see a tax increase of $136. Single filers without children with incomes below $25,000, and senior couples with no dependent children and incomes below $50,000, would also see their taxes increase.

Garrison said the tax shift could result in the loss of state-funded jobs and other state-run facilities or programs that rely on tax dollars. He then shifted attention to the ongoing water rights battle over the Sardis Lake reservoir in southeastern Oklahoma.

As the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations seek a confirmed seat at the table to discuss how the water source will be used, litigation  continues between the tribes and the state – which plans to sell water storage rights to Sardis Lake to Oklahoma City. Requests for the water are also coming from south of the Red River. Tarrant County, Texas, water officials are looking to supply new subdivisions in the Fort Worth area, and are suing for access.

“I would like to see the rights stay with the landowner,” said Garrison. “I raise cattle, and know how important it is to have access to water. Southeastern Oklahoma is where the majority of the water is, and we need to make sure we keep that water here. It’s one of our biggest assets.”

Current drought conditions across the state make water a sensitive issue, for not only farmers and ranchers, but residents in both rural and metro areas, as well as businesses.

On Thursday, Gov. Mary Fallin asked leaders of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations to withdraw their federal lawsuit against the state over tribal water rights, to create room for mediation. The tribe’s lawsuit requests a federal judge stop the sale of water storage rights.

Choctaw Nation Principal Chief Greg Pyle and Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby issued a joint statement urging the state to acknowledge the tribes’ substantial water rights protected under federal law.

Brown returned attention to education funding for teachers who obtain national certification. Statewide budget cuts have denied teachers holding the national credential from receiving the incentive pay for becoming specialized instructors. Brown is working on a bill that would ensure teachers who hold the advance certification their annual bonus.

“We set up performance pay incentives for teachers who achieve the national certification, and then we renege,” said “We need to be able to pay these teachers.”

According to Brown’s website, the introduced version of House Bill 2186 requires that, to ensure all teachers with certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards receive annual bonuses, the State Board of Education estimate by Nov. 1 of each year the amount of revenue necessary for the bonuses for the following fiscal year. The State Board of Equalization must determine at its December meeting the amount of revenue necessary to fund the annual bonuses allowed by state law.

The State Board of Equalization must then subtract that amount from the amount it certifies as available for appropriation form the General Revenue Fund by the Legislature. The measure instructs the director of the Office of State Finance to transfer funds as needed into the National Board Certification Revolving Fund for payment of the bonuses.