Fent Charges Tax Cut Bill As Logrolling
Attorney maintains tax cut bill unconstitutional
by SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press
09:54 AM, Wednesday, July 10
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A bill celebrated by Republican leaders that slashes Oklahoma’s personal income tax rate and funds repairs to the crumbling Capitol building is unconstitutional and should be thrown out, an Oklahoma City attorney argued on Tuesday.
Attorney Jerry Fent, who has a long track record of successfully challenging legislative actions, argued before a Supreme Court referee that the bill is an example of “logrolling” because it violates a provision of the Oklahoma Constitution that requires acts of the Legislature to embrace only one subject.
“The first part of the title is substantive law — reducing your income tax liability,” Fent told Supreme Court Referee Greg Albert. “The second section of the title is creating a fund and providing for an appropriation.
“Here we have two subject matters as quickly as you can use your eyes to look at the title.”
An attorney for the state, Assistant Attorney General Dan Weitman, maintained the bill is constitutional because the revenue to pay for the Capitol improvements comes from income tax collections, and therefore the measure deals entirely with managing taxes.