February 8, 2018 archive

Former Assessor Speaks Up for Wind Industry

Former Garfield County Assessor Wade Patterson is a strong defender of the current taxing method of wind farms in Oklahoma…ad valorem. He is against any gross production tax on the industry, saying local school districts and counties would be the loser. Speaking this week at a Wind Coalition news conference at the State Capitol, Patterson, …

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Tax Revenue Increases Again for State—Gross Production Revenue Leads the Way

With a nearly 84 percent increase in gross production tax revenue on oil and gas from January 2017 to January 2018, monthly gross receipts to the Oklahoma Treasury entered a second year of growth. State Treasurer Ken Miller said the collections in January topped the same month of the prior year by more than 15 …

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US Senate Explores Impact of Federal Water Rules on Farming Industry

Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe made it clear he didn’t appreciate the controversial WOTUS rules drawn up in the Obama administration and eliminated by the Trump administration. During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Thursday, he had an opportunity to question a number of representatives of farm organizations about the impact of …

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Corporation Commissioner Says PSO Customers Will See Savings Because of Federal Corporate Tax Cuts

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony is praising the move by the commission in recent days to create a $31 million favorable rate adjustment to PSO. The Company had originally applied for a $169 million rate increase but the OCC’s final order determined instead a $111 million increase. The original request was lowered by $31 million …

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Energy Firm Drills Without Permission at Union City

A legal fight is brewing between a drilling company and Union City in Canadian County. The flap with S and S Star Operating LLC, a nearly 2-year old Oklahoma City firm, started when the company made a mistake and drilled a wastewater injection well inside the municipal limits without city permission. The Yukon Review reported …

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Wind Farm Donates to Volunteer Fire Departments in Southern Oklahoma

One of the biggest wind farm operators in the State of Oklahoma, Enel Green Power North America has donated $65,000 to help first responders in three counties. The funding actually came from Enel Green’s Origin Wind Farm at Hennepin. The emergency response agencies in Murray, Carter and Garvin counties in south central Oklahoma received the …

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Poll Shows Most Oklahomans Support Step Up Oklahoma and its Higher Tax Plan

A new SoonerPoll shows a majority of Oklahomans support the business and civic leaders group Step Up Oklahoma in its push for higher taxes and government reform to fix the state government budget crisis. Nearly 70 percent of likely-voting Oklahomans say they support what the group is pushing. “I believe, had we polled a proposal …

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State Supreme Court Grants Stay to Group Fighting 29-year old Bribed Corporation Commission Vote

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has given a surprise Stay to the consumer’s group waging a battle to overturn a nearly 29-year old bribed Corporation Commission vote on a Southwestern Bell Rate hike. In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme court requested the stay sought by Oklahomans Against Bribery. It was a brief court order that suspended …

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