Armes, Cox Criticize Edmondson

Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s recent actions indicate he has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on frivolous litigation, two lawmakers said today.

Reps. Don Armes and Doug Cox said Edmondson’s recent announcement that he was re-testing water wells in the Locust Grove area for bacteria show that Edmondson is “lacking evidence in support of his long-running lawsuit against the poultry industry and the use of poultry litter as a fertilizer on farmland.”

“After three years of litigation and reportedly spending $25 million on experts, Mister Edmondson has failed to come up with any evidence that poultry producers are violating state environmental regulations,” said Armes, a Faxon Republican who chairs the House Agriculture & Rural Development Committee. “He has not provided the court with any evidence that anyone’s health has been affected by the use of poultry litter on farmland in the Illinois River Watershed."

“I was disappointed that Attorney General Edmondson would make accusations based on apparent assumptions, rather than operating on the scientific evidence used by the Health Department investigators,” said Cox, a Grove Republican and medical doctor.

The two legislators noted that a federal court ruled last year that Edmondson had not proven that bacteria in the waters of the Illinois River Watershed are caused by the application of poultry litter rather than by other sources, including cattle manure and human septic tanks.

Now, only seven months before Edmondson’s case against the poultry industry is scheduled to go to trial, they noted Edmondson is suddenly claiming Oklahoma poultry farms have made people sick and even killed one person.

Edmondson recently announced his agency would test well water near Locust Grove, claiming it was contaminated with bacteria from chicken waste and led to the August death of Chad Ingle and the illnesses of more than 300 other people who ate at the Country Cottage Restaurant in Locust Grove.

However, the Oklahoma Department of Health had already tested those wells and ruled them out as the cause of the illness.

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House Clears Sales Tax Holiday Expansion

Parents would be able to buy school supplies tax-free this fall if legislation passed in the House today becomes law.

Senate Bill 1149, by Rep. Don Armes and Senator Don Barrington, would expand the state’s back to school sales tax holiday to include school supplies, school art supplies and school instructional materials. The exemption would be limited to items costing less than $100.

The legislation is estimated to save parents about $17 million annually once fully implemented.

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Tax Free Weekend Expansion Bill Passes Senate

The Senate has approved a measure its sponsors say will help Oklahoma families save money on school supplies. The vote was 32 to 14.

Senate Bill 1149, by Senator Don Barrington and Rep. Don Armes, would extend Oklahoma's Back to School sales tax holiday to include school supplies to the list of items already exempt from sales tax during the first weekend in August.

"I've had numerous parents tell me how their kids' school supply lists get longer and more expensive every year," said Barrington, R-Lawton, who was the author of last year's sales tax holiday. "The sales tax holiday last year helped save Oklahomans millions of dollars and they were able to stretch their hard earned dollars further when they did their back to school shopping. This bill would help them even more."

Barrington noted during his debate that the Tax Commission estimates that revenue impact to the state will be around $18.5 million.

Currently, clothing and footwear valued up to $100 are tax-free during the sales tax holiday. SB 1149 would expand the list of tax-free items to include school supplies such as pencils, paper, crayons, notebooks, calculators and instructional materials that cost under $100 as well.

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Online Poll: 86% Say Legislators To Blame

The McCarville Report Online's poll (on the right) thus far has resulted in 86 percent saying they believe Oklahoma legislators are to blame for the current tax scandal, not the news media.

Rep. Don Armes, Faxon Republican, blamed the "liberal media" after it was revealed he's been repeatedly tardy in filing his personal taxes.

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Online Poll: Who's Responsible For The Taxes-Paid-Late Scandal In The Oklahoma Legislature?

Rep. Don Armes, Faxon Republican, says it is the "liberal media" that's out to get Republicans. House Speaker Pro Tem Gus Blackwell apparently agrees with him, even though Democrats have been revealed as late-payers as well.

What do you think? Go to the right and vote in The McCarville Report Online's new poll.

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Any Wonder Why Legislators Held In Low Esteem?

Rep. Gus Blackwell, Goodwell Republican, one of those who failed to file property tax returns on time: "If the qualification for office is that your property taxes are paid on time, then we're going to have sad leadership in the state."

Rep. Don Armes, Faxon Republican, one of those who failed to file personal income tax returns on time: "We are all under the microscope, and the media will stop at nothing to tear us apart." The "liberal media," he added, "hate everything we represent."

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Armes: 'They hate everything we represent'

By Nolan Clay, Staff Writer, The Oklahoman ~ A legislator blames "the liberal media” for the negative publicity about lawmakers' tax problems, writing to fellow House Republicans "they hate everything we represent.”

Republican Representative Claims 'Liberal' News Media 'hate the fact that we control the House'

Rep. Don Armes called the media the enemy and wrote "they absolutely hate the fact that we control the House.”

Armes, of Faxon, was one of five legislators who got warnings last month from the Tax Commission for failing to file state income tax returns.

The Oklahoman on Jan. 20 reported on the warnings.

Armes acknowledged in the letter he should have done a better job of tending to his personal business. He wrote the letter before House Speaker Lance Cargill stepped down from the leadership post. Armes declined comment Friday.

"We are all under the microscope, and the media will stop at nothing to tear us apart,” Armes wrote. "They want us and our leader. Plug in any name or face you want into that speaker's chair. The attacks are not going to stop.”

Armes urged House Republicans to "saddle up,” put aside their differences and fight to keep control of the House. He wrote Republicans had started to make changes in the state and should keep building.
"We have to put our egos aside and fight like crazy to make sure the bigger goal is realized,” Armes wrote. "We are all elected officials, rock stars, big dogs, whatever. Oh, and I almost forgot, we are all going to be Governor.”

Another legislator affected by the tax scandal also had complaints. Rep. Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, withdrew from the speaker's race Thursday because he was repeatedly delinquent in paying his property taxes.

Blackwell on Friday criticized the "Pharisees” in the House who claim there has to be a higher standard of conduct for elected officials.

He told K101-FM, a Woodward country radio station: "We have in the House, quite frankly, people who have marital problems, people who've had drinking problems, people who have drug problems, people who are openly homosexual, people who have all sorts of problems. And they represent the cross section of the voters who put them there. ... If the qualification for office is that your property taxes are paid on time, then we're going to have sad leadership in the state.”

Blackwell also said, "I have done nothing ethically wrong, morally wrong or legally wrong.”

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Shumate Under Pressure To Leave Leadership Post?

Some House Democrats want Rep. Jabar Shumate (pictured) of Tulsa to step down as a top party leader in the House, two sources tell The McCarville Report Online. There also appears to be unrest aimed at two other House leaders in both parties; the concern is focused on their failure to pay state income taxes. Talk about them apparently escalated yesterday after House Speaker Lance Cargill resigned, in part over his failure to pay taxes in timely fashion.

"Some of us are sick and tired of the irresponsibility of some (members) making all of us look bad," said a rural Democrat. "I'm so tired of hearing about this from my folks...."

House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, D-Prague, said earlier that he realizes that both Republicans and Democrats failed to file tax returns. "There is no excuse for all of them not taking care of this; they should have known better," he said. Morgan said a man at his church surmised that Cargill understood how to reduce taxes: "Just don't file them."

Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, perhaps echoing the sentiments of both Republicans and Democrats in the House, said the problem with the controversy over filing tax returns "makes all lawmakers look bad."

How widespread the effort to remove Shumate from the Democrat leadership post of assistant minority leader isn't known, but it comes on the heels of a report in The Oklahoman that Shumate, as of the newspaper report eight days ago, had not filed state income tax returns for the years 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and that other House leaders in both parties also failed to file state tax returns.

The Oklahoman reported that Shumate was one of five legislators tardy with tax filings. The others included Cargill, who resigned as House speaker yesterday after repeated accounts of late income and property tax filings; Republican Rep. Don Armes of Faxon, who failed to file returns for 2005 and 2006; Democrat Rep. Ryan McMullen of Burns Flat, who failed to file in 2001 and 2006; Shumate; and Senator Connie Johnson, Oklahoma City Democrat, who failed to file returns in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

McMullen (right) resigned last fall as House Democratic Caucus chairman and the Caucus elected Rep. Chuck Hoskin to replace him. “Ryan is the rising star of our House caucus,” said Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City, at the time legislative newcomer McMullen was named Caucus chairman. “He is well respected among our members. Many of our senior members of the Legislature look to Ryan for guidance on a variety of issues and he has been energetic and relentless in his fight for Western Oklahoma. We’re very fortunate to have such a rising leader representing our area.”

Armes is one of four deputy majority whips.

Shumate is one of eight assistant Democrat floor leaders in the House. Elected in 2004 and reelected in 2006, Shumate has been viewed by some as a rising Democratic Party star. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, he was a member of a Leadership Oklahoma class and has been involved in a long list of community and state organizations.

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Oklahoman: Cargill, Four Other Legislators Have Failed To File Personal Income Tax Returns

The Oklahoman reports in its Sunday edition that Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill and four other legislators have failed to file income tax returns and have been warned by the Oklahoma Tax Commission they are not in compliance with a state law that requires state employees who repeatedly fail to file state income tax returns be fired.

Reporters Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis report that Cargill failed to file income tax returns for the last two years.

They also report that Republican Rep. Don Armes of Faxon failed to file returns for 2005 and 2006; Democrat Rep. Ryan McMullen of Burns Flat failed to file in 2001 and 2006; Democrat Rep. Jabar Shumate of Tulsa failed to file in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006; Senator Connie Johnson, Oklahoma City Democrat, failed to file a "recent" return.

All were notified by warning letters from the Tax Commission sent about 10 days ago.

Cargill said he rushed to complete federal and state income tax returns and sent them in on Friday after receiving his warning letter. "I'm human, I made a mistake," Cargill told The Oklahoman reporters. "There's nobody more upset over it than I am because I cost myself money because I was entitled to refunds."

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Armes Plans Wine Industry Legislation In 2008

REVISED 10/25 ~ Restrictions that prohibit state wine producers from shipping their product directly to customers without going through a wholesaler could kill the state's burgeoning wine industry, experts told members of the House Agriculture and Commerce Subcommittee during a recent interim study at the Winery of the Wichitas in Medicine Park.

State Rep. Don Armes requested the interim study so lawmakers could get an up-close look at the current shape of the state's wine industry and introduce them to the issues that producers face in getting their products into the marketplace.

Several viticulturists and members of the Oklahoma Grape Growers and Wine Makers Association told the committee that current restrictions on shipping are the biggest issue holding the state back from becoming a viable producer and supplier of quality wines for the rest of the nation and world.

"I'm not even a wine guy, but I recognize the impact that a sustainable wine industry would have on our state economy and our agriculture industry," said Armes, R-Faxon. "It would be a shame to lose such a great opportunity to make our state a factor in the wine industry and lose all the economic benefits that go with that before the industry even gets off the ground. The state has the perfect combination of soil and climate to cultivate the superior vineyards that a good wine requires. Unfortunately, these wineries can't get their products to the marketplace and develop their brand, so it doesn't matter how good the product is because nobody has access to it."

Armes said he intends to introduce legislation during the upcoming legislative session that would amend state law to allow wineries to ship up to 10,000 gallons of wine either in or out-of-state per year without going through a wholesale distributor.

Currently, Oklahoma wineries may sell wine on site and at festivals, but are prohibited from selling or shipping directly to Oklahoma restaurants and retail liquor stores. State Rep. Don Armes said that after 7 years of being allowed to ship directly to retail stores and restaurants, wineries lost the privilege on July 1, 2007. A 2000 state Constitutional amendment that allowed such direct shipments was declared unconstitutional in June by a federal judge in Oklahoma City, who ruled that, in accordance with Granholm v. Heald (a May 2005 United States Supreme Court decision finding a similar Michigan law unconstitutional under the dormant commerce clause of the United States Constitution), Oklahoma's direct shipment law is unconstitutional.

Armes said most of the state's wineries produce around 1,000 to 2,000 gallons each year, but some are close to producing 10,000 gallons a year and at least one produces approximately 15,000 per year. "Our smaller wineries basically need help to get off the ground and need an avenue to get their products to the consumers," said Armes. "Almost all of the state wineries are amenable to a 10,000 gallon annual limit, with the exception of a few that produce more than that. But even a 10,000 limit would allow those larger producers to save money by cutting out the middle man up to that limit. In addition, we think the wholesalers would be open to such a limit as well."Armes said wineries are a major source of tourism in states like California, where many allow tourists to sample flavors, stay overnight and work in the vineyard.

Oklahoma has 11 vineyards and more than 35 wineries, according to the Oklahoma Grape Growers and Wine Makers Association Web site. In May 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that bans in New York and Michigan on direct-to-consumer shipments from outside those states were unconstitutional. Following that ruling, most states with similar bans have abolished those laws and now allow wineries to ship their products directly to customers. However, that ruling was narrowly tailored to out-of-state bans on direct shipping to in-state customers. Many states, including Oklahoma, currently have bans that prohibit shipping products from within the state to other states or to other locations within the state without going through a wholesaler.

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