MEET Mike

As Oklahoma Secretary of Budget:

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• Played a key role in negotiating the historic $8.3 billion Fiscal Year 2020 budget package, which brought Oklahoma teacher pay to the top in the region, fully funded roads and bridges, and intentionally set aside $200 million to invest in savings, leading to the largest savings account in state history at over $1 billion.

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• Helped lead the dedicated CARES FORWARD Team, which was tasked by Gov. Stitt in May 2020 to distribute the $1.2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds allocated to Oklahoma. These funds were used to deliver free COVID testing, contact tracing and Personal Protective Equipment in every county and support long-term care facilities, Oklahoma job creators, eviction mitigation efforts, rural food producers, vulnerable children and much more.​

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• Led the Oklahoma Board of Equalization to react to the revenue failure caused by COVID-19 for FY'2020 and collaborated with legislative leaders to use the State's savings from the Constitutional Reserve Fund and The Revenue Stabilization Fund to finish out the FY'2020 appropriations mostly as planned.

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• Led the Oklahoma Board of Equalization to analyze, reassess, and revise revenue estimates downward in an unprecedented pro-active response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the Oklahoma economy. The resulting downward revenue revision helped legislative leaders craft the FY'2021 budget plan, which reduced spending by $419 million.

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• Helped coordinate the complex, but necessary, financial actions to secure a new Veterans Administration Hospital in Tulsa to improve care for Oklahoma veterans and bring over 1,300 jobs to downtown Tulsa. 

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• Helped the Stitt Administration request a number of performance and financial audits- including an audit of the Medicaid rolls at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.

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• Assisted Gov. Stitt in advocating for the Legislature to allocate $19 million in the FY’2020 budget for the depleted Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund, which helps recruit job creators to Oklahoma. With the increase in funds, Oklahoma is better equipped to successfully compete with surrounding states to attract well-paying jobs.

 

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As Oklahoma State Senator for District 25: 

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• Championed a series of state pension reform laws from 2006 to 2011 that saved Oklahoma taxpayers billions of dollars, stopped the bleeding of the state pension systems, put more dollars into the failing Teacher Retirement System and reformed all pension systems to properly require funding for cost-of-living adjustments. At the time of passage, the bill was estimated to save taxpayers $6 billion over time. To this day, all state pension systems are on course for a proper level of funding to secure retirement payments for teachers, troopers and state employees thanks to these critical reforms. ​

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• Presented and led the passage of a tax relief package that lowered the state income tax rate from 5.65% to 5.25%, established Oklahoma’s first “back to school” sales tax holiday, and eliminated the franchise tax for a majority of Oklahoma small businesses

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• Presented and Passed legislation allowing the people of Oklahoma to amend the Constitution to make sure Oklahoma businesses do not have to pay taxes on intangible properties. 

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• Authored legislation to establish a business deal closing fund (The Quick Action Closing Fund) which enables Oklahoma to invest in infrastructure projects to attract jobs to Oklahoma. The State will retain a vested interest in all joint public-private business deals with "claw-back" penalties for companies that don't produce the jobs specified for the business project.

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• Authored legislation to create the 21st Century Quality Jobs Incentive Act, which builds on the highly successful Quality Jobs Program to grant even greater incentives to companies who produce jobs that offer a salary significantly higher than Oklahoma's average income per person.

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• Authored legislation to end the five-year ad valorem tax exemption for new wind farms developed on or after January 1, 2017. By ending this overly generous tax subsidy, Oklahoma taxpayers are estimated to save over $40 Million per year.

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• Authored legislation to eliminate a special retirement benefit feature for Oklahoma elected officials. This feature enabled Oklahoma legislators to accumulate twice the monthly benefit of a regular state employee. Going forward, elected officials now have the same type of retirement benefits as regular state employees.

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• Co-authored legislation to create the Revenue Stabilization Fund, which receives excess revenues from the gross production tax above a five-year rolling average and serves as a resource when revenue failures and projected shortfalls occur.

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• Co-authored legislation to reduce the top marginal individual income tax rate from 5.25% to 5.0% beginning with tax year 2016 and to 4.85% for subsequent tax years, contingent upon certain revenue growth.  When fully implemented, this plan is estimated to save Oklahoma taxpayers $200 Million.​