Page 10 • April 29, 2021 • Edmond Life & Leisure
Commentary ... We’re on YOUR Side
Beware of VHS felonies By Steve Gust Editor Okay I guess I'm a pretty law-andorder kind of guy. Let sometimes the justice system needs to step back a bit and question things. I have that opinion after seeing a Steve Gust story over the weekend about a lady who was charged with a felony embezzlement charge. Her crime? It was 22 years ago when she allegedly rented a VHS movie from a video store. It was entitled "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." The woman claimed she never rented it and blamed it one of the young daughters of a man she was seeing at the time. To their credit the Cleveland County prosecutors aren't going to proceed with the matter. But still the lady has been harmed. She reports suddenly losing jobs over the years. What would happen is an
employer would run a background check and stopped when they saw a charge of "felony embezzlement,." Who knew one Sabrina VHS movie had the power of felony. I'm all for justice, but let's make sure common sense enters the equation as well. ---I owe the readers and Sen. Lankford an apology. Last week I put the wrong byline on Sen. Lankford's column about opposing public funding of Planned Parenthood. Sorry about that Senator. ---And I may be the last one to know this but the United States Postal website has an interesting feature. It's called "informed Delivery." It shows you photos of the envelopes you are supposed to receive in the mail. What's neat is if that piece of mail doesn't arrive, you check a box on the photo to let postal people know it didn't arrived. Pretty nifty little feature. (Steve Gust may be reached at news@edmondpaper.com)
Governor makes sure all vehicles help fund roads The governor last week approved legislation that will ensure all vehicles – fuel-powered and electric – that use Oklahoma’s state highways are equally contributing to the cost of maintaining the infrastructure. Rep. Kyle Hilbert, RBristow, and Sen. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole, were the principal authors of House Bill 2234, The Driving on Road Infrastructure with Vehicles of Electricity (DRIVE) Act of 2021. “With this legislation, we’re getting ahead of the curve and coming up with creative ways to make sure electric or battery-powered vehicle drivers pay the same as traditional fuel-powered
motorists to travel on our state roads,” Hilbert said. “This legislation drew together many stakeholders who helped us to help us determine a fair method for all consumers to support infrastructure funding, and I’m grateful for their input.” Hilbert explained that other states are addressing this topic as well, with some already passing laws relating to the electric vehicle industry. He said Oklahoma’s is among the most equitable. “The DRIVE Act is a fair and equitable way to continue providing critical funding for our state’s transportation infrastructure, especially with the ever-increasing
popularity of electric vehicles,” Taylor said. “I want to thank Representative Hilbert for filing this important bill to ensure all vehicles utilizing our state roadways and bridges contribute to the cost of maintaining our transportation system.” After signing the measure, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued the following statement, “I congratulate Rep. Hilbert and Sen. Taylor for getting the DRIVE Act across the finish line and ensuring a level playing field for all drivers as well as protecting future funding for Oklahoma’s roads and bridges.” HB 2234 enacts a three-cent tax per kilowatt hour to charge an electric vehicle (EV) at a public for-profit charging station – capturing funding from out-ofstate drivers. There would be no tax for EVs that charge at home. The measure would charge registration fees for EVs based on the vehicle’s weight and type and would provide an income tax credit to Oklahomans for charging taxes paid at a charging station, not to exceed the EV registration fee. The bill combined with SB600 will exempt low-voltage and free charging stations from charging the tax. The revenues from this bill will be placed into the Driving on Road Infrastructure with Vehicles of Electricity (DRIVE) Fund, which will supplement the state’s current ROADS Fund. The ROADS fund has been instrumental in taking Oklahoma from bottom ten to top ten in the country in bridge conditions.
Lankford seeks answers on COVID relief spending By Sen. James Lankford Senator James Lankford (R-OK) led Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) in a letter to Shalanda Young, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) asking for details on how the nearly $6 trillion in COVID-19 funding is being spent. The SenaLankford tors asked specifically about funding no longer protected by the Hyde Amendment. During the budget debate for the Democrats’ reconciliation bill, Lankford introduced an amendment to uphold Hyde protections that ban taxpayer dollars from paying for abortions. He expressed deep disappointment in Democrats’ desire to force Americans to pay for abortions during a HSGAC business meeting to consider Ms. Young’s nomination. The Senators wrote, “Over the past year, Congress has passed nearly $6 trillion dollars in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through five bipartisan bills that received at least 90 votes in the Senate and one reconciliation bill that passed without any Republican support in either chamber.” They continued, “In order for this money to have the impact Congress intended, it is imperative that every dollar is used to help Americans harmed by the pandemic. As members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, it is our responsibility to ensure that federal agencies are operating effectively and efficiently as they carry out the laws passed by Congress.” You can read the full letter HERE or below: Dear Ms. Young: Over the past year, Congress has passed nearly $6
trillion dollars in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through five bi-partisan bills that received at least 90 votes in the Senate and one reconciliation bill that passed without any Republican support in either chamber. In order for this money to have the impact Congress intended, it is imperative that every dollar is used to help Americans harmed by the pandemic. As members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, it is our responsibility to ensure that federal agencies are operating effectively and efficiently as they carry out the laws passed by Congress. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. The pandemic and subsequent lock-downs and restrictions caused mass unemployment, permanently closed many small businesses, prevented children from attending school in person, and pushed the limits of our health care system. In response, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses, provided billions of dollars for K-12 education to get kids back in school, provided billions more for the development and distribution of a vaccine, and sent stimulus checks directly to millions of Americans. Most of these spending bills were designed to provide targeted relief in order to shorten the pandemic and its effects, save American lives and American jobs, and allow us to return to normal life. To ensure these funds are being spent in accordance with those goals, please provide the following by May 10, 2021: 1.A complete list of each grant program funded by each agency and used to distribute funds authorized by any of the six COVID-19 response bills. 2. A complete list of each individual grant recipient over $1 million and the total amount received to date. 3 For grants funding specific programs:
a. The name of the program funded. b. The goal of the funding program. c. The metrics used to track progress toward that goal. 4 For grants intended to promote equity: a. The name of the program. b. The name of the recipient or sub-recipient. c. The equitable goal intended to be achieved. d. The metrics used to measure the success of that goal. 5. The total amount of money provided to each agency through any of six COVID-19 response bills. a. The amount of money in each program that has been allocated. b. The amount of money allocated for administrative costs. c. The amount of money in each program that is still available as of the date of this letter. 6. The amount of money provided to each agency through any of the six COVID-19 response bills for use in developing and purchasing the vaccine. a. The amount of money for this purpose that has been allocated. b. The amount of money for this purpose that is still available as of the date of this letter. 7. The amount of money provided to each agency through any of the six COVID-19 response bills for use in distributing and administering the vaccine. a. The amount of money for this purpose that has been allocated. b. The amount of money for this purpose that is still available as of the date of this letter. 8. The amount of money provided to each agency through any of the six COVID-19 response bills for use in developing or administering a COVID-19 test.
