Kurt Gwartney

Oklahoma prison workers say they are worn out due to staffing shortages, low wages and the increasing prison population.

About a dozen uniformed prison guards visited the state Capitol Wednesday, urging lawmakers to reconsider their decision not to support a pay raise for workers at the Department of Corrections.

“DOC is at a breaking point,” said Sgt. David Edelman, an officer at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center. “We are being forced to do 60-to-80 hours a week, and used to we could ask for overtime, but not anymore, we’re being forced.”        

A $12 million proposal to give prison workers a five percent pay increase stalled earlier this session in a House committee.

The Oklahoma House has approved a bill to create a defined contribution option for state employee retirement benefits.

The proposal would allow state employees hired after July 2014 to choose between the defined contribution option and the current defined benefit system. The House approved the bill 72-20 Tuesday, sending it to Gov. Mary Fallin.

Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law Monday a sweeping overhaul of the way Oklahoma treats workers hurt on the job. Senate Bill 1062 changes the state’s court-based workers’ compensation system to an administrative plan.

Supporters of the bill, including its authors, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker T.W. Shannon, say it will reduce costs for businesses.

But detractors, including many Democrats, say the new law saves money at the expense of injured workers and does nothing to reduce medical costs associated with workers’ compensation claims.

Of all the major countries fighting in World War II, the United States is the only nation whose civilian economy grew during the conflict, according to David Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and historian.

“In this country and this country alone, the civilian portion of the economy grew by 15 percent,” Kennedy said. This is in contrast to allies Great Britain and the Soviet Union where that sector of the economy shrank by one-third.

Kennedy made those comments during his presentation, “A Tale of Three Cities: How the United State Won World War II,” at the second annual Teach In at the University of Oklahoma.

A lawsuit by an out-of-state company that challenges a tax break on capital gains for Oklahoma-based businesses is causing some concern at the state Capitol.

An analysis on the potential costs of a tax reimbursement show Oklahoma could be on the hook for as much as $480 million if the court rules in favor of tax payers.

Republican State Rep. Jeff Hickman raised the issue during questions on a tax cut bill approved by the House last week. But budget negotiators said any repercussions of the capital gains issue should be worked out apart from the state budget.

Lawmakers have until the end of this month to complete their work, including the passing of a state budget. The adjournment date might come sooner with the announcement of an agreement on how to spend the state’s money.

The budget to pay for Oklahoma’s government will be $7.1 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1, under an agreement between Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders. For most state agencies the amount of money they’ll receive in the new budget year is the same as last, but Fallin says the largest increase in the budget is for public schools in Oklahoma.