The Oklahoma House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget voted 13-10 to use tax revenue from Internet and out-of-state purchases to provide $40 million to help complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum. The measure still needs approval from the full House and Senate.
By Michael McNutt Published: May 20, 2013 in newsok.comPassage of a measure that would provide funding to help complete the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in downtown Oklahoma City would be the last state assistance sought for construction costs, a state official overseeing the project pledged Monday to a special budget committee.
“There’ll never be another dime asked from here on the construction of the American Indian Cultural Center,” said Blake Wade, executive director of the Native American Cultural and Educational Authority, which would oversee the museum.
The House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget voted 13-10 to use tax revenue from Internet and out-of-state purchases to provide $40 million to help complete the project. The state funds will match $40 million in pledges from individuals, businesses, American Indian tribes and the city of Oklahoma City, Wade said.
The measure, Senate Bill 1132, now goes to the House Calendar Committee, which will determine whether it gets a hearing in the House. The measure must pass the House of Representatives and the Senate. A Senate special budget committee passed the measure Thursday, the first time information about the proposal became public.
Rep. Jason Nelson, a committee member, said legislators and taxpayers could be skeptical about Wade’s assurance. The idea for the center started 19 years ago. The project has benefited from three previous state bond issues totaling $63 million, as well as $14.5 million in federal funding and $4.9 million and 250 acres of land from Oklahoma City.
“It could be a tough sell,” said Nelson, R-Oklahoma City.
Wade, who started work on the project two years ago, said the agency has a new director, and the agency’s governing board is getting new members.
All 39 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma now are behind the project, he said.
Wade, who led efforts to raise money for the state Capitol dome more than 10 years ago, said he heard similar skepticism about that project.
“No one liked the Capitol dome, but once we got it up and got it on, it is the greatest thing that I think has happened as far as our morale,” he said. “The same will be true of the American Indian Cultural Center … I promise you if you like the dome, you’re going to love the American Indian Cultural Center.”
SB 1132 would provide $40 million to help finish the center, which has been mothballed since last year when lawmakers failed to approve additional bond funds to help complete it. Under the measure, $15 million from use taxes would be diverted from gross revenue in the 2015 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2014, followed by $15 million in the 2016 fiscal year. A final apportionment of $10 million would be made in the 2017 fiscal year.
Use taxes are paid on out-of-state purchases and online purchases in lieu of sales taxes. Projections for the upcoming fiscal year indicate the use tax will raise about $244 million, said Rep. Tom Newell, R-Seminole, the committee’s vice chairman. Most of the money raised by the tax goes for education and tourism expenses.
Wade said those making the $40 million in pledges will stand behind their offer if the state provides a matching amount. He told committee members the donors see SB 1132 as a commitment from the state, even though it will be more than a year before state money actually is available for the project.
House Democratic leadership issued a statement that pay raises for correctional officers, state troopers and state employees should come before the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum and the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, which is planned in Tulsa. Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, was the only Democrat on the committee to vote for the measure.