{"id":910,"date":"2024-11-15T18:41:25","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T18:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awakeoklahoma.com\/?page_id=910"},"modified":"2026-05-15T08:05:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T08:05:41","slug":"issues","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/awakeoklahoma.com\/index.php\/issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Important Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221; parallax=&#8221;content-moving&#8221; parallax_image=&#8221;917&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731696979597{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 50px !important;padding-top: 100px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1762969753227{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 35px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong>IMPORTANT CURRENT ISSUES<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;50&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1762969894167{margin-top: 100px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1778832338178{margin-top: 50px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2><strong>State Question 832<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ocpathink.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=c663a64be2f7e51abc07689e4&amp;id=4517563e07&amp;e=e00552be5e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/ocpathink.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3Dc663a64be2f7e51abc07689e4%26id%3D4517563e07%26e%3De00552be5e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1778916498428000&amp;usg=AOvVaw13fMPteOkBo1z0C1OGrmsj\"><b>State Question 832<\/b><\/a>\u00a0will be on the ballot June 16, and it will\u00a0have real consequences for Oklahomans.<u><\/u><u><\/u><\/p>\n<p><b>FACT:\u00a0<\/b>SQ 832 ties Oklahoma\u2019s minimum wage to the cost of living in Los Angeles and San Francisco<u><\/u><u><\/u><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>SQ 832 raises Oklahoma\u2019s minimum wage to\u00a0$15 an hour, but it doesn\u2019t stop there&#8230;<u><\/u><u><\/u><\/li>\n<li>SQ 832 continues raising Oklahoma\u2019s minimum wage\u00a0every year\u00a0after that, based on a national cost-of-living index for big cities, which means\u00a0liberal politicians in California\u00a0will set the minimum wage in Oklahoma<u><\/u><u><\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In a new episode of\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ocpathink.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=c663a64be2f7e51abc07689e4&amp;id=50fbea60e1&amp;e=e00552be5e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/ocpathink.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3Dc663a64be2f7e51abc07689e4%26id%3D50fbea60e1%26e%3De00552be5e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1778916498428000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0C_0H-5o0Iav7vN0uJyUlM\"><em>Weighing In<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, host Dave Bond sits down with Professor James Davenport to discuss how SQ 832 affects the workforce\u2014especially those actually making minimum wage.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"an1\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/17.0\/1f3a7\/72.png\" alt=\"\ud83c\udfa7\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" data-emoji=\"\ud83c\udfa7\" aria-label=\"\ud83c\udfa7\" \/><\/strong><strong>\u00a0Listen to the episode\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ocpathink.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=c663a64be2f7e51abc07689e4&amp;id=5d9b489d4e&amp;e=e00552be5e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/ocpathink.us11.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3Dc663a64be2f7e51abc07689e4%26id%3D5d9b489d4e%26e%3De00552be5e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1778916498428000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pNLFR_2TbTP7CP2gTEBK3\">here<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"an1\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/17.0\/1f447\/72.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc47\" width=\"42\" height=\"42\" data-emoji=\"\ud83d\udc47\" aria-label=\"\ud83d\udc47\" \/><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=&#8221;Listen to the episode&#8221; color=&#8221;primary&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221; link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzsprout.com%2F2399160%2Fepisodes%2F19032269%3Futm_source%3DOCPA%2BMaster%26utm_campaign%3Dd86ab9e646-EOY%2B2018_1_COPY_01%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_term%3D0_1acebeac5c-d86ab9e646-137567878|target:_blank&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;blue&#8221; border_width=&#8221;2&#8243; el_width=&#8221;80&#8243; css=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1762970322776{margin-top: 50px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Data Centers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Data Centers are popping up all over our nation. Governor Stitt announced on social media that he is fully behind the solar &amp; wind farms and data centers. It seems that Oklahoma has a favorable climate for the centers, much like the low fees for marijuana grow farms that then covered our state.<\/p>\n<p>Oklahoma currently has around 35 facilities with more under construction. We are told that data centers provide jobs and tremendous tax revenue for our state and the city\/county in which they are built. But do they? Current data shows that at least ten states are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pluribusnews.com\/news-and-events\/report-states-spend-billions-on-data-center-incentives\/\">missing $100 million<\/a>\u00a0in tax revenue annually and electricity rates jump anywhere from 8-26% for residents. Are they really producing jobs and revenue? State governments, including Oklahoma, are giving out large subsidies and tax abatements, with no guarantee of benefit. It is out of control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSubsidy programs in Texas, which exempts data centers from paying sales and use taxes including on the costs to power data centers, cost the state more than $1 billion in 2025, according to the state Comptroller\u2019s Office.\u201d Oklahoma is offering deals as well\u2014but is the benefit worth the missed revenue and expense to the taxpayer?[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=&#8221;Project Atlas &#8211; Coweta Data Center&#8221; color=&#8221;primary&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221; link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fawakeoklahoma.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F11%2FCoweta-Data-Center-flyer-October-28-2025.pdf|target:_blank&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/form.jotform.com\/jsform\/243194171072048\"><\/script>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; 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