OOIDA Call to Action - Oklahoma Members
August 22, 2005

Attention, Oklahoma truckers! A special statewide election will be held next month on an issue that could severely impact the cost of doing business in the state.

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, voters will cast their ballots on whether to boost the state's fuel taxes to help fix roads and bridges badly in need of repair. Oklahomans unable to vote on Election Day have until Wednesday, Sept. 7, to apply for an absentee ballot.

If adopted by voters, the initiative - State Question 723 - would raise the state's diesel and gasoline taxes to 22 cents a gallon. Currently, the diesel tax is 14 cents a gallon and the gasoline tax is 17 cents a gallon.

The tax increase would be phased in gradually over four years.

In an effort to get the initiative approved, the Oklahomans for Safe Bridges and Roads has pulled in more than $1.2 million for a media blitz leading up to the election. Its major donors are contactors and others involved in highway and bridge construction.

Opponents of the measure say legislation already approved by Oklahoma lawmakers earlier this year will pump $170 million more each year into road and bridgework without raising taxes.

The plan includes a "lockbox" provision intended to keep future legislatures from diverting the new money from roads and bridges.

The added revenue source for roads and bridges is coupled with the recent passage of the federal highway bill that doles out $2.8 billion to Oklahoma in the next six years.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, an organization with 2,875 members based in Oklahoma, is encouraging professional truck drivers in the state to make sure they cast a ballot on or before Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Truckers and others unable to visit a polling booth on Election Day can apply for an absentee ballot by visiting www.state.ok.us/~elections/abs_yell.pdf. Applications can also be picked up at any county election board and turned in to the board in person or by mailing or faxing it. Ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

For a list of election boards in the state, visit: www.elections.state.ok.us/cebinfo.html. You can also call OOIDA's Membership Department at 1-800-444-5791 and they'll look up your local election board for you.