Sulphur Times-Democrat

Letters may be faxed to (580) 622-2937. a

On HB2132, Stand for Freedom, Local Control and t
Self-Governance Dont Fall for Propaganda O
w
by Nick Dranias v
Apr A handful of hard-left organizations opposing HB2132, the Pros- O
20 perity States Compact, are ghting the bill with straw-man arguments.
But lets be clear: The Prosperity States effort advanced by House F
2017 Speaker McCall and Representative Lewis Moore has nothing to do p
with the Oklahoma Right to Farm effort, and does not involve foreign o
Page corporations forcing Oklahomans off their land. The effort simply p
gives Oklahomans one option -- the only option under Oklahoma law f
0007 O
-- to establish free-enterprise friendly local government.
Clip The Prosperity States effort is entirely about local control and consent h
resized
59% of the governed. It takes 100% consent of affected landowners and n
voters to form a prosperity district. Counties are free to completely a
opt-out if they wish. Cities are unaffected anywhere within their ter- p
ritorial or planning jurisdictions unless they opt in. And landowners c
who form a district can later opt-out. e
Nothing is forced on anyone, ever. n
And prosperity districts arent law-free islands, either. All law e
enforcement, national security and state of emergency agencies c
have the same jurisdiction in prosperity districts as before they were
formed. All outside state, county and local agencies have jurisdiction c
in prosperity districts to prevent anything occurring in the district from c
violating outside regulations or causing any outside harm. State and h
federal courts have jurisdiction inside prosperity districts to protect a
individual rights. a
Much like the Reedy Creek Improvement District did for Walt p
Disney World, prosperity districts give Oklahomans a safe harbor a
from special-interest driven politics by stopping future bad regulation
before it can start.
Researchers believe prosperity districts would economically jump-
start the entire state economy, and its easy to see why: They would
require any regulation to: address a real, identiable problem; actually
work to solve that problem; be the least burdensome regulation needed
to solve the problem; and favor competition.
Not only that, but HB2132 makes its managing board literal
duciaries for the public in laymans terms, the folks running the
government would have their own necks on the line if they abuse that
trust, rather than the sovereign immunity politicians enjoy.
The only real difference between the typical special district or town
and a prosperity district is that prosperity districts are 100% voluntary
and shielded from bad public policy.
But the hard-left opposition insists on only two avors of local
government-big and bigger local government. That does not enhance
voter choice. It denies it.
The claim that HB2132 wouldnt result in prosperity is bunk.
Everywhere deep, well-designed free market reforms have been sim-
ilarly implemented, they have been a huge success, typically driving
8 percent growth year over year.
Our coalition -- Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs, Federalism
in Action, NeWAY Foundation, Mississippi Center for Public Policy
and many other public policy organizations has advanced this effort
independently from any special-interest inuence. It was developed
over the past 20 months with the vetting and input of more than 22
national experts in every relevant eld.
The bottom line is that HB2132 provides the only limited-govern-
ment option among the dozens of special district options that already
exist in Oklahoma law.
Dont Oklahomans deserve at least one choice in local government
that is pro-jobs, pro-economic growth and pro-freedom?
We believe they do.

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