The Oklahoma House narrowly passed a bill Wednesday to make wind tax credits non-refundable.
Supporters claim Senate Bill 888 will save the state $500 million to $750 million over the next decade. Opponents worry the move will hurt the state’s business reputation.
Rep. Scott Fetgatter said Oklahoma needs to stop attacking industries, a habit he said goes back to General Motors losing state tax credits decades ago.
"Guess who we haven’t been able to recruit since that happened? Car manufacturing businesses. They would’ve been great in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. You know, I could’ve used 200 or 300 jobs in Okmulgee County," Fetgatter said.
Cutting off the refunds could also lead to a lawsuit. Rep. Leslie Osborn said she sought a legal opinion last year on Oklahoma’s contracts with wind energy firms promising incentives.
"We drew them, we wrote them and they’re legally binding. They signed them — that it would be illegal if we tried to pull it back," Osborn said. "There’s only nine years of payouts left. We should never have done it. But, the thing was, [attorneys] said [wind companies] will litigate. They’ve done it in other states and they will win."
Opponents of SB888 think wind companies will pull out of the state, but Rep. Jeff Coody said maybe the change will give them a reason to put their headquarters here instead.
"If we eliminate the refundability, they might come to Oklahoma so they could use that tax credit to go against their tax liability," Coody said.
The bill’s passage means lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a wind energy gross production tax. Democrats attempted to amend SB888 to institute a $1 per megawatt gross production tax on wind energy, but that proposal was rejected.
The measure now goes to the Senate.
