Oklahoma Politics: March 2020 Archives

The Oklahoma Retail Crime Association issued its annual retail theft survey today, noting "massive spikes in both the numbers of losses due to theft and the amounts taken" for Oklahoma retailers.

Already hard-hit by the growth of online sales and the (hopefully temporary) impact of coronavirus, retailers don't need the state legislature to add insult to injury by discarding the tools to deter systematic theft.

We aren't talking about Javert relentlessly pursuing Jean Valjean for stealing a crust of bread to feed his starving family. We're talking about organized crime gangs who consider fines and brief imprisonments just the cost of doing business, and who are taking the bread out of the mouths of retail workers and their families.

The Facebook page Repeal SQ780 is a good source for stories on the impact of reducing penalties for so-called "non-violent crimes," such as shoplifting, burglary, and car break-ins. The page recently linked to a infographic showing that the loss amount from the average "pushout" theft -- when someone simply pushes a cart out the door without paying -- for our region doubled last year, from $778 in 2018 to $1544 in 2019. 59.5% of pushout robberies involved organized retail crime, and 10% involved violence against store personnel.

Here is the press release from the OKRCA:

The Oklahoma Retail Crime Association (OKRCA) has completed the 2020 Oklahoma Retail Theft Survey - which draws on retailer's internal theft data, as opposed to just numbers reported to law enforcement.

Once again, Oklahoma retailers saw massive spikes in both the numbers of losses due to theft and the amounts taken.

Oklahoma retailers are also reporting increased violence against store personnel.

According to OKRCA President, Norm Smaligo, "Retailers from around the country want to know why their theft rates in Oklahoma are so much higher than other states they operate in. I have to point to our laws and the permissive attitude the courts take towards retail theft."

"Organized Retail Crime (stealing for profit) has exploded here in recent years, because of our loosening of penalties for theft and our failure of our laws to address the people who steal for a living and those that sell it for them."

According to the most recent National Retail Federation (NRF) Organized Retail Crime survey, states that have raised felony theft limits have seen increases in theft activity. [Here is the complete National Retail Federation Organized Retail Crime Survey.]

In Oklahoma this effect is amplified by the fact that Oklahoma law allows cities to prosecute these 'misdemeanor crimes' as a municipal infraction similar to a speeding ticket. This hardly serves as a deterrent to criminal activity.

Smaligo said: "This year's survey just builds on the bad numbers we saw last year. We're seeing increased thefts, increased amounts and increased violence against our people. Retailers are begging for help. Our legislators at some point are going to have to decide: Do they want to help tax producing businesses lose less, or do they want to help criminals steal more?"

Smaligo said there are currently three bills pending before the Oklahoma legislature that they hope will help curtail some of the theft activity: Senate Bill 1587 would allow law enforcement to aggregate multiple larcenies over a one year period as opposed to the current 90 days - which Smaligo said is less time than it takes for an arrest warrant to be issued in many cases.

Senate bills 1689 and 1691 would prohibit Pawn Shops from buying fraudulently obtained gift cards and new-in-box items stolen from stores without some proof of purchase, such as a receipt.

According to Smaligo - the easy cash that criminals receive for selling these items is what is driving most of the theft activity. "They're not stealing four power tool kits for personal use! They're selling them within minutes of stealing them".

Norm Smaligo is the President of the Oklahoma Retail Crime Association - a group of retailers and law enforcement working together to identify and prosecute Organized Retail Crime offenders in this state.

Smaligo can be reached for comment at:

nsmaligo@gmail.com
or
(918)698-2626

After the jump, the text of the report itself.

Mark McBride, a Republican Oklahoma state representative from Moore who touts himself as a "lifelong conservative Republican" and founder and president of a mission organization, has been accused of directing a fusillade of obscene verbal abuse at a think-tank president who was walking through the State Capitol.

In a recent news release promoting the OCPA's new legislative scorecard, Jonathan Small, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, reports that McBride "flipped him off" as Small passed by a committee room. Small says that McBride then summoned Small into the committee room and proceeded to unleash a barrage of obscenities at Small in front of several other people.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs announced that we would produce a legislative scorecard to be updated throughout the session.

The OCPA board of trustees and staff came to realize that there wasn't an easy-to-use guide for constituents to understand just how their lawmakers are voting on issues related to free markets, limited government, individual initiative, and personal responsibility. So we decided to change that.

At the beginning of the legislative session, we launched our new Legislative Scorecard, which can be found at scorecard.ocpathink.org. In addition to the scorecard itself, we released a watch list of bills that are eligible to be included on the scorecard. You can view the watch list at ocpa.co/WatchList.

Check out the live scorecard and share it with your family and friends, it even has an easy-to-use locator so anyone can easily find their lawmaker.

The scorecard has already had major impact.

Early this session, a horrific bill popped up on the House Calendar, House Bill 1230 (HB1230). In short, while touted as a "transparency bill" it actually commands government bureaucrats to violate the privacy of families and students who use the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship, including students with special needs and disabilities. The bill easily can be interpreted to require students and families to waive rights to privacy, normally afforded to most other students, in order to participate in the program in the future.

OCPA sent repeated notices to lawmakers that HB1230 would be scored negatively.

You need to know about something. Just a little over two weeks ago, the day after the vote on HB1230, I was at the state capitol building. As I was walking on the 4th floor of the Capitol, I passed a committee room. In the room were several people and a lawmaker who was sitting in a chair facing the doorway. The lawmaker was State Representative Mark McBride, author of HB1230.

As I walked by the door, I was surprised when I saw that State Representative Mark McBride slightly raised his hand from his lap and flipped me off.

After being flipped off by State Representative Mark McBride, it appeared State Representative Mark McBride motioned for me to go in the room to talk to him. As I got close to his chair, with others sitting around and in a voice so others could hear, State Representative Mark McBride then began to cuss at me profusely. His words included saying I was the "F..." word at least twice, calling me a piece of "S..." twice, saying I was worthless twice, referring to me as a derogatory word for male genitalia twice, and twice telling me to "scat" like I was some sort of animal. Also included in his personal, verbal, and public attack on me was his criticism of OCPA for opposing HB1230.

Our hope is that Oklahomans will utilize the scorecard to remain informed and involved in the legislative process, while also holding politicians accountable.

Thank you,

Jonathan Small
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
President

McBride currently has a score of 35 on the OCPA scorecard out of a possible 100. The lowest score for any Republican is 29.

Rep. McBride boasts on his House web page that he is "the Founder and President of Thousand Hills Mission - a non-profit organization dedicated to providing agricultural and veterinary assistance to the people of developing and Third World countries." Guidestar shows the most recent IRS Form 990 as filed for the 2013 tax year, and that the IRS non-profit ruling was issued in 2012. The earliest 990 that Guidestar has is from 2011, and it shows fundraising back to 2007. Here are the annual fundraising totals shown on the 2011-2013 IRS Form 990s.

2007: $24,409
2008: $50,343
2009: $27,019
2010: $24,409
2011: $72,814
2012: $10,730
2013: $8,030

The expenses for the 990s provided seem to cover travel for one or two people and veterinary supplies. The organization reported no paid employees.

I'm reminded of an experience I had back in March 2004, when I took a camcorder to capture the Tulsa City Council "pre-meeting" which was held in the library of the council offices an hour before the official meeting and which dealt with the agenda for the main meeting. My presence there triggered an obscene outburst against me from a City Council staffer.

In the future, I suggest that Mr. Small and his OCPA colleagues wear GoPro cameras when they walk through the Capitol. They may capture some insights into the character of our legislators that aren't fully evident in voting records and campaign websites.