State leaders, groups react to Oklahoma losing Panasonic deal to Kansas
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma lost in its bid to get Panasonic to set up an electric vehicle battery plant to Kansas.
State lawmakers put together a $700 million rebate package to lure the company to the Sooner State.
Different groups say they believe leaders need to make changes in order to get businesses to set up shop in Oklahoma.
Lindsey Miller, spokeswoman for the anti-corruption group "Clean Up Oklahoma," argues that the state needs to address scandals and mismanagement to be a more attractive business destination.
According to her, "When we have scandal after scandal after scandal, it's really hard for a governor, who won't even sign an anti-corruption pledge, isn't getting to have a big company here, even when we're offering hundreds of millions of tax dollars."
In Miller's view, rebate incentives are insufficient when companies look at the overall picture in Oklahoma. "It doesn't matter how many tax incentives you give them, when we're not going to be friendly to business, why would they choose us?"
Misty Bradley, state chair of the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee— a public school advocacy group — asserted that the state needs to invest more in its people to land jobs.
According to Bradley, "Oklahoma ranks 46th in funding for K-12 schools, and Kansas ranks 28th... Honestly I'd like to see us you know take care of our people and... stop the corporate welfare."
She also wants to see more dollars going into schools— and not set aside for big business.
"Putting more money in the overall formula to meet all of the needs, on school safety issues, transportation... more counselors, all of those things need more funding," shared Bradley.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R)'s office weighed in on Wednesday's news in a statement. According to communications director Carly Atchison, "Governor Stitt is confident in his plan to attract companies to Oklahoma. This is not the end of the governor’s strategy to make Oklahoma a Top Ten state for business and Oklahomans would be wise to not count us out just yet."
Oklahoma House Democrats also also reacting to Kansas scoring the win over Oklahoma. House Minority Leader Emily Virgin (D-Norman) shared in a statement that, "We set aside more than $700 million in an attempt to lure a billion-dollar company to Oklahoma. That attempt was unsuccessful. Now it's time to look back into Oklahoma, at the families struggling to overcome global inflation, and provide immediate relief to our workforce."
What happens to all the money set aside for Panasonic? According to sources at the capitol, it would carry over into next year's budget, unless lawmakers were to pull it back during a special session.
The business development community also shared responses to Wednesday's developments.
In a statement Brent Kisling, executive director of the Oklahoma of Commerce, explained that, "The Oklahoma Department of Commerce and our partners continue to work with Project Ocean and are optimistic for additional opportunities with them in the future. I’d like to thank the Oklahoma Legislature and Governor Stitt for the bi-partisan passage of the LEAD Act, which provides us with a vehicle to attract large companies, including several prospects that have already expressed interest in Oklahoma. We are steadfast in our focus to bring the best companies, jobs and investment to Oklahoma."
Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, shared in a statement that, "The State Chamber supported HB 4455, the legislation creating the Project Ocean incentive package. We are very disappointed that Panasonic did not select Oklahoma for this project. We are hopeful that other employers looking to expand and grow will see the work that was done on this project. They will see that Oklahoma is open for business and stands ready to act to bring jobs and economic growth to our state. We applaud the efforts of the pro-business legislators and Gov. Kevin Stitt and his staff for their efforts to make Oklahoma the most pro-business state in the country."
CNBC revealed its 2022 rankings of America's "Top States for Business" on Wednesday. Oklahoma ranked 38th overall, but came in second place under the category "Cost of Doing Business." The methodology to calculate the rankings included a number of factors, including "Life, Health & Inclusion," business friendliness, and education.
The White House released a statement on Wednesday on the Panasonic deal that reads in part, "Today’s announcement that Panasonic Energy plans to invest $4 billion and create 4,000 jobs in a lithium-ion battery factory in De Soto, Kansas, is the latest example that the Biden-Harris economic strategy to bring manufacturing jobs back home is working."
House Democrats are holding a press conference on Thursday in response to Panasonic's decision.
For more local news delivered straight to your inbox sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.