OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — An Oklahoma City senator wants to give oil and gas companies state tax breaks for hiring engineers, with the richest credits going to employers who recruit graduates of Oklahoma schools.
Sen. Paul Rosino, a Republican from Oklahoma City, said he is preparing the bill to shore up the workforce in an industry he calls the backbone of the state economy. He argued that companies need help attracting and keeping skilled engineers and that young graduates should have more reason to build careers in Oklahoma. He pointed to the thousands of jobs and the state revenue tied to oil and natural gas as the reason to act.
Under the draft, a qualifying employer could take a credit worth 10% of pay for an engineer who graduated from an Oklahoma college, or 5% for one who studied out of state. The credit would last through the first five years the engineer works in the industry, with a ceiling of $12,500 a year per worker.
Employers could also claim half of the tuition they reimburse a qualifying worker during the first four years on the job. Engineers themselves could take an individual income tax credit of as much as $5,000 a year for up to five tax years.
The tuition piece mirrors an existing state break. Oklahoma already lets employers in its aerospace tax credit program claim 50% of tuition repaid to qualified workers in their first through fourth years, under 68 O.S. section 2357.302.
Rosino does not plan to file the measure formally until after Nov. 15, ahead of the next legislative session.
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