Some of Oklahoma’s economic development tax credits have taken a public licking this interim, particularly those that do not create jobs or demonstrate other clear evidence that they are doing some public good.

A task force co-chaired by Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, approved a series of criteria last month for analyzing tax credits, which will be placed in a report to be finalized later this month for presentation to the legislature next session. Transferability, lack of accountability, transparency and hard cost/benefit data are just some of the issues targeted by the panel. Dank has said that $150 million-$250 million in state revenue could be at stake.

But it could be worse. So says a report released Wednesday by Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C., research group: Money for Something: Job Creation and Job Quality Standards in State Economic Development Subsidy Programs.

The study ranks Oklahoma sixth among the states, with a C+, for its overall business tax incentives, following Nevada (with a B, the top grade received), North Carolina, Vermont, Iowa and Maryland. At the bottom of the pack, starting with the 51^st finisher: District of Columbia, Alaska, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington state.

Receiving top marks for Oklahoma were the 21^st Century Quality Jobs credit (no dollar data for this new program created last year), with 109/100, and Quality Jobs ($61.7 million), with 95/100.

The former received extra credit for having a wage requirement equal to at least 105 percent of the average wage for the state, local area or industry sector and a geographic hiring requirement. The 21^st Century credit received a top mark of 35 points in performance requirements, including job creation, as well as wage and healthcare requirements. The foundational Quality Jobs program received 30 points. Each of the two garnered maximum points for their basic wage and healthcare requirements.

“Oklahoma performed relatively well because of the job-creation requirements in our Quality Jobs program,” said Gene Perry, analyst with the Oklahoma Policy Institute. “But there’s room for improvement.”

At the bottom for Oklahoma, with 25 points out of 100, is the Investment/New Jobs tax credit ($118.7 million in 2008), receiving points only for its job-creation and duration requirements. Currently under a two-year moratorium scheduled to expire next year, this credit came under fire from the Dank task force for its lack of caps on credits, controls and other criteria.

Perry said the Quality Jobs scores show Oklahoma knows how to provide necessary safeguards.

“Now we need to extend them over all of the tax breaks offered by the state,” he said. “Even the most well-designed subsidy should have a sunset provision and an annual cap so it doesn’t break the budget.”

Nationally, the report estimates that key economic subsidy programs cost more than $11 billion annually. That includes $7 billion going to programs without job-related requirements.

“With unemployment still so high, taxpayers have a right to expect that economic development investments create significant numbers of quality jobs,” said Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First executive director. “The days of ‘no strings attached’ are largely gone, but the fine print in many states is still full of gaps and loopholes.”