The state legislature is back in session with a slate of serious (we would argue dire) propositions.  In search of comic relief, we’ve decided once again to highlight the bills filed this session that deserve a spot on the blooper reel.  Many of these bills tickled our funny bone, but most of them had us doing a double take – say what now?  If you have any insight, please enlighten us in the comment section below.

Sen. Shortey tops the list with SB 1418, a fundamentally strange bill to ban “food and goods” which contain aborted human fetuses.  Umm, okay.  Rather than pile-on the national ridicule, we’d like to call your attention to a lesser-known Shortey bill.  SB 1749 would limit the state highway system’s use of chemical fertilizers and weed killers to protect honey bees.  Every third mouthful of food we eat we owe to honey bee pollination – worth billions of dollars a year to American agriculture.  Honey bees across the country have been succumbing to a mysterious ailment known as colony collapse disorder, caused in part by the very chemicals SB 1749 proposes limiting.  Bravo.

Sen. Bass thinks teenagers should be required to take a safety course before driving a golf cart on a street or roadway.  Reaching top speeds of 15 mph, with the turning radius of an electric Barbie Jeep, we question the wisdom of allowing golf carts on streets and roadways at all.  But if we must, we suppose there is nothing wrong with keeping the kiddies safe.  Although shouldn’t SB 1356 mandate safety training for all ages to capture those tipsy post-happy hour golfers and anyone with bogey-rage?

Attention sports fans, HB 3078 proposes that persons licensed to practice medicine in another state traveling with a sports team do not satisfy the definition of “practice of medicine” in Oklahoma.  Is Rep. Dorman trying to secure the mother of all competitive advantages?  Imagine how much easier it will be to win once other teams have to check their trainers at the state line.  We’re gonna need him to Thunder Down.

In an apparent sequel to a bill filed last session, we are dubbing SB 1270 the ‘Who Let the Dogs Out Act: Part II.’  If your hunting dogs run off, Rep. Wyrick wants you to be able to retrieve them from private property without being charged with illegal trespass or a hunting violation.  Proceed with caution, however.  If the lawful owner expressly forbids you – orally or in writing – from entering, you had better stay put and try and lure your canines back without trespassing.  We suggest bacon, anything smelling of bacon, or squirrels.

Rep. Rousselot endeavors to create the “Animal Massage and Acupressure Therapy Act.”  HB 2400 would define animal massage and acupressure, set up a training program, and outline certification and record-keeping requirements.  Basically, a new bureaucracy especially for animal massage.  Your guess is as good as ours.

Last but not least, Rep. Williams hopes to legally codify the definition of a ‘canoe’ with HB 3093.  Drum roll please….

“Canoe” means a light narrow boat with both ends sharp and which is propelled by paddling and includes similar craft such as kayaks.

Stay tuned for what is sure to be a weird, delightful, and truly strange legislative session.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that Oklahoma’s public safety officials told lawmakers that budget cuts have left them dangerously understaffed with antiquated facilities and equipment.  Foster care abuse in Oklahoma has taken an enormous toll on affected children and cost the state several million dollars in damages.  The state’s chief medical examiner told a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that reaccreditation of his agency was impossible with its current “decrepit” facility.

The OK Policy Blog pointed out that Gov. Fallin’s state of the state address acknowledged our urgent unmet needs but was ambivalent about how to pay for them.  StateImpact Oklahoma used a word cloud visualization to compare Gov. Fallin’s state of the state speeches.  The Tulsa World reported that the state’s current system taxes rich and poor alike at a similar rate.  The Children’s Defense Fund ranked Oklahoma near the bottom in child welfare, measuring poverty, health, hunger, early childhood development, education and youth at risk.

Oklahoma doctors expressed grave concern over proposed ‘personhood’ legislation, including its effect on routine in vitro fertilization treatments.  Today’s Number of the Day is the number of Oklahomans killed to date by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In today’s Policy Note, PolicyLink looks at the disproportionate impact of foreclosures on low-income people and communities of color and lifts up innovative local approaches to assist homeowners.

Oklahoma public safety officials seek more funding

Following three years of budget cuts, Oklahoma’s public safety officials told lawmakers Tuesday their budgets need a boost to restore workforce levels and replace antiquated facilities and equipment.  The heads of Oklahoma’s public safety agencies told members of a House budget subcommittee that deep budget cuts during the national economic downturn that trimmed millions of dollars from their budgets had affected their ability to do their jobs.  “We’re literally just putting these guys at risk,” Thompson said. “We need the manpower. We’re approaching the point now that we’re really irrelevant.”

Read more from the Durant Daily Democrat at http://www.durantdemocrat.com/view/full_story/17441599/article-Oklahoma-public-safety-officials-seek-more-funding?instance=home_news_lead

The High Cost of Foster Care Abuse

More than 500,000 children in the U.S. reside in some form of foster care. Within one year of their initial placement, at least 15 percent of them will experience neglect, abuse, or other harmful conditions.  Since 2005, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) has paid out more than $3.4 million in civil lawsuit settlements. In a recently settled class action lawsuit involving foster care abuse, Oklahoma DHS spent $7 million in outside attorney fees in defense of the lawsuit, with $2 million more set aside for future costs.

Read more from EIN News at http://uspolitics.einnews.com/247pr/261786

Plan to fund new Oklahoma ME’s Office through Master Lease Program raises concerns

Some lawmakers expressed concern Wednesday about a proposal to pay for a new state Medical Examiner’s Office.  “What is plan B?” McIntyre asked Dr. Eric Pfeifer, the chief medical examiner.  The office would abandon hopes of becoming reaccredited, Pfeifer said, adding that he was told that reaccreditation of his agency could not be accomplished with its current “decrepit” facility.  The office lost its accreditation with the National Association of Medical Examiners in 2009 after 18 consecutive years of accreditation.

Read more from the Tulsa World at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=336&articleid=20120209_16_A5_OKLAHO43282

State of the State Analysis: Gov. Fallin is playing catch-up

In her State of the State address, Governor Fallin laid out numerous areas where Oklahoma needs to invest to fix serious problems. She mentioned the shortage of troopers on the highways, the millions still owed to local governments to reimburse emergency expenses, the dilapidated state capitol and medical examiner’s office, crumbling bridges, high infant mortality, a beleaguered foster care system, and unfunded teacher health benefits.

Read more from OK Policy at http://okpolicy.org/blog/budget/state-of-the-state-analysis-gov-fallin-is-playing-catch-up/

Rich or poor, both pay similar tax rate in Oklahoma

In 1988, the Legislature cut the tax rate, but it did so by eliminating the top eight brackets. That meant the new top tax rate – 10 percent – started at a net income of $23,000 a year. Since then, the Legislature has cut taxes the same way several times, by eliminating the top bracket, but lawmakers never indexed the remaining tax brackets to inflation, so the top tax bracket has gotten progressively lower as inflation has driven relative earnings higher.  And so, in Oklahoma, a poor man can feel like a millionaire because they’re paying taxes at the same rate.

Read more from the Tulsa World at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120209_16_A1_Oklaho593072

In Oklahoma, support for children lacking; study says state ranks 49th

Oklahoma ranks poorly in the three key statistics in a recent national study that looks at poverty, health, hunger, child welfare, early childhood development, education and youth at risk in each state.  According to the Children’s Defense Funds’ annual Children in the States Fact Sheets, Oklahoma ranks 49th in per-pupil expenditures, 34th in infant mortality rate and 29th in the percentage of babies born at a low birth weight.

Read more from the Tulsa World at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120209_11_A11_Oklaho935137

Anti-abortion Oklahoma lawmakers continue push

But Crain’s bill, which was approved earlier this week in a Senate committee, already is prompting some doctors to express grave concerns about the chilling effect it could have on reproductive medical services.  “These are bills that have very vast and a plethora of unintended consequences,” said Dr. Eli Reshef, a reproductive endocrinologist and the medical director of the Bennett Fertility Institute at Integris Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City. “In vitro fertilization is the process where we take the sperm and the egg, put them together in a laboratory. All of a sudden in the lab now we’re stewards of persons?”  Reshef accused Crain and other Oklahoma lawmakers of “pandering to the extreme right” and said these types of bills contradict another goal of Republicans, which is fostering a pro-business environment in the state.

Read more from the Associated Press at http://www.necn.com/02/08/12/Anti-abortion-Okla-lawmakers-continue-pu/landing_politics.html?&apID=8fa1b79c6282413e9e2e28eace70cd5f

If we fund things to help break the cycle I think it will not only be better for the state now but better for the long run.

Tom Taylor, executive director of Emergency Infant Services

117

Number of Oklahomans killed to date by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source: The Washington Post

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Fostering Equitable Foreclosure Recovery

This report provides essential information to inform policy discussions about foreclosure recovery. It presents information about the foreclosure crisis and its consequences, describes the federal program created to help communities recover from the impacts of foreclosures, shares case studies of foreclosure recovery efforts in three regions and suggests policy recommendations for ensuring equitable recovery and building a more just system of housing finance for future generations.

Read more from PolicyLink at http://www.policylink.org/atf/cf/%7B97c6d565-bb43-406d-a6d5-eca3bbf35af0%7D/FORECLOSURES_012012_FINAL.PDF

You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

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Governor Mary Fallin

In her State of the State address, Governor Fallin laid out numerous areas where Oklahoma needs to invest to fix serious problems. She mentioned the shortage of troopers on the highways, the millions still owed to local governments to reimburse emergency expenses, the dilapidated state capitol and medical examiner’s office, crumbling bridges, high infant mortality, a beleaguered foster care system, and unfunded teacher health benefits.

These diverse problems have a common denominator: they are all substantially caused by inadequate funding to core public services after three straight years of budget cuts. Rather than setting a bold course for Oklahoma’s future, we are playing catch-up just to repair what we have allowed to fall apart.

In the same speech, Governor Fallin proposed a huge cut to the personal income tax. The plan is estimated to cost $350 million in the first full year. It also includes triggers to automatically cut taxes again any time the budget begins to recover.

The effect is that for the foreseeable future, tax cuts are shoved to the front of the line. It won’t matter what problems or responsibilities we face as a state. It won’t matter if our infant mortality stays high, if our water isn’t safe, if our schools are failing, if our communities are devastated by extreme weather. Whenever there is additional revenue, the number one priority will always be tax cuts.

That’s reflected in the Governor’s full budget proposal, which was also released yesterday. Going down the list of percentage changes from this year to next, we see a long string of zeroes. The budget is almost totally flat, which really means we can accomplish less due to inflation, rising health care costs, and further deterioration of infrastructure and equipment that we can’t afford to maintain.

The Governor does propose moving money around to fix some of the worst problems resulting from previous cuts. Certainly we should do this. However, since the pie is not any larger, we will inevitably defund other areas as we try to fix what’s already gone wrong.

What new problems will we hear about in next year’s State of the State address? Will we pay for teacher health benefits by defunding school buses? Will we fix our bridges and let dams break? If the Governor’s plan passes, we may never escape this vicious cycle.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that Senate Republican leaders said they share Republican Gov. Mary Fallin’s goal of reducing the state income tax, but stopped short of endorsing her plan because it is not revenue neutral. The Tulsa World writes that the Governor’s math does not add up. StateImpact Oklahoma is hunting for business leaders who chose Texas over Oklahoma because of income tax concerns, but they have been unable to find a single name. More on the income tax debate at OK Policy’s tax reform information page.

The Senate Finance Committee killed a bill that would have removed the sales tax exemption for newspapers. The Finance Committee approved an expansion of the homestead exemption that reduces property tax for low-income homeowners. House Speaker-designate T.W. Shannon downplayed talk of an ouster of Speaker Kris Steele.

The OSU student government plans to oppose the legislature taking control of tuition from the State Regents. Now entering its 20th year, the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship has covered tuition for more than 58,000 graduates. The Affordable Care Act is expected to reduce the number of uninsured in Oklahoma by 57 percent and reduce uncompensated care by 69 percent.

Despite a request from the Governor, leaders of the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations say they will not drop a water rights lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma until a “reasonable resolution” has been reached. Urban Tulsa Weekly reports on efforts by the American Airlines union to protect Tulsa workers from severe layoffs.

The Number of the Day is the percentage of births in Oklahoma attended by nurse-midwives. In today’s Policy Note, The Fact Checker blog explains why an anti-union claim made in a Super Bowl was total nonsense.

Senate Republicans share Governor’s goal of reducing income tax, stop short of endorsing plan

Republican leaders in the Oklahoma Senate said Tuesday they share Republican Gov. Mary Fallin’s goal of reducing the state income tax, but stopped short of endorsing her plan to cut the top rate by nearly 2 percent beginning in January. Sen. Rick Brinkley said Senate Republicans plan to give careful consideration to the recommendations of a task force that suggested a more modest cut in the state income tax that was revenue-neutral. The Task Force on Comprehensive Tax Reform suggested cutting the state’s top income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 4.75 percent over the next two years. Like Fallin’s plan, the task force suggested offsetting the lost revenue by eliminating dozens of tax credits and exemptions. But unlike Fallin’s proposal, which is expected to cost the state about $350 million a year when fully implemented, the task force’s proposal would be revenue-neutral.

Read more from The Associated Press.

Fallin’s fanciful tax cut plan

Gov. Mary Fallin’s plan to cut and eventually do away with the state personal income tax, which she unveiled Tuesday in her second state of the state speech, has been called aggressive, bold and visionary. Another word might be “fanciful.” The plan just doesn’t add up. Secretary of State Glenn Coffee said the tax cut would amount to $1 billion a year when it becomes fully effective in fiscal 2014. So-called core services – education, transportation, public safety and health care – which make up about 90 percent of the state budget would be “protected,” although that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be cut. Significant savings to be had from eliminating waste might be hard to come by after three years of deep budget cuts. Those cuts were prompted by the failing economy, from which the state is only slowly recovering, exacerbated by six years of income tax top rate reductions. And the idea that tax cuts will immediately trigger economic growth is, to say the least, unproven. Even if all these things occurred as hoped for in the governor’s plan, it does not appear they would come close to offsetting lost revenues.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

On the hunt for corporate Oklahoma expats in Texas

Oklahomans have been hearing variations on the same theme for more than a decade: “No-income tax Texas gets all the business.” The arguments: 1) corporations or businesses move from Oklahoma to Texas because it lacks an income tax, or, 2) corporate and business leaders relocating from other states choose Texas over Oklahoma because of income tax concerns. We haven’t found either — and we’ve been asking around and looking for months. We’ve asked top elected officials, economists, agency directors, think-tank academics and business leaders. But we keep coming up empty. There have been vague mentions of acquaintances and anecdotal, anonymous references, but nothing solid. And never any names. A state’s tax policy is a miniscule consideration when business leaders are considering a relocation, a half-dozen economists tell us.

Read more from StateImpact Oklahoma.

See also: Tax reform information from the Oklahoma Policy Institute

Oklahoma Senate panel kills bill to end newspaper tax exemption

A Senate panel on Tuesday killed a bill that would have required sales taxes to be paid on newspapers. Senate Bill 1098 by Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, would have removed an exemption given to newspapers and periodicals, allowing the collection of the state’s 4.5 percent sales tax as well as local sales taxes. The measure failed by a 13-1 vote, with Wilson casting the lone supporting vote. Wilson said he filed his measure to raise funding to cover the $5,000 stipends that were supposed to be paid to National Board Certified teachers. Another proposal would do away with the newspaper exemption along with a host of other sales-tax breaks. Senate Bill 1447 by Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, has been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee. But Mazzei, who is chairman of that committee, says he is unlikely to give the bill a hearing. Mazzei cast one of the 13 votes against Wilson’s bill.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Senate will consider increase of homestead exemption

About 4,200 of Oklahoma’s poorest homeowners would benefit under a proposed adjustment to the state’s property tax law. The proposed law, which was passed out of the Senate finance committee Tuesday, would enable more low-income households to qualify for a doubling of their homestead tax exemption. The homestead exemption is a $1,000 reduction in the assessed value of someone’s primary place of residence. Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, and author of Senate Bill 1036, said the increased exemption will cost local jurisdictions about $416,000 a year. The bill itself raises the income threshold to qualify for the tax break from $20,000 to $22,000 or half of the median income for each county, whichever is greater. It enables more families to receive a doubling of their homestead exemption. The tax break would help the poor, but Sen. Roger Ballenger, D-Okmulgee, said he was concerned about the impact it would have on school funding.

Read more from NewsOK.

House Speaker-designate downplays talk of ouster

State House Speaker-Designate T.W. Shannon said Tuesday he expects a noisy but productive session this year in the House of Representatives, despite speculation that social conservatives will be working to undermine the authority of House leadership. Shannon, R-Lawton, said he and House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, get along and he expects a smooth transition. Steele cannot seek re-election this year because of legislative term limits; his term ends in mid-November. House Republicans in November elected Shannon as designated speaker to succeed Steele. Shannon defeated Steele’s choice, Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, which caused some in the House Republican caucus to proclaim Shannon’s victory was a repudiation of the speaker’s leadership.

Read more from NewsOK.

OSU student government opposes legislature taking control of tuition

The Student Government Association will state an official position opposing the state legislature’s control of tuition rates at tonight’s meeting. Last week, a resolution was proposed to the Senate by Senator Ben Wolff, an entrepreneurship and marketing sophomore, stating that the Board of Regents for Oklahoma A&M Colleges should remain in control of tuition rates. It is easy to get in contact with a Board of Regents member, Wolff said. They are appointed by the Governor specifically for OSU, so they do not use school tuition as a political tool. “The Board of Regents knows exactly what is going on with OSU and what OSU needs to do to remain as successful as possible,” Wolff said. “State legislators have many other responsibilities. It would be much more difficult for a student’s voice to reach the State legislators; the Board of Regents has our best interest in mind.”

Read more from The Daily O’Collegian.

Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program enters 20th year

Twenty years ago, the Oklahoma Legislature created a program that would cover college tuition for students who took more rigorous high school classes, maintained a certain grade-point average and had a record of good behavior. Since then, more than 58,000 students have graduated from high school without the burden of worrying about how they were going to pay college tuition. The state is projected to spend $61 million on the program this year on the 20,300 students who earned the scholarship. The deadline for eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade students to enroll in the program is July 2. Although the number of students enrolled in the program has increased from about 500 in the mid-1990s, it has declined from a peak of 10,319 in 2010 to 10,214 this year.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Affordable Care Act to substantially expand coverage, reduce uncompensated care in Oklahoma

The Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that takes full effect in 2014, is expected to provide health insurance coverage to over 335,000 uninsured Oklahomans and reduce the state’s uncompensated health care costs by more than two-thirds , according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Currently, some 597,000 Oklahomans, or 19 percent of the non-elderly population, lack health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of uninsured is projected to fall by 57 percent to 259,000, or 10 percent of the non-elderly population. Oklahoma’s 57 percent drop exceeds the national average of 48 percent and is the tenth highest drop among the states. The study also projects that the ACA’s coverage expansion will significantly reduce the amount of uncompensated care provided by Oklahoma hospitals, doctors, and other health care professionals and facilities. Uncompensated care costs are projected to fall by over two-thirds, 69 pecent, from $886 million annually to $277 million.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

Chickasaws, Choctaws will not drop lawsuit against state of Oklahoma

Leaders of the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations will not drop a water rights lawsuit they filed against the state of Oklahoma last year until a “reasonable resolution” has been reached. The tribes sent a letter to Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday, explaining their reasons for the continued litigation and stressing the fact they want to work through the mediation process. “History shows the best way to achieve resolution is through talks where both parties come to the table, prepared and empowered, to have good faith negotiations,” the letter states. “There was a lack of negotiations or meaningful engagement until we filed our suit, and if we dismissed, our current court-ordered mediations would cease.” The letter, signed by Chief Greg Pyle, of the Choctaw Nation, and Gov. Bill Anoatubby, of the Chickasaw Nation, also states that stream adjudication isn’t a necessary response to the lawsuit filed by the tribes — something Fallin claimed to be true in a letter she sent to the tribes last week.

Read more from NewsOK.

Specter of layoffs settles over Tulsa despite cooperative efforts of AA union

The news came down on Feb. 1. American Airlines, the largest employer in northeast Oklahoma for the past 65 years, will attempt to lay off more than 2,000 employees in the Tulsa area. A letter from Tom Horton, the chairman and chief executive officer of American Airlines, addressed “Dear American Team,” was sent out last Wednesday. The three-page letter is littered with public relations euphemisms but makes its intentions clear: “Change — a necessity not a choice.” The letter details the changes the company will make to “renew and optimize our fleet,” “build the scale of our network and alliances,” and “modernize our brand, products and services.” Essentially, to maximize profits, AA will be making “necessary employee related changes.” Transport Workers Union Local 514 organizer Rick Mullings wasn’t surprised by the news, but he’s not happy either. The area with the fewest targeted layoffs (besides pilots) is management, the most bloated part of the company, according to Mullings. American has hired on three separate businesses to “tell management how to manage,” Mullings said. “They managed them into bankruptcy.”

Read more from Urban Tulsa Weekly.

“There was a lack of negotiations or meaningful engagement until we filed our suit, and if we dismissed, our current court-ordered mediations would cease.”
-Chickasaw and Choctaw tribal leaders, responding to a letter by Gov. Fallin calling for them to drop their lawsuit over water rights in Oklahoma

3.3 percent

Percentage of births in Oklahoma attended by nurse-midwives, 1,827 babies in 2007

Source:  American College of Nurse-Midwives

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

A nonsense fact in a Super Bowl ad

“Only ten percent of people in unions today actually voted to join the union.” A group that supports a bill in Congress that would require every unionized workplace to recertify their union every three years made this interesting claim in a TV ad that ran during the Super Bowl. The Center for Union Facts also asserted this fact in an advertisement that ran in The New York Times, featuring the dictatorial leadership of North Korea as apparent stand-ins for union leaders. The Center for Union Facts is part of a web of pro-corporate organizations run by Rick Berman, who has also battled Mothers Against Drunk Driving, disputed evidence regarding mercury levels in fish and countered a perceived link between high-fructose corn syrup and obesity. … The more we dug into the NLRB reports, the more dubious this statistic became. The reports show consistent support for unions when the matter has been put to a vote through the NLRB process.

Read more from The Fact Checker.

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The Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that takes full effect in 2014, is expected to provide health insurance coverage to over 335,000 uninsured Oklahomans and reduce the state’s uncompensated health care costs by more than two-thirds , according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Currently, some 597,000 Oklahomans, or 19 percent of the non-elderly population, lack health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of uninsured is projected to fall by 57 percent to 259,000, or 10 percent of the non-elderly population. Oklahoma’s 57 percent drop exceeds the national average of 48 percent and is the tenth highest drop among the states.

The researchers, who are health care policy experts at the Urban Institute, use the Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model to build projections of how coverage will be affected by the new law. For Oklahoma and for the nation, they find that the ACA will lead to more people with both public and private health insurance. Specifically, they project that:

• An additional 202,000 Oklahomans will be covered by Medicaid. Of this population, 17 percent, or 36,000 people, are currently eligible but unenrolled for Medicaid, while the remaining 83 percent will be newly eligible as a result of the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to 138 percent of the federal poverty level for adults. These numbers further refute an alarmist study put out last year by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs which projected huge new costs for Oklahoma under the ACA based on four times as many currently eligible but unenrolled people signing up for Medicaid.
• An additional 135,000 Oklahomans will be covered through private insurance, either through their employer or in the non-group market. The study projects an increase of 77,000 people covered through their employers and an additional 58,000 people covered in the non-group market.
• Of the 2.0 million Oklahomans who will have private coverage after the law takes effect, some 275,000 are expected to purchase coverage through the new health insurance exchanges that will operate beginning in 2014. Of this population, some 100,000 are expected to be eligible for premium subsidies to assist with the cost of care.

The study also projects that the ACA’s coverage expansion will significantly reduce the amount of uncompensated care provided by Oklahoma hospitals, doctors, and other health care professionals and facilities. Uncompensated care costs are projected to fall by over two-thirds, 69 percent, from $886 million annually to $277 million.  Nationally, uncompensated care costs are projected to fall by 51 percent.

The study notes that Oklahoma, like several of the states that stand to see the greatest benefit from the Affordable Care Act, has made little progress towards implementing the new law. According to the study, Oklahoma is among 15 states that has not yet implemented a health insurance exchange or demonstrated significant interest in doing so, and one of only six states to have taken no legislative action in 2011.  The federal government will run the exchange in states that are not ready to launch a state-based exchange by January 2014, . Whether Oklahoma still can or should develop an exchange is certain to be a hotly contested issue during the 2012 legislative session. Yet unless the entire law is struck down (a question we will address in a forthcoming post), this report provides further grounds for confidence that the state’s long-standing problems associated with high rates of uninsured and uncompensated care should be significantly eased in the years ahead.

Click here to see the study, “State Progress Toward Health Reform Implementation: Slower Moving States Have Much to Gain”

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that Gov. Fallin outlined a budget plan to deeply reduce Oklahoma’s personal income tax rate by eliminating dozens of tax exemptions, including many claimed by poor and working-class Oklahomans. It would also significantly reduce state revenues and include a trigger that cuts the rate further any time the budget begins to recover. OK Policy released a statement in response to the plan. Find more on the tax debate here, including a new action alert on why it’s important to save the income tax and what you can do today.

An overcrowded prison system, an outdated state water plan, and a child welfare system failing to properly care for vulnerable Oklahoma children are a few of the problems facing lawmakers in the 2012 legislative session, which began yesterday. OK Policy released an updated 2012 Legislative Primer explaining how state government and the legislative process works. Gov. Fallin announced that she has signed an executive order banning tobacco use on state property.

The Tulsa World summarizes a new report outlining how DHS failed to protect three young Oklahoma children. See the full report from the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the DHS settlement of a lawsuit over foster care abuses. A Senate committee approved a “personhood bill” the defines life as beginning at conception. The OU Daily writes that this bill would bring dangerous and extreme consequences.

Rep. Jason Murphey said he believes it is only a matter of time before open records and open meetings laws are applied to the Oklahoma Legislature. NewsOK writes that cutting funding for OETA would be a disservice to the state. The Number of the Day is the average savings on Rx drugs per Oklahoma Medicare beneficiary in 2011 because of changes made by the new health care law. In today’s Policy Note, Governing Magazine discusses the crucial choice states face over essential health benefits as the Affordable Care Act is implemented.

Fallin plans to cut income tax by eliminating exemptions claimed by many residents

Gov. Mary Fallin outlined a budget plan Monday to deeply reduce Oklahoma’s personal income tax rate by eliminating dozens of tax exemptions, including many claimed by poor and working-class Oklahomans. Her plan would impose a revenue-growth trigger that would further reduce the income tax by one-quarter of 1 percent each time state revenues grow by at least 5 percent. Her budget officials said the plan calls for making up the estimated $1 billion in lost revenue by eliminating nearly 40 different tax credits, including the child care and sales tax relief credits for low-income Oklahomans. It would also end personal exemptions claimed by about 1.5 million Oklahoma tax filers each year. “Low-income families with children and low-income seniors will pay more in income tax. That’s a concern,” said David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a Tulsa-based think-tank. “It’s cut taxes first and then ask questions later.” Democrats also blasted the plan, saying it makes little sense for Fallin to call for increased funding for transportation, education and performance audits for state agencies while endorsing a plan to slash a funding source that accounts for more than one-third of state revenue.

Read more from the Associated Press.

See also: Governor Fallin’s plan to end income tax would bust huge hole in the state budget from Oklahoma Policy Institute

Prison crowding, proposed reforms to child services among issue awaiting Okla. lawmakers

An overcrowded prison system, an outdated state water plan and a child welfare system that has drawn criticism for failing to properly care for vulnerable Oklahoma children are just a few of the problems facing lawmakers when they return to the state Capitol on Monday for the start of the 2012 legislative session. When the final budget figures are certified later this month, lawmakers are expected to have about $100 million to $150 million less to spend this year because of the loss of one-time revenue that was used to plug holes in the current budget. Revenue collections have improved, but lawmakers used nearly $357 million in special cash appropriations on the current state budget, including $101 million from a transportation fund, $100 million from the state’s constitutional reserve fund, and $156 million in transfers from various state revolving funds, according to the Office of State Finance. And while state leaders are projecting a flat budget with no increase in funding for state agencies, there is no shortage of ambitious ideas being proposed for the upcoming session.

Read more from the Associated Press.

Gov. Fallin signs order to ban tobacco use on state property

Tobacco products at all state-owned and leased properties and in state-owned and leased buildings and vehicles will be banned effective July 1 under an executive order signed Monday by Gov. Mary Fallin. The announcement drew applause, but groans were heard seconds later in the House of Representatives chamber when she announced the ban would mean the closing of a smoking room in the state Capitol for lawmakers and employees. “You’re going to like this one, too,” she joked as she announced the smoking room, in the Capitol’s basement, would be remodeled — at no expense to the state — into a small fitness center. The state is seeking a grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust and the Oklahoma Hospital Association has agreed to match it, Fallin said.

Read more from NewsOK.

The 2012 Legislative Primer: Your program for Opening Day of the legislative session

How many bills are filed each year? Who is the Cabinet Secretary of Science and Technology? How much money is there in the Rainy Day Fund? Why does it take so long for a bill to be passed? As the 2012 Oklahoma Legislative session gets underway, a new, fully-updated publication from Oklahoma Policy Institute will answer these questions and more. Whether you are a veteran legislator, a complete novice to Oklahoma politics, or anyone in between, the 2012 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATIVE PRIMER will provide you invaluable information in a concise, user-friendly format.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

DHS missed opportunities to help these three youngsters

A 1-year-old Tulsa County girl who nearly drowned in July was born with narcotics in her system and had been left alone in a car by her mother, according to a report released by the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth. The commission also released two other reports Thursday detailing events leading up to the deaths last year of a 3-month-old girl in Pittsburg County and a 3-year-old girl in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services had received two child neglect reports about Olivia McDonald, who now is in foster care, before she nearly drowned July 14 at a Tulsa home. Her mother, Allie Leanna Frazier, 27, is charged in Tulsa County with felony child neglect with a trial date set for June 4, court records show.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

See also: Full report from the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth

Oklahoma Supreme Court declines to hear DHS lawsuit settlement challenge

The state Supreme Court without comment Monday denied hearing a lawsuit that challenged whether a three-member board acted properly in approving a modified settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit that accused the state Department of Human Services of harming children in its foster homes and state shelters. The decision was unanimous. The agreement by the board since has been approved by both the DHS commissioners and Children’s Rights, a New-York based group that filed the federal lawsuit in 2008. A federal judge gave preliminary approval to the agreement last month; a hearing on the settlement is set for Feb. 29 in Tulsa federal court.

Read more from NewsOK.

Oklahoma Senate Panel approves personhood bill

A bill that would declare that personhood starts at conception is headed to the Senate floor. Senate Bill 1433, by Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, passed the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on Monday, the first day of the legislative session. The measure says life begins at conception. “Unborn children have protectable interest in life, health and well-being,” the bill says. “The laws of this state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of the unborn child at every stage of development all rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents of this state,” it says. In response to that bill, Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, who is strongly pro-choice, offered an amendment that would make the father of an unborn child financially responsible for its mother’s health care, housing, transportation and nourishment while she is pregnant. Wilson’s amendment failed.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

See also: ‘Personhood Act’ brings dangerous and extreme consequences from the OU Daily

Open Records bill for Legislature picks up momentum

Last Thursday, Speaker of the House Kris Steele publicly announced his support of the proposal to apply open records and meetings laws to the Oklahoma Legislature. In Oklahoma, with the exception of the Legislature, government entities must follow a set of laws designed to ensure public access to the proceedings of government. This is one of our most important statutes because it helps to ensure your right to know how your taxpayer dollars are being spent. These laws dictate that no governing board can take action without taking a vote in public and with certain exemptions, the documents held by the board may be accessed by the taxpayers. I firmly believe it is only a matter of time before this law is applied to the Legislature as well.

Read more from The Edmond Sun.

NewsOK: Cutting all state funding to OETA would be a disservice

WHEN public television’s “Antiques Roadshow” visited Tulsa last summer, Chinese carved bowls brought in by a guest were appraised at a price of up to $1.5 million, the highest valuation in the show’s 16-year history. Even at $1 million, the low end of the bowls’ appraisal, the antiques would cover about three months of state appropriations for the PBS network in Oklahoma. Some lawmakers would like to reduce that amount to zero. The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority has learned to get by with less support from the Legislature. State funding has shrunk by 27 percent in the past three years. In recent years, several locally produced programs have been dropped and “Oklahoma News Report” was scaled back from five nights a week to an hour on Fridays. The number of full-time employees has fallen from 71 to 51. Bills by two legislators to end all state appropriations would have a major impact on the 59-year-old network. OETA most likely would have to reduce its statewide coverage and local programming. These cutbacks would indirectly hinder state goals of improving education and increasing the number of college graduates.

Read more from NewsOK.

Gov. Fallin cannot expect to cut and then eliminate the state income tax, which constitutes one-third of the state’s revenue, and in the same breath, talk about making the Department of Human Services one of the best in the nation, or repairing all our bridges by 2019.
-Rep. Mike Brown, D-Tahlequah

$525.39

Average savings on Rx drugs per Oklahoma Medicare beneficiary in 2011 because of changes made by the new health care law.

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

States face crucial choices over essential health benefits

In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released some initial guidance for states on the essential health benefits (EHB) — 10 areas of care — that must be covered by plans sold within the health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Last month, HHS outlined three small-group insurance plans in each state that could provide a benchmark. But with less than a year until states must demonstrate to HHS that they can operate an exchange (if they so choose to pursue one), questions about the essential health benefits and the costs that will result from states’ benchmarks linger, a panel assembled by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund said Friday. Regardless of whether a state opts to develop its own exchange or allow the federal government to do so, each state still must select a benchmark plan. If a state chooses not to do that either, the largest small-group plan in the state will be the default.

Read more from Governing.

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Oklahoma Policy Institute Director David Blatt released a statement today in response to Governor Fallin’s plan for an immediate tax cut and ultimate elimination of the state income tax:

Governor Fallin’s plan would bust a huge and permanent hole in the budget. After three straight years of cuts to services, further tax cuts should not be a higher priority than educating our children, training our workforce, fixing our infrastructure, and ensuring public safety. The plan will make us less healthy, less safe, and less attractive to business.

Her proposal to stretch out the tax brackets to reflect modern income levels is a step in the right direction and an improvement on earlier plans from the legislature. However, by doing away with the child tax credit, sales tax relief credit, and other tax preferences that help hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans, the Governor’s plan would still unfairly increase taxes on many low and moderate-income seniors and families with children. We urge the Governor to seek more input from those who would be affected by these dramatic changes and work towards adopting tax policies that are fair to all Oklahomans and adequate to our state’s responsibilities.

For more information on the tax debate, see OK Policy’s tax reform information page at http://okpolicy.org/tax-reform-information.

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How many bills are filed each year? Who is the Cabinet Secretary of Science and Technology? How much money is there in the Rainy Day Fund? Why does it take so long for a bill to be passed?

As the 2012 Oklahoma Legislative session gets underway, a new, fully-updated publication from Oklahoma Policy Institute will answer these questions and more. Whether you are a veteran legislator, a complete novice to Oklahoma politics, or anyone in between, the 2012 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATIVE PRIMER will provide you invaluable information in a concise, user-friendly format. The Primer has sections on:

• Composition of the Legislature
• The Executive Branch
• Legislative Session
• Policy Path
• Budget Process
• Legislative resources

You can view the 2012 Legislative Primer on scribd ordownload it as a PDF.

You might also want to check out another free resource packed with information about how Oklahoma state and local governments collect and spend public money: OK Policy’s Online Budget Guide.

For those just getting interested in state and local government, like students, newly elected leaders, new public employees, and businesses that want to work with government, it’s a broad introductory text. For readers who are experienced in government, the Guide can help answer quick questions from steps in the budget process through how we spend federal grants.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that even though lawmakers are looking for ways to finish paying bonuses to teachers who earned National Board Certification, the program may be put on hold or phased out after this year. The Department of Public Safety commissioner said that due to budget cuts, state trooper strength is at its lowest level in 22 years. Governor Fallin will release details of her plan to slash the income tax in today’s State of the State address. In the legislative session beginning today, tax cuts will be in competition with potentially costly plans to reform prisons, rebuild the state foster care program under a court settlement, improve college graduation rates, and improve state roads. Find more on the tax debate at OK Policy’s tax reform information page.

Terri White, the head of Oklahoma’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, will also serve as interim chief of DHS while the state conducts a national search to replace outgoing Director Howard Hendrick. OETA’s executive director is disputing a lawmaker’s claim that 17 states have quit funding public television without losing their PBS signal. The loss of 2,100 jobs at the Tulsa American Airlines facility is likely to ripple through the area economy.

After resolving court battles with affected landowners, the Keystone pipeline is ready to come through Oklahoma. The FBI created a fake Georgia company in 2008 so an agent could go undercover to secretly investigate the Oklahoma Legislature for corruption. Sen. Shortey is proposing several measures that would dismantle Oklahoma’s judicial branch of government. Janet Pearson writes about the need to invest in programs addressing a national epidemic of child abuse.

The Number of the Day is Oklahoma’s national rank for state and local taxes paid as a percentage of personal income. In today’s Policy Note, President Obama is proposing performance-based funding for colleges and universities to rewards schools that keep tuition low.

Bonuses for Oklahoma teachers with national certification may not return

Ann Kennedy teaches government and history at Southeast High School in Oklahoma City. Her heart always has been with Oklahoma City students, but she hasn’t always been the best teacher, she said. Ten years ago, she went through the rigorous process of earning National Board Certification. “The first time I did it, it really helped me focus more on what I was teaching, why I was teaching, the outcomes I was getting,” she said. “The end result was that I became a better teacher.” Kennedy is one of about 3,300 Nationally Board Certified teachers in Oklahoma. Like the rest of her colleagues, this year Kennedy didn’t receive the $5,000 bonus promised to teachers who earn the distinction. Three state legislators have proposed bills this year that would finish paying bonuses to teachers like Kennedy. But what happens after that payout is where the lawmakers differ. One wants to phase out the program. Another wants to put it on hold. A third wants to reinstate it. In a year where the state faces a $100 million budget shortfall, the fate of a $15 million teacher incentive program is up in the air.

Read more from NewsOK.

Notes from the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Judiciary and Public Safety

Below are edited notes taken during the meeting of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Judiciary and Public Safety held on Friday, February 3, 2012. It is not a complete transcript of the meeting. Michael C. Thompson, Department of Public Safety Commissioner: We’ve been cut about $14M over last couple years. FTEs are at 1,351 down from 1,664 three years ago. Down to 36 Driver’s License stations in the state right now. Our trooper strength is as low as it’s been in the last 22 years. Hard to provide level of service needed. Not trying to be alarmist, but at 759 troopers, we need to put money into our Highway Patrol or we will continue to struggle to provide the level of service. Putting troopers at risk by not having a partner. When nearest backup is 45-minutes away, a lot can happen in 45 minutes. We’ve lost 84 troopers to retirement since our last patrol school.

Read more from Oklahoma Watchdog.

Plan to slash income tax, overhaul tax code likely to focus of 2012 legislative session

While nearly 3,000 bills await Oklahoma lawmakers when they return to the state Capitol Monday for the start of the 2012 legislative session, none are expected to receive as much attention as those designed to overhaul the state’s tax code and slash Oklahoma’s individual income tax. The tax issue has been a top priority for GOP legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who are anxious to flex their political muscle, and who maintain that cutting the income tax will make the state more business friendly and attract more companies to the Sooner State. The implications are especially significant because the income tax accounts for more than one-third of the revenue that lawmakers spend each year. Fallin will release details of her plan on Monday, when she presents her executive budget and delivers her State of the State address to lawmakers.

Read more from the Associated Press.

See also: Tax Reform Information from the Oklahoma Policy Institute

Session open, GOP plans to stay the course

With the state Capitol building literally crumbling around it, the Oklahoma Legislature returns to Oklahoma City and the task of rebuilding the state economy. “This Legislature committed itself to building a pro-growth Oklahoma and will remain focused on that mission this session,” said Speaker of the House Kris Steele, R-Shawnee. “From a policy standpoint, what we’re doing is working.” Meanwhile, Democrats argue it’s time to reverse course and fix the man-made problems the Republican leadership has brought the state. “First and foremost, our budget shortfalls over the past few years are a consequence of the decisions the Legislature has made,” said Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City. “We have a revenue crisis, not a budget crisis. Republican leaders are again calling for further cuts to state services, claiming there’s a budget shortfall and their hands are tied, but this reeks of hypocrisy given that our budget shortfall does not deter them from radical efforts to again further reduce the income tax for the wealthiest among us.” The state budget still hasn’t recovered from the impact of the recession, meaning state employees haven’t had raises for several years, teachers have been shortchanged on promised merit-pay stipends and taxpayers have seen the services offered by state agencies in decline. Meanwhile, potentially costly plans to reform prisons, rebuild the state foster care program under a court settlement, improve college graduation rates, improve state roads and reduce or eliminate the state income tax will be in competition.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Oklahoma’s mental health chief to be DHS interim director

The head of Oklahoma’s mental health agency was chosen Friday to be interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. White said Friday she will continue in her current position as commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. She said she will work out of offices at both agencies. “Some days, I may be back and forth six times,” she said. DHS commissioners hope to choose a new director before July 1 after conducting a national search. White said she would not accept the DHS position permanently.

Read more from NewsOK.

OETA Exec disputes claims of lawmaker

OETA’s executive director is disputing a state lawmaker’s claim that 17 states have quit funding public television without losing their PBS signal. State Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Tuttle, has proposed cutting off state funding to OETA, Oklahoma’s public broadcasting network, over a five-year period so the money could be used for higher-priority issues. Osborn said 17 other states have eliminated funding for public television without any of the states losing their public television stations. John McCarroll, executive director of OETA, said the latest report from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shows that only eight states provide no funding for public television. McCarroll said that in some states public television funding isn’t directly appropriated but comes through state institutions of higher education or community groups. Other states that aren’t funding public television now have never done so – so it’s not accurate to say that the states eliminated anything, he said. And it is unfair to compare some other states because they don’t have a statewide broadcasting mission like OETA’s.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

American Airlines layoffs likely to ripple through Tulsa-area economy

Each weekday just before noon, Milad Al-khouri’s Christy’s BBQ restaurant fills up with hungry aerospace workers from nearby Spirit Aerosystems, NORDAM and American Airlines. Now he wonders if change is on its way. “At least 20 or 25 percent of everyone who comes in here is from American Airlines,” Al-khouri said. “It’s scary for us, too, because it puts our business in jeopardy.” The future of Al-khouri’s business got a little hazier after Wednesday. That was the day American Airlines parent company AMR Corp. outlined plans to cut nearly $2 billion in costs and 13,000 employees, including at least 2,100 of the 7,200 positions at the 56-year-old Tulsa maintenance base. Tulsa Metro Chamber president and CEO Mike Neal said American Airlines maintenance base employees are spread across the region and contribute important spending to retailers, car dealers, hospitals and other local businesses.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Keystone pipeline is ready to come through Oklahoma

Oklahoma landowners who live, farm and ranch in the path of the Keystone XL oil pipeline fought their battles during the past three years and have now washed their hands of the matter even as it becomes a key issue in Washington politics. The Keystone XL pipeline would stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast carrying crude oil to refineries near Houston. The pipeline, estimated to cost $7 billion, has been rejected by the U.S. State Department and President Barack Obama amid a number of concerns, including the path the pipeline takes through Nebraska. But in Oklahoma, a portion of the pipeline already has been built, and Howard said the company is 99 percent done with land negotiations for right of way in the state. TransCanada filed at least 60 condemnation cases against Oklahoma property owners in the past three years, according to court records. Harlan Hentges, an attorney representing property owners in Bryan County, said the company dropped its attempt to use eminent domain to acquire right of way on property owned by the White family. “It is a victory,” Hentges, of Edmond, said. “But they just went around them, and they had already basically threatened eminent domain against every other landowner that they went across in Oklahoma.”

Read more from NewsOK.

FBI created fake company for corruption probe of Oklahoma legislature

The FBI created a fake Georgia company in 2008 so an agent could go undercover to secretly investigate the Oklahoma Legislature for corruption. No one was ever charged out of the sting operation, and the company ceased to exist last year. The bogus company was named Road Safety International LLC. Its address was a suite in Alpharetta, Ga. To look legitimate, it filed organizational paperwork with the Georgia Secretary of State, created a website, printed up promotional material and paid $750 to join an Oklahoma association. A male FBI agent posed as a company executive. Undercover with him was another man, believed to be a retired agent. They eventually hired an unsuspecting Oklahoma lobbyist, Andrew Skeith. The existence of the undercover operation came to light after Skeith, former Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan and prominent Oklahoma City attorney Martin Stringer were indicted last year.

Read more from the Associated Press.

Shortey sets sights on ‘dismantling’ third branch

The Legislature convenes Monday, which means that lawmakers will spend the coming months addressing a long list of important issues and a whole bunch of half-baked, half-cocked and half-arsed measures. Out of a crowd partial to Ripley’s-Believe-It-or-Not legislation, freshman Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, towers above the rest. This year, Shortey has decided that the state really doesn’t need a third branch of government. Toward that goal, Shortey proposes to put two state questions before voters. One would ask them to abolish the state Court of Criminal Appeals and the second, to eliminate the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s power to review the constitutionality of laws. It’s unclear what replaces the Court of Criminal Appeals that handles hundreds of criminal appeals and writs affecting life and liberty. Shortey does, however, specify what gets subbed in for the Supreme Court on judicial review – a body called the “Ad Hoc Court of Constitutional Review” – players TBA later. My guess is the Legislature gets to pack that “court.”

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Child abuse, neglect a growing epidemic

We’ve all known it’s been a really bad problem for a long, long time. But across the nation, new data are surfacing to illustrate just how bad the problem is – and what must be done to keep the epidemic of child abuse and neglect from worsening. Just last week, a 23-member legislative committee issued its report on the state’s foster-care system, recommending, among other steps, that state leaders “adequately fund” the child-welfare system. Oklahoma, recent national reports suggest, is not alone when it comes to the daunting challenge of protecting children. Child abuse and neglect is such a huge problem one federal agency now is calling it a major public health problem. The problem has become so serious Congress is now considering adopting federal legislation to look into child-welfare systems and what ails them. The Center for Disease Control cited findings that show “each death due to child maltreatment had a lifetime cost of about $1.3 million, almost all of it in money that the child would have earned over a lifetime if he or she had lived.” Though the enormity of the problem makes progress difficult, there are ways of addressing it. “A promising array of prevention and response programs have great potential to reduce child maltreatment. Given the substantial economic burden of child maltreatment, the benefits of prevention will likely outweigh the costs for effective programs,” CDC concluded. In other words, sometimes you do have to throw money at a problem.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

I honestly spent more time, and I got more out of doing my National Board Certification, than I did my master’s degree.
-Ann Kennedy, who teaches government and history at Southeast High School in Oklahoma City

40th

Oklahoma’s national rank for state and local taxes paid as a percentage of personal income, 2009

Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Obama’s higher ed plan prompts debate

In laying out his vision for performance-based funding for colleges and universities last week, President Obama issued a warning to higher education institutions. “If you can’t stop tuition from going up,” Obama said in a speech at the University of Michigan on Friday, “then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down.” Obama’s plan also includes a “Race to the Top”—similar to his earlier K-12 initiative—that would reward states with bonus funding for results such as limiting the cost of higher education. Some officials liked the concept. “He’s proposing a form of performance funding for a portion of federal spending, and my view is that, whatever level of funding we’re talking about, that’s the approach we ought to take,” Bill Powers, president of the University of Texas, told the Times. Still, many college officials also were skeptical. Illinois State University President Al Bowman objected that a focus on controlling costs would risk degrading the quality of higher education. “You could hire mostly part-time, adjunct faculty,” Bowman told the Associated Press. “You could teach in much larger lecture halls, but the things that would allow you achieve the greatest levels of efficiency would dilute the product and would make it something I wouldn’t be willing to be part of.” University of Washington President Mike Young objected that the plans would punish schools for something out of their control, since state funding plays such a large role in determining tuition costs.

Read more from Stateline.

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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk is dedicated to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts.

This week OK Policy and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) co-released the 2012 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, which showed that more than one in four Oklahoma households are “asset poor,” meaning they have little or no financial cushion to rely on in an emergency.  The Tulsa World and the Oklahoman covered Oklahoma’s Scorecard results in depth.

We pointed out that if legislators make the choice to prioritize tax cuts, they cannot pretend to be blameless when funds aren’t available for crucial services.  We hosted a debate about whether or not to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine, featuring Jessica Hawkins, the Director of Prevention Services for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and former state Senator Ed Long.

Finally this week, the Associated Press quoted us in an article on a regional trend of GOP action to axe state income taxes. The Tulsa World presented a summary of our issue brief defending the income tax. The Journal Record cited our work on worsening poverty in Oklahoma and legislative proposals that would make it even harder to be poor. The OK Policy Blog featured a short video about ‘community schools,’ a comprehensive approach to education that makes the school the hub of the community.

Numbers of the Day

• $136 – Average tax increase on elderly Oklahoma couples with $35,000 in income under a legislative proposal to eliminate a slate of broad-based tax credits and exemptions.
• 8,100 – Number of manufacturing jobs added in Oklahoma from January to December of 2011, up 8.4 percent for the year.
• 178, 020 – Number of Oklahoma children under age 6 who need daily child care during the week because their primary caregiver/s participate in the labor force, 2009
• 6,592 – Number of Oklahomans who tested for their GED in 2009; 70.1 percent received their GED, just above the average national pass rate of 69.4 percent.
• 11th – Oklahoma’s rank among the states in percentage of households with no computer in their home, 2010

In The Know, Policy Notes

• The Foundation for Child Development finds that states with higher taxes and greater investment in public programs score highest for Child Well-Being.
• The Economic Policy Institute points out that the massive tax cuts propose by GOP presidential candidates don’t square with professed concerns about public debt.
• Demos shows that the pay premium gained by joining the federal workforce is reserved largely for less-skilled workers, and rather than disparaging public sector pay levels, we should embrace them as standards from which the private sector has shamefully deviated over the last three decades.
• The Shriver Center examines the trend of states issuing public benefits through bankcards and the implications of card fees for low-income people.
• Bloomberg Businessweek reports on falling premiums for Medicare Advantage, a private health insurance option for Medicare beneficiaries.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

 Gov. Mary Fallin told reporters that details of her plan to gradually eliminate the income tax in Oklahoma would be announced on Monday.  OK Policy explained why repealing or reducing the state income tax is ill-advised.  Anticipated revenue from taxes on natural gas production will be much lower-than-expected this year due to extremely low natural gas prices.

National employment grew at the fastest pace in nine months, adding 243,000 jobs and bringing the unemployment rate to a near three-year low.  Over a dozen school districts in eastern Oklahoma met with lawmakers to discuss abandoning the new high-stakes graduation tests.  The OK Policy Blog hosts a short video about ‘community schools,’ a comprehensive approach to education that makes the school the hub of the community.

The governor and legislative leadership support a bond issue to pay for $140 million in repairs to the century-old State Capitol.  Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele supports requiring the legislature to be subject to the Open Records and Open Meetings Act.  In today’s Policy Note, Bloomberg Businessweek reports on falling premiums for Medicare Advantage, a private health insurance option for Medicare beneficiaries.  Today’s Number of the Day is Oklahoma’s rank among the states in percentage of households with no computer in their home.

Oklahoma income tax plan to reduce brackets, says Gov. Mary Fallin

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin told reporters she will release details of her income tax plan during her State of the State speech to returning legislators Monday.  She says her plan would gradually eliminate the income tax without starving funding for essential government services and that it would be a “game-changer” for improving the state’s business climate.

Read more from NewsOK at http://newsok.com/oklahoma-income-tax-plan-to-reduce-brackets-says-gov.-mary-fallin/article/3645547#ixzz1lKIhREx9

Natural gas tax revenue drops in Oklahoma

State Treasurer Ken Miller said Thursday that lower-than-expected revenue from gross production taxes could affect how much the Legislature has to spend in the upcoming session.  The December preliminary estimate was based on natural gas at $4 per thousand cubic feet, but prices are in the $2.50 range this week with little improvement anticipated in fiscal 2013, Miller said.  “Most forecasts show prices will remain low for quite some time,” he said.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=336&articleid=20120203_16_A11_CUTLIN655857

Job growth surges, jobless rate drops to 8.3 percent

The economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent, providing some measure of comfort for President Barack Obama who faces re-election in November.  Nonfarm payrolls jumped 243,000, the Labor Department said on Friday, as factory jobs grew by the most in a year. The gain in overall employment was the largest since April and outpaced economists’ expectations for a rise of only 150,000.

Read more from Reuters at http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE7BM0AB20120203

Oklahoma School Districts Meet To Discuss Dumping Graduation Test

A broad group of school districts met in Muskogee Thursday night to support rolling back a new standard for high school graduation: a test to measure what they’ve learned.  The group represents well over a dozen school districts in eastern Oklahoma. State lawmakers from the area have pledged to them they’ll try to end high stakes testing for high school students.  The lawmakers and school administrators want to make sure that students who can’t pass the tests can still get a diploma.

Read more from NewsOn6 at http://www.newson6.com/story/16666016/oklahoma-school-districts-meet

Gov., legislative leaders support Oklahoma bond issue

Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders say they support a proposal to issue bonds to pay for improvements to Oklahoma’s nearly century-old State Capitol.  Barricades were installed outside the Capitol last year to prevent visitors from climbing the steps of its south portico because mortar and pieces of limestone are falling from slabs overhead. Fallin says the barricades are an embarrassment to the state.  An engineering study estimates that repairs, along with revamping outmoded electrical, plumbing and other systems, could cost as much as $140 million.

Read more from NewsOk at http://newsok.com/gov.-legislative-leaders-support-oklahoma-bond-issue/article/3645551#ixzz1lKSIj8It

Oklahoma speaker wants open records for Legislature

Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele says he supports an initiative to require the Oklahoma Legislature to be subject to the state’s Open Records and Open Meetings Act. The Shawnee Republican said Thursday during The Associated Press’ annual legislative forum that “the time has come” for the laws to apply to the Legislature.  Currently, the Legislature is exempt from both laws that require openness and transparency from any state agency, board, commission or public entity like cities or counties that receive public money.

Read more from NewsOK at http://newsok.com/oklahoma-speaker-wants-open-records-for-legislature/article/3645552#ixzz1lKSnZhDc

However, as we’ve seen in the last couple of months with gross production taxes going down over the previous year, that does cause us some concern.  As we know, so much of our economy is tied to the energy industry.

State Treasurer Ken Miller

11th

Oklahoma’s rank among the states in percentage of households with no computer in their home, 27.5 percent in 2010.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau via Economics and Statistics Administration

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Medicare Advantage Premiums Decline as Enrollment Rises

Medicare Advantage plans have 9.4 percent higher enrollment than a year earlier and fees that are 7.2 percent lower, according to a U.S. official who credited the 2010 health-care law for the gains.  In Medicare Advantage, people over age 65 get expanded coverage beyond the standard federal program from private insurers including UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc that are subsidized by the government.  “Not only are average premiums lower, but plans are better,” said Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in a statement. The health-care overhaul is “motivating plans to improve the quality of their coverage,” she said.

Read more from Bloomberg Businessweek at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-03/medicare-advantage-premiums-decline-as-enrollment-rises.html

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At a time when seemingly endless budget cuts are squeezing our public schools to the breaking point, the Coalition for Community Schools continues to advance a rich and comprehensive approach to education.  Their vision is one in which schools are not just places for kids to learn during the school-week, but also community centers open to everyone – all day, every day – making the school the hub of the community.  If you’re having a hard time envisioning how a ‘community school’ differs from the norm, watch this short video about Tulsa’s Area Community Schools Initiative (TACSI).  The transformational potential of this approach is hard to miss.

View other clips from OKPolicy’s “Watch This’ video series:

What is an IDA?

Elderly parole

Long term unemployment, 1967-2011

Packed Oklahoma prisons, rising costs

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that Oklahoma law now requires that state tax refunds be issued electronically, so taxpayers without a bank account must accept their refund on a MasterCard debit card with associated fees.  Oklahoma House Democrats say jobs, education, transportation, and natural resources top their agenda for 2012.  The Norman Transcript explains why a bill that gives cities and towns control over tobacco regulations is needed to turn the corner on the state’s deteriorating health.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved a budget request that will give $500,000 to the OU College of Medicine to address a physician shortage.  Stillwater residents expressed concern about services for the state’s poor at a town hall event on the state budget.

The OK Policy Blog hosts a debate about whether or not to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine, featuring the Director of Prevention Services for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Jessica Hawkins and former state Senator Ed Long.  The Number of the Day is the number of Oklahomans who tested for their GED in 2009.  In today’s Policy Note, the Shriver Center examines the trend of states issuing public benefits through bankcards and the implications of card fees for low-income people. 

Debit cards in some taxpayers’ futures

Oklahoma law now provides that state tax refunds are to be issued electronically, so taxpayers who are owed some money only have a couple options.  Those who have bank accounts can provide the state with their information and have the refund direct-deposited. But those who don’t have bank accounts have only one option: Take the money on a MasterCard debit card.  A fee of $1.50 per month will be deducted from the refund amount after 60 days of card inactivity.  “We recommend using the card periodically to avoid the fee or use or withdraw the entire balance immediately,” the OTC website says.

Read more from the Tahlequah Daily Press at http://tahlequahdailypress.com/local/x1674906070/Debit-cards-in-some-taxpayers-futures

Okla. House Democrats eye 2012 legislative agenda

Democrats in the Oklahoma House say job creation, public education, transportation and natural resources are at the top of their agenda for the 2012 legislative session.  The Legislature convenes Monday at the state Capitol.  Democratic Leader Scott Inman of Del City said Wednesday the legislative session will be measured by the values and priorities that come out of it. Inman says that will be reflected in the budget.  Inman says House Democrats strongly support job creation and retention, which requires small businesses to have a stable working environment.

Read more from NewsChannel10 at  http://www.newschannel10.com/story/16658171/okla-house-democrats-eye-2012-legislative-agenda

Smoking, obesity push health rank to No. 48

Dr. Terry Cline, Oklahoma’s commissioner of Health and secretary of Health and Human Services, has been making the rounds of Oklahoma newspaper editorial boards. He outlines a legislative agenda that gives cities and towns control over tobacco regulation, a stronger graduated driver’s license law to prohibit teens from texting while driving and a health education requirement for public schools.  The tobacco lobby killed a similar local rights bill promoted in 2011 by House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee. This year’s proposal, House Bill 2267, is being carried by Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, whose other job is as a rural Oklahoma physician.

Read more from the Norman Transcript at http://normantranscript.com/opinion/x1762610700/Smoking-obesity-push-health-rank-to-No-48

Budget Request To Correct Shortage Of Physicians

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved a budget request Thursday that will give $500,000 to increase the number of students admitted to the OU College of Medicine, pending approval by the legislature.  Oklahoma ranked as 44th in the U.S. in number of physicians per 100,000 residents in 2010, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. To address this fact, both the OU College of Medicine and OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine increased medical class sizes in 2009.  In the request, called the Oklahoma Healthcare Physician Shortage Initiative, both schools asked for $500,000, as well as a $1 million allotment for two-year health-care programs around the state.

Read more from the OU Daily at http://www.oudaily.com/news/2012/feb/01/budget-request-correct-shortage-physicians/

Roadshow Reaction in Stillwater: ‘I’m Concerned About Poor People’

Our State Budget Roadshow wrapped up last night in Stillwater with a packed crowd, pointed policy questions — and pizza.  It was a full house, and the discussion was almost entirely led by the audience, which came chambered with questions about the income tax, the miserable condition of some state-owned buildings, and how the state budget affects life in rural Oklahoma.  The income tax is a hot topic in Oklahoma, and the Stillwater audience — as it was in Tulsa and Oklahoma City — was eager to weigh-in.

Read more from StateImpactOK at http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2012/02/01/roadshow-reaction-in-stillwater-im-concerned-about-poor-people/

The pseudoephedrine debate: Available with or without a prescription?

The question of whether to require a prescription for the purchase of pseudoephedrine (the main ingredient in medications such as Sudafed) as a means to help combat the production of methamphetamine, promises to be one of the  hotly contested issues of the 2012 legislative session. We invited a supporter and an opponent of the proposal to present their sides of the debate.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog at http://okpolicy.org/blog/healthcare/the-pseudoephedrine-debate-available-with-or-without-a-prescription/

When I go out to communities and work with them, what I hear is that we need jobs for our young people.  We need opportunities to help them establish a lifestyle so that they can stay here and that this community will be here in 40 or 50 years.

Agriculture Economist Dave Shideler

6,592

Number of Oklahomans who tested for their GED in 2009; 70.1 percent received their GED, just above the average national pass rate of 69.4 percent.

Source: National Coalition for Literacy

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

America’s Poor are Paying Big Banks for Benefits

States have recently begun renegotiating with banks to lower fees on electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards after pushback from beneficiaries and growing negative press coverage over the past few months.    EBT systems are a means of delivering government benefits to recipients electronically via a plastic debit-type card. A Shriver Brief blog post published earlier this year provided an overview of the transition from mailing checks to using EBT cards (i.e., direct deposit and closed-loop debit-type cards) to the current trend of issuing branded prepaid benefit cards (EPC). Forty-one states have switched from issuing paper checks for everything from unemployment benefits to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) to other state public benefits to either EBT systems or, more recently, prepaid cards.

Read more from the Shriver Center at http://www.theshriverbrief.org/2011/12/articles/asset-opportunity/americas-poor-are-paying-big-banks-for-benefits/

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The question of whether to require a prescription for the purchase of pseudoephedrine (the main ingredient in medications such as Sudafed) as a means to help combat the production of methamphetamine,  promises to be one of the  hotly contested issues of the 2012 legislative session. We invited a supporter and an opponent of the proposal to present their sides of the debate.

Jessica Hawkins: Time to say ‘enough is enough’

Jessica Hawkins is the Director of Prevention Services for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, which funds a network of Regional Prevention Coordinators providing community-based prevention services to all 77 Oklahoma counties. 

Substance abuse and untreated addiction must be a priority for Oklahoma.  It is the underlying cause for many of the negative consequences we are faced with in this state such as crime, incarceration, rising health care costs and broken families…issues that will not go away unless we start investing in the things that impact the root problem.

Want a great example? Methamphetamine.  Everybody knows about meth.  It is in the headlines every day.  If there is a picture that illustrates how drug use impacts us all, then this is it.

Methamphetamine abuse absolutely destroys individuals and families.  It causes irreparable damage beyond the user and places innocent people in harm’s way.  Apartment fires.  Home explosions.   Contaminated buildings.  Drug endangered children.  A woman was recently arrested for making meth in a WalMart.  How many people could have been injured if she had not been discovered in time?

But, you know what? We can expect more of the same unless we all get on the same page and say ‘enough is enough, we are through with letting this problem cause so many other problems and we are going to do something about it’.

A bill is being introduced this year to further restrict the availability of certain pseudoephedrine products and make them a prescription-only item.  Other states are doing the same.  Oregon has required prescriptions since 2006, and results have been promising.  According to Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Association, the number of meth lab incidents dropped from 467 in 2004 to only nine in 2010 – a boon for public safety.

However, we know that the law change, in and of itself, won’t make methamphetamine abuse go away.  It is, however, a needed step in the right direction as long as we adopt it as one part of a much larger effort that must incorporate a comprehensive prevention strategy and treatment for addiction.

Are people going to be inconvenienced by the new law?  Perhaps, but not significantly.  Some forms of the medication will still be available over-the-counter, just not the forms that meth-makers like to use.  And, drug manufacturers will likely offer comparable over-the-counter products, just reformulated so that meth-makers can’t use it.

Look, we are all already inconvenienced by methamphetamine abuse.   Why?  Because the people who pay to clean-up the mess are you and me, and I can think of better things to do with that money.  It costs all of us every time local emergency crews respond to those house fires and explosions; when hospital ERs are stacked with uninsured cases; and, when our state systems are bursting at the seams with children who, through no fault of their own, are in need of help so that they are safe.

The real answer is to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place and reducing the risk of reoccurrence when it does, because what fuels the fire is demand.  And, what reduces demand is a comprehensive prevention effort and expanded opportunities for treatment – especially involving people entering and exiting the criminal justice system – to stop the cycle of addiction.  These are proven strategies.

It is not a question about whether or not we should act and do what’s needed to start impacting the problem.  That decision has really already occurred, whether we know it or not.  We are past the point of engaging in debate.  It is either do something or continue to be swallowed-up by the consequences.

Ed Long: Prescription proposal won’t solve the problem

Ed Long is a  former state Senator who served from 1988 to 1996 and chaired the Senate Education Committee. Since retiring from state service, Senator Long has become an advocate for several causes including supporting mental health services to reduce homelessness and the expansion of substance abuse treatment services in Oklahoma.

The methamphetamine problem in Oklahoma is very serious.  Addicts and their families suffer terribly from this illegal drug and there aren’t enough treatment options for the thousands of Oklahomans addicted to meth.  Prisons are overflowing with people who are warehoused because of addiction. There aren’t enough programs or funds to help children and families left behind by addicts, making it more likely these children will also turn to drugs.

It’s obvious our healthcare system and mental health services are already overburdened.  When it comes to Oklahoma residents in rural areas, our state ranks at the bottom of the country in access to primary care physicians, so it’s no surprise there is also a critical shortage of mental health and substance abuse services.

Requiring a prescription for safe and effective medicines containing pseudoephedrine (PSE) has been touted as the silver bullet solution to the meth problem by law enforcement and other advocates.   It sounds like an easy answer, but in reality, it will only burden our doctors even more, drive up the cost of healthcare and clog emergency rooms with uninsured people just seeking relief for the common cold. What it won’t do is actually fix the meth problem.

Preliminary research shows that requiring Oklahomans to go to the doctor even one additional time a year will add almost 300,000 doctor visits to the overburdened system.  That takes doctors away from seeing really sick patients because they will be forced to see common cold and seasonal allergy sufferers who normally could just purchase popular and reliable medicines such as Claritin D on their own.

A patient would have to make an appointment, take time off from work, pay for the office visit and then go to the pharmacy to purchase the medicines.  A prescription mandate would also drive up Medicaid costs in our state and lead to higher out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare patients.

Requiring a prescription for basic and FDA-approved medicines containing PSE will only make it harder for physicians and pharmacists to monitor and track all the drugs they need to prescribe.  At a recent hearing at the state capitol on the prescription drug problem, a Claremore physician told legislators and representatives from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, “in a health care system where doctors only have a few minutes to spend with each patient, adding mandatory time spent checking databases and conducting urine tests is unrealistic.”

If the system is unrealistic now, how bad will it be when doctors are overburdened with prescriptions for pseudoephedrine?

The opinions stated above are not necessarily those of OK Policy, its staff, or its board. This blog is a venue to help promote the discussion of ideas from various points of view, and we invite your comments and contributions. To see our guidelines for blog submissions, click here.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that a new report ranks Oklahoma 33rd in the nation in the ability of residents to build wealth and fend off poverty. The Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, co-released by OK Policy and the Corporation for Enterprise Development, shows that while we do well on levels of homeownership, we are in the bottom for income poverty, reliance on predatory lenders and subprime credit, and the number of uninsured. The Journal Record [subscriber only] looks at some proposed laws that would make it even harder to be poor in Oklahoma.

Lawmakers speaking at a StateImpact Oklahoma forum in Stillwater raised doubts about cutting the income tax. Class sizes are continuing to rise in Tulsa-area school districts as they struggle to deal with successive state budget cuts over the past few years. Pay increases for judges and district attorneys look unlikely this year, since they are tied to the salaries of statewide elected officials eager to gain political credit for going without raises.

Oklahoma City is recovering more quickly from the recession than Tulsa, and an economist told the OKC Council that the two cities may be diverging economically. Health Commissioner Terry Cline is proposing a more narrowly focused bill this year in hopes of winning local control of tobacco policies. The OkieBret blog profiled the occupation, religion, and educational backgrounds of Oklahoma’s state legislators.

The Number of the Day is how many Oklahoma children under age 6 need daily child care during the week because their primary caregiver/s participate in the labor force. In today’s Policy Note, Demos shows that the pay premium gained by joining the federal workforce is reserved largely for less-skilled workers, and rather than disparaging public sector pay levels, we should embrace them as standards from which the private sector has shamefully deviated over the last three decades.

Many Oklahomans lack wealth to fend off poverty, scorecard says

Oklahoma ranks 33rd in the nation in the ability of residents to build wealth and fend off poverty, according to a national study released Tuesday. Article Gallery: Many Oklahomans lack wealth to fend off poverty, report says The state received a grade of D in measurements of Oklahomans’ financial assets and income, and access to health care, according the report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development. Nearly half (48.2 percent) of Oklahomans are “liquid asset poor,” meaning they lack the financial cushion to respond to unemployment or another emergency that causes a loss of income, the report said. “We score very high on the percentage of employers with low-wage work,” said Kate Richey, policy analyst for the Oklahoma Policy Institute. “You might have a job, but having a job isn’t enough to make sure you can pay bills but have some extra padding.” Richey said her organization supports the establishment of a statewide Individual Development Account program, which matches savings of low- and middle-income residents to help residents pay for education, buy a home or start a business. Such programs are supplemented with federal grants, she said.

Read more from NewsOK.

Up a Creek: Scorecard shows over a quarter of Oklahomans unprepared to weather financial crisis

In Oklahoma, more than one in four households are “asset poor,” meaning they have little or no financial cushion to rely on if unemployment or another emergency leads to a loss of income, according to a report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). Asset poverty is distinct from and broader than income poverty, which measures the amount of money a household receives during the year. According to the U.S. Census, about one in six Oklahomans were income poor in 2010. Andrea Levere, president of CFED, highlights asset poverty as a significant barrier to long-term financial stability: Growing numbers of Americans have almost no savings or other assets to fall back on if they lose their jobs or face a medical crisis. Without those savings, few will be able to invest in a more economically secure future, including buying a home, saving for their children’s college educations or building a retirement nest egg. The 2012 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard offers a comprehensive look at Oklahomans’ ability to build wealth, fend off poverty, and create a more prosperous future. The Scorecard compares states along 52 different measures of how residents fare in five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Housing & Homeownership, Health Care and Education.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

Experts question proposed laws long-term effects on people in poverty

With the state’s poverty rate rapidly approaching 16 percent and nearly one in four Oklahoma children living at or below the poverty line, a series of new legislative proposals could make life even more difficult for the poor and the underprivileged. In fact, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, the problem of poverty – and the results – is growing worse. OK Policy Director David Blatt said even as the economy improves, a large segment of Oklahoma’s population is encountering ongoing hardship. He cited unemployment and the large number of families that turn to public benefit programs such as food stamps. Those numbers – about a third of the state’s 3.6 million residents already receive some type of nutritional or health-related service from the government – are expected to grow, and a spate of new rules and proposed laws would make being poor in Oklahoma all the more difficult.

Read more from The Journal Record [subscriber only].

Representatives answer community tax concerns

The State Impact Oklahoma forum presented an opportunity for discussion Tuesday night in an effort to educate citizens about the state budget and legislation. The event, co-hosted by KOSU public radio, allowed the public the chance to ask questions concerning the state’s tax situation. The forum at Hideaway Restaurant included Sen. Jim Halligan (R-Stillwater), Rep. Cory T. Williams (D-Stillwater) and Dave Shideler, assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at OSU. Discussion began with questions from the forum hosts, where the question of lowering the state income tax arose early on. “My position on the state income tax is that it has to be revenue neutral,” Halligan said. As the panel explained, revenue neutrality is the means of making up revenue in some other way after giving up the income tax. Williams also voiced his own view on income tax cuts. “It depends on how far you’re going to cut it,” he said. “Unfortunately, the lion’s share is in personal exemptions, and if we eliminate that, it really means a tax increase of $40 to $60 a month on those families in the state of Oklahoma. That is the biggest pot in the chase, and I’m not really sure that is where Oklahoma wants to go.”

Read more from The Daily O’Collegian.

Class sizes swell as state aid declines, enrollment rises

Class size remains a critical issue in some Tulsa-area school districts as they struggle to recover from successive state budget cuts over the past few years. Oklahoma has had class-size restrictions in place since 1990 when House Bill 1017 became law and mandated class sizes of 20 for kindergarten to sixth grade. But as state budget shortfalls grew, the state Legislature in 2010 placed a two-year moratorium on imposing penalties on districts that fail to comply with class-size restrictions. “We really try to protect class size, but this particular year we’ve seen some of our classes at some of our elementary sites on the high side of 25,” said Claremore Superintendent Mike McClaren. Claremore lost more than $5 million to budget cuts the past three years and is operating with 25 fewer teachers, McClaren said. In past years, Union Assistant Superintendent Kathy Dodd said she could hire a teacher based on pre-enrollment figures to ensure appropriate class sizes before school started. But budget cuts in recent years have left no room for additional hires and have forced Union and other school districts to wait until the school year begins to adjust class sizes. That often means teachers are shuffled from one class to another, even one grade to another, to balance class sizes after school has begun, she said.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Pay raise for judges falls victim to politics around elected officials’ salaries

Gov. Mary Fallin has come out against a proposed 6 percent pay hike for statewide elected officials, including her own office. Most of the state’s secondary officeholders lined up with similar statements Tuesday, while state Superintendent Janet Barresi said on Monday that she would turn away the extra money if it were allocated. Meanwhile, House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, reiterated opposition not only to pay hikes for statewide officials but for judges, district attorneys and others. A pending plan to raise judges’ salaries would trigger a series of other pay hikes – from the Governor’s Office down to district attorneys – and would end up costing the state nearly $3 million. In October, the state Board of Judicial Compensation proposed raising judicial salaries at all levels. Judicial salaries were last raised in 2008, so the proposed increase would amount to 1 percent per year since then. State Insurance Commissioner John Doak said he hasn’t asked for a raise and that money wasn’t what drew him to run for office, but he added that judicial salaries deserve their own consideration.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Economist: OKC, Tulsa Gap grows

Economists are concerned that the recession recovery gap between Oklahoma City and Tulsa doesn’t look to be closing as predicted, Oklahoma City Council members were told Tuesday at the city’s annual budget workshop. “Oklahoma City increasingly appears economically independent from Tulsa – a pattern worth watching in the upcoming decade,” said Russell Evans, executive director of Oklahoma City University’s Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute. Manufacturing activity is increasingly concentrated in Tulsa, while oil and gas business grows in Oklahoma City. That wasn’t the case a decade ago, but it seems to be part of a long-term trend now, he said. And employment continues to favor Oklahoma City as well. At the end of 2008, just before the national economy fell so steeply, Oklahoma City had just reached its highest, nonfarm employment figure of 577,500. That number has only recently regained its strength at 567,800 jobs as of September, Evans said. But Tulsa is still far below its high number of 434,400 jobs, now at just 416,300.

Read more from The Journal Record [subscriber only].

Narrower focus may give smoke-free measure better chance to succeed

The No. 1 legislative priority for Oklahoma Health Commissioner Terry Cline this year is to pass a law that gives municipalities more latitude in going smoke free. A bill carried by House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, wound up getting scuttled over concerns that it could be detrimental to businesses. As QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh saw it, one section meant giving cities and towns the ability to restrict merchandising of tobacco products, raise or lower the smoking age, or even to institute an excise tax on smokes. The issue for Cline is that cities and towns in Oklahoma are prohibited from enacting tobacco-related rules that are stricter than state law. His aim is local control, and he cites places such as Texas, where its major cities have used local control to go smoke free.

Read more from NewsOK.

Meet the Oklahoma legislature

Our state Legislature meets every year from February until May. A legislative session covers a two-year period. The 2nd Regular Session of the 53rd Legislature reconvenes on February 6, 2012. The Oklahoma Constitution requires that they Sine Die (adjourn) by 5:00 p.m. on the last Friday in May, which is May 25th this year. Both the State Senate and the House of Representatives have websites where you can look up legislators to see what committees they serve on, where they live, and other biographical information that they choose to share with the public. When I began this project a few months ago, there were 30 members who did not list any information about their educational background. I contacted those members numerous times by email and called their offices and left messages. Only 9 responded with the information I requested. Of the 21 who never responded, two were Democrats and 19 were Republicans (two females and 19 males). Of the information I gathered from their websites, or from their personal responses, the following is a brief profile of the 53rd Oklahoma State Legislature – those who passed new laws last year and will make new laws this year.

Read more from OkieBrent’s Soapbox.

We continue to see the privatization of public education for universities. The fraction contributed by the state, not just in Oklahoma, continues to go down, and the fraction paid by the students continues to go up.
-Sen. Jim Halligan (R-Stillwater)

178, 020

Number of Oklahoma children under age 6 who need daily child care during the week because their primary caregiver/s participate in the labor force, 2009

Source: National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Federal workers deserve higher pay — just like other workers

The Congressional Budget Office released a report yesterday revealing that, on average, federal employees earn 16 percent more than their peers in the private sector. And, true to form, austerity hawks in Washington have wasted no time blowing their gaskets in protest. If you take a closer look, you’ll find that the pay disparity between federal workers and their private sector counterparts actually varies greatly by education level: federal civilian workers with a high school diploma or less earn on average about 21 percent more than similar workers in the private sector, while those with a bachelor’s degree earn roughly the same as their private sector counterparts and those with professional degrees ultimately earn about 23 percent less. The pay premium gained by joining the federal workforce is therefore reserved largely for less-skilled workers — once you recognize this, it’s hard to classify higher wages for these folks as a case of wasteful overpayment, since there is virtually no group in the U.S. more impacted by declining wages than Americans with a high school diploma or less. Since 1980, earnings for those without a high school diploma plummeted nearly 21 percent, and those with a high school diploma only saw their earnings increase 2 percent. Rather than disparaging public sector pay levels, we should be embracing them as standards from which the private sector has shamefully deviated over the three decades.

Read more from Demos.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that the legislature’s Foster Care System Improvement Task Force said reforms need to begin with more funding. The Tulsa World highlights the need for funds to respond to the looming physician shortage. NewsOK discusses several other serious needs that legislators must balance in the coming legislative session. The OK Policy Blog points out that if legislators make the choice to prioritize tax cuts, they cannot pretend to be blameless when funds aren’t available.

A GOP push to reduce or eliminate the income tax is emerging in seven states, but many have doubts. Grover Norquist sent a letter to every member of the Oklahoma Legislature saying that ending any tax expenditures without matching tax cuts would violate an anti-tax pledge.  OK Policy previously discussed a similar dispute with Norquist in which Oklahoma lawmakers rejected his interpretation. Supporters of Oklahoma’s infant motion picture industry are fighting to preserve a $5 million incentive program.

The Oklahoma State Chamber announced its legislative priorities for this year, including more workers’ comp changes, ensuring income tax cuts aren’t replaced by shifting taxes onto businesses, and establishing a health insurance exchange with no federal or state funds. OK Policy previously explained why the window for Oklahoma to build its own exchange and avoid a federal takeover may have already closed.

Tulsa Superintendent Keith Ballard asked lawmakers to “fiercely resist” a rumored attempt by the State Department of Education to take over a Tulsa high school. The Oklahoma Attorney General is investigating two tribes’ online payday lending operations. Municipalities are upset that they have little say in what the Grand River Dam Authority does, but are responsible for most of its debt.

The Number of the Day is how many manufacturing jobs were added in Oklahoma from January to December of 2011. In today’s Policy Note, the Economic Policy Institute points out that the massive tax cuts propose by GOP presidential candidates don’t square with professed concerns about public debt.

Task Force: Foster care reform begins with funding

Adding to the possible reforms of Oklahoma’s child-welfare system, the legislatively created Foster Care System Improvement Task Force has pitched in its suggestions starting with “adequately funding” the recommendations. The task force was created by House Bill 1359 by Rep. Ron Peters, R-Tulsa and Sen. Rick Brinkley, R-Owasso, to examine the foster care system against federal outcomes and identify areas of improvement. Recommendations include upping reimbursement rates for foster parents, expanding trauma training for all professionals involved in child welfare, paying staff based on performance outcomes and ensuring social workers have proper education for the job. Commissioner Richard DeVaughn said the report backs what the agency has been seeking. “I like this report,” DeVaughn said. “These are things we’ve been asking for for years now. Instead of getting it, we’ve gotten cuts. All these boil down to money.”

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Lawmakers must address looming physician shortage

A measure that could help address the looming shortage of physicians in Oklahoma is on its way to the Legislature. We can only hope that lawmakers appreciate the seriousness of this problem and agree to do something about it. Last week, the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education agreed to ask lawmakers for $4 million to fund the Oklahoma Healthcare Physician Shortage Initiative. Regents want to direct $1 million each to the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and a total of $2 million to regional and community colleges. The money would go toward helping to increase the number of medical students in the state’s educational pipeline. Oklahoma is plagued by a host of chronic and in some cases worsening health woes, including such problems as tobacco use, obesity and access to primary health care. The access problem has grown worse in recent years as aging doctors retire and are not replaced by newcomers, especially in remote and rural communities. In fact, one national publication recently found that Oklahoma will have the worst access problem in the country as the ranks of the Medicaid population grow in response to federal health-care reform.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Balancing needs a tough chore facing legislature

With state revenue on the uptick, the Legislature won’t have to render a flat-out no to every agency that comes through the door asking for more money. Neither can it say yes to every request. Priority-setting is paramount, and it pits not only one agency against another but the present against the future. Take, for example, this year’s budget request from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. The agency is asking for $43.1 million, a whopping increase from this year’s $17.8 million appropriation. OCAST’s argument — and it’s a good one — is that for every state dollar allocated to the agency, $20 more is returned to the state in private and federal investments. Unlike other state agencies, the focus isn’t so much on meeting day-to-day needs and demands as it is building for the future. The state’s pending settlement over child welfare issues will certainly cost the state money. It can no longer ignore the high caseloads of child welfare workers — a problem that will require money to fix. Common education wants back the money it lost last year, including enough to fund the stipends promised to teachers if they achieved national certification. The Department of Corrections has chronic funding issues tied in part to an expensive crime-and-punishment mentality that favors jail time for those who might be better served in alternative courts or community-based programs. The state’s mental health and substance abuse department wants money for such alternatives.

Read more from NewsOK.

The buck stops anywhere but here

Last week I participated in a StateImpact Oklahoma forum on the state budget with Rep. Earl Sears, the Chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee (R-Bartlesville), and Sen. Tom Adelson (D-Tulsa). An audience member asked the legislators what they would do to ensure that more individuals with mental illness were provided treatment in the community rather than in jails and penitentiaries. Rep. Sears responded by saying that he is very supportive of the work being done by Commissioner Terri White and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In particular, Rep. Sears praised the Department’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative‘ that uses evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism and decrease demand for correctional beds. The initiative, however, requires an upfront investment estimated at close to $100 million. And, Rep. Sears stated ruefully, we just don’t have $100 million to invest in Smart on Crime. Rep. Sears is a thoughtful and caring legislator who has done solid work chairing the House appropriations committee. But to say we don’t have money to fund the Smart on Crime initiative is misleading. Yes, we’ve had three straight years of budget cuts and are looking at continued shortfalls or flat funding for next year. But our budget shortfalls are due in part to the policy decisions of our elected officials.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

GOP pols take aim at state income taxes

A year after Republicans swept into office across the country, many have trained their sights on what has long been a fiscal conservative’s dream: the steep reduction or even outright elimination of state income taxes. The idea has circulated among academics and think-tank researchers for years. But it’s moving quietly into mainstream political discourse, despite the fact that such sweeping changes would almost certainly mean a total rewiring of tax systems at a time when most states are still struggling in the aftermath of the recession. The GOP has launched income tax efforts in Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina. But it’s not clear how all those states would make up for the lost revenue, and Kim Rueben, an expert on state taxation at the Brookings Urban Tax Policy Center, said she’s not aware of any state in modern history that has eliminated an income tax. Nine states already get by without an income tax, mostly by tapping other sources of revenue. Nevada and Florida rely on sales taxes that target the tourism industry. Alaska has taxes on natural resources, and Texas imposes substantial property taxes. But in the rest of the country, income taxes pay for bedrock government services, including roads and bridges and schools and prison systems.

Read more from the Associated Press.

Anti-tax interest group says “no new taxes” pledge also applies to ending tax breaks

Just days before the start of the 2012 legislative session in Oklahoma City, a pair of conservative leaders have laid down a strict interpretation of the tax pledge signed in recent years by nearly all Republicans (and many Democrats) in the Legislature. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Stuart Jolly of Americans for Prosperity (Oklahoma) sent the letter, addressed to every member of the Oklahoma state House of Representatives and Senate, as discussion of income tax rate reductions intensify. That discussion has paralleled intense scrutiny of business incentives and tax credits, with proposals to strictly limit some of those programs, in part as a means to free up revenues that can be applied to tax reduction or limitation. The letter states: “As the 2012 legislative session begins, it is important to remember that ending a tax credit or deduction without an offsetting tax cut is a tax increase. “When you end a credit or deduction, you take income away from the taxpayer and give it to the government. This is undeniably a tax increase.”

Read more from CapitolBeatOK.

Previously: When lawmakers sign a pledge, who are they working for? from the OK Policy Blog

Filmmakers fight to preserve incentive

Supporters of Oklahoma’s infant motion picture industry are on a mission to preserve a $5 million incentive program at a time when other states are scaling back their film subsidies. In the past four years, state rebates have helped finance 20 feature films with production in Oklahoma, including 2010′s “The Killer Inside Me” featuring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. Three months into the 2012 fiscal year, the program had already committed its entire $5 million allocation. Rep. David Dank, chairman of the legislative task force, said he wants advocates of the film program to show that the incentive is providing a positive economic return. ”We give them up to 37 percent of all of their costs, and there aren’t any full-time jobs from that,” said Dank, R-Oklahoma City. “They say there will be full-time jobs in the future. But I want to know when and where.” Simpson said this year’s $5 million state subsidy is expected to stimulate $15 million in direct spending by filmmakers for crew labor, lodging, food, supplies and other production expenses in Oklahoma. Although most of the work is temporary, she said the goal is to generate enough activity over time to support permanent employment for crew personnel and support firms.

Read more from Oklahoma Watch.

Oklahoma State Chamber announces legislative priorities

Allowing Oklahoma employers to obtain alternative workers’ compensation coverage and gradually reducing the state’s personal income tax rate are among priorities of The State Chamber for the upcoming session. Restructuring the state’s tax system to allow for the gradual reduction of the state’s personal income tax should be done with assurance the tax burden to make up for the lost personal income tax revenue will not be shifted onto businesses, such as new taxes on services, said Fred Morgan, president of The State Chamber. The business organization with about 2,100 members also supports developing a health insurance marketplace, or exchange, without using federal or state funds. The federal health care law requires states to submit plans for health insurance exchanges if states don’t want to use a federal system; the federal government will impose its version of an insurance exchange on states that don’t set up their own. The deadline is Jan. 1.

Read more from NewsOK.

Previously: Clock ticks down on state-run health insurance exchange from the OK Policy Blog

TPS fears partial state seizure of schools

The possibility of a state takeover of Tulsa school sites was among a list of hot topics that came up during a special meeting Friday that the Tulsa school board hosted for legislators. The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s application for a federal No Child Left Behind Act waiver includes a “state turnaround” model that could affect as many as 18 low-performing Tulsa Public Schools if approved.State Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, D-Tulsa, told local officials that she has heard State Superintendent Janet Barresi is “targeting” a school in her district – Hale High School, 6960 E. 21st St. – for a state takeover. “What will be Tulsa Public Schools’ response?” McDaniel asked. Superintendent Keith Ballard, responded: “We will vigorously oppose any takeover in this school system. We are doing everything we can to reform. I think it would be an abomination if the state came in now, at this point.” He went on to say that he had received multiple reports of Barresi discussing the idea with lawmakers at the Capitol. He asked the 10 or so state representatives and senators in attendance to “fiercely resist” it.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Tribe-owned PayDay lenders under investigation by Oklahoma Attorney General

The state attorney general’s office is watching the activities of two eastern Oklahoma tribes involved in the high-interest, online lending industry. Diane Clay, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, told The Oklahoman the Miami and Modoc tribes of Oklahoma are the focus of the scrutiny. In 2010, payday lenders in the state generated fees of $51.6 million on nearly $400 million in loans, according to an annual report on the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit’s website. Nearly a million payday loans were taken out in Oklahoma that year, which is the latest year available for comparison, and by the end of 2010 more than 150,000 people had turned to the high-interest loans to get cash before their next paycheck. Payday loans are regulated by state law and cannot exceed $500. But the payday-like lending operations being run by companies affiliated by the Miami and Modoc tribes often get around these state laws.

Read more from NewsOK.

Municipalities want more influence on GRDA board

Municipalities shoulder 87 percent of the debt of the Grand River Dam Authority because they buy that percentage of GRDA‘s generated power, yet they have only one voice on its seven-member board of directors, Mannford town administrator Mike Nunneley said Monday. “Anything that happens at GRDA is funded by my ratepayers,” Nunneley told the Joint Legislative Task Force on the GRDA. As most board members have no ties with GRDA customers, he said, municipalities have little say in what the northeastern Oklahoma power authority does, such as approving a $250 million bond issue. Nunneley said his town’s rates for wholesale electricity have been increased by 12 percent. Rural electric cooperatives also have a seat on the board. The co-op and municipal power representatives serve as ex officio voting members. Nunneley said that means the entities that pay the majority of GRDA’s hundreds of millions of dollars in debt have two seats out of seven on the board. He said at least two more are needed.

Read more from 23rd and Lincoln.

If you look at our state’s economy, it’s doing very well versus virtually any other state, whether they have a state income tax or not.
-Scott Meacham, former State Treasurer who is now a member of the board of directors for the State Chamber

8,100

Number of manufacturing jobs added in Oklahoma from January to December of 2011, up 8.4 percent for the year.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Massive tax cuts don’t square with professed concerns about public debt

The Washington Post editorial board astutely notes that the budget busting tax plans of the GOP presidential candidates contradict purported concerns about the budget deficit and national debt. Relative to the inadequate revenue levels collected by current tax policies, the tax plans would lose between $180 billion and $900 billion in 2015 alone—or between 1.0 percent and 4.9 percent of GDP. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s tax plan and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s tax plans, respectively, represent the low and high end of this range, but former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich gives Santorum a run for his money with a tax plan that would lose $850 billion, or 4.6 percent of GDP, in 2015. Under an extension of current policies, the budget deficit is projected to average around 4.3 percent of GDP over the next decade, which is unsustainable in the sense that debt as a share of the economy will continue to rise instead of stabilizing in the second half of the decade. Despite all the fear mongering rhetoric about Washington’s fiscal malfeasance heard from the GOP campaign trail, some of the candidates’ tax plans would more than double the budget deficit over the next decade.

Read more from the Economic Policy Institute.

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In Oklahoma, more than one in four households are “asset poor,” meaning they have little or no financial cushion to rely on if unemployment or another emergency leads to a loss of income, according to a report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED).  Asset poverty is distinct from and broader than income poverty, which measures the amount of money a household receives during the year.  According to the U.S. Census, about one in six Oklahomans were income poor in 2010.  Andrea Levere, president of CFED, highlights asset poverty as a significant barrier to long-term financial stability:

Growing numbers of Americans have almost no savings or other assets to fall back on if they lose their jobs or face a medical crisis.  Without those savings, few will be able to invest in a more economically secure future, including buying a home, saving for their children’s college educations or building a retirement nest egg.

The 2012 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard offers a comprehensive look at Oklahomans’ ability to build wealth, fend off poverty, and create a more prosperous future. The Scorecard compares states along 52 different measures of how residents fare in five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Housing & Homeownership, Health Care and Education.

Oklahoma ranks 33rd overall and earns a “D” in Financial Assets & Income, with above-average income poverty and an over-reliance on predatory lenders and subprime credit. In Health Care, the state ranks 46th in the overall uninsured rate and 47th in uninsured low-income parents. We rank 43rd in residents with two- or four-year college degrees. The one bright spot among the five issue areas for Oklahoma is in housing and homeownership. The state earned a “B” on the Scorecard and ranks 14th in overall homeownership and housing affordability.

The Scorecard also highlights a dozen policy solutions that can help Oklahoma increase opportunity and promote financial stability.  To address asset and income poverty, Oklahoma should fund a state Individual Development Account program to help its low-income population build wealth. To improve its below-average secondary and post-secondary educational outcomes, Oklahoma should increase funding to schools, especially in high-poverty districts, and match savings for college in 529 accounts. In addition, to protect assets and avoid the pitfalls of predatory high-cost loans, Oklahoma should increase access to safe financial products and limit high interest rates and other harmful practices of payday lenders.

Oklahoma Policy Institute is co-releasing the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard as part of an ongoing commitment to advance anti-poverty policies in Oklahoma that prioritize wealth creation and asset-building for low- and middle-income households.  Oklahoma Policy Institute Director, David Blatt, interprets the scorecard results to mean that, “Too few Oklahomans have a college degree and too many are living in asset poverty, without the savings to weather a financial setback or invest in their future. We need better policies that ensure that all Oklahomans are on a path to prosperity and we must protect existing policies, like tax credits for working families, that help hundreds of thousands of households make ends meet.”

The Scorecard paints a picture of a country where middle class families continue to fall further behind more than two years after the official end of the recession.  For ‘asset poor’ families, making ends meet from day to day is a constant struggle and investing in the future is all but impossible.  Locally, a new organization is committed to promoting those policies that improve the outlook for poor, near poor, and middle class Oklahomans.  The mission of Oklahoma Assets is to advocate policies and programs, like the ones just outlined, that create a more inclusive economy – one in which financial success, economic stability, and opportunity are available for all.

To download a summary of Oklahoma’s Scorecard click here.

To view all Oklahoma data from the 2012 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard click here.

To access the complete Scorecard, including data from all 50 states click here.

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Rep. Earl Sears

Last week I participated in a StateImpact Oklahoma forum on the state budget with Rep. Earl Sears, the Chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee (R-Bartlesville),  and Sen. Tom Adelson (D-Tulsa).  An audience member asked the legislators what they would do to ensure that more individuals with mental illness were provided treatment in the community rather than in jails and penitentiaries.

Rep. Sears responded by saying that he is very supportive of the work being done by Commissioner Terri White and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to raise awareness about the prevalence and cost of mental illness. In particular, Rep. Sears praised the Department’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative‘ that uses evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism and decrease demand for correctional beds. By diverting non-violent offenders into programs such as drug court, mental health court, or other similar programs, Smart on Crime can reduce incarceration and ultimately save substantial tax dollars. The initiative, however, requires an upfront investment estimated at close to $100 million. And, Rep. Sears stated ruefully, we just don’t have $100 million to invest in Smart on Crime.

Rep. Sears is a thoughtful and caring legislator who has done solid work chairing the House appropriations committee. But to say we don’t have money to fund the Smart on Crime initiative is misleading. Yes, we’ve had three straight years of budget cuts and are looking at continued shortfalls or flat funding for next year.  But our budget shortfalls are due in part to the policy decisions of our elected officials. In the mid-2000s, the legislature and governor approved the largest tax cuts in Oklahoma history, with a fiscal impact estimated at some $770 million annually in lost revenue. Just this month, Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate fell from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent. This tax cut has a revenue impact of $120 million, with most of the benefit going to upper-income households.  Last year the legislature could have decided to repeal or suspend the tax cut based on the ongoing fiscal crisis and the continued cuts to vital public services. They chose not to.

As Senator Adelson noted at the forum, the legislature also chose not curtail tax credits to oil and gas producers that exempt most horizontal and deep well drilling from the gross production tax. These are paid out regardless of the price of oil and gas, so in many cases they are subsidizing production that would already be profitable. They cost the state from $80 million to $120 million annually. The legislature did vote to defer payment on these credits for two years – but the bill is now coming due, adding to the state’s obligations over the next three budget years. Many other narrow tax exemptions, such as the one that makes NBA basketball ticket exempt from the sales tax, have also been left intact.

Now, at a time when the state has some 6,400 persons with developmental disabilities on a waiting list for services, when some 600-900 people each day are on a waiting list for mental health treatment beds, when the legislature has eliminated funding for programs promoting quality teaching and schools, what is at the top of this year’s legislative agenda? Further cuts to the  state income tax- or perhaps its complete elimination.

Legislators may choose to prioritize further tax cuts over securing funds for initiatives like Smart on Crime that would help address our most troubling social problems and save money over the long run. But if they make that choice, they cannot pretend to be blameless when the funds aren’t available. Oklahomans deserve honesty from our elected representatives, not buck-passing.

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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.

Today you should know that two state lawmakers have proposed eliminating all state funding for OETA, the statewide public television network. The OK Policy Blog previously featured a guest post from the OETA Board Chair on why the network is vital to the public education mission of Oklahoma. Inadequate mental health facilities in Oklahoma continues to be a drain on law enforcement, with officers sometimes needing to travel 461-miles round trip to find an open mental health bed.

The liability cap for people killed or injured by the government in Oklahoma is much lower than in most other states. DHS is moving ahead with reforms mandated by a lawsuit settlement over foster care abuses. The agency also paid $92,500 in a settlement over a three-year-old’s death. One measure pending in the legislature would require a woman to listen to a fetal heartbeat before ending her pregnancy, and two others would declare that life begins at conception.

The number of homeless veterans in Oklahoma declined by more than 25 percent between 2009 and 2011, due in part to a new initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs. A report last week by the Violence Policy Center ranked Oklahoma No. 4 in per-capita “black-on-black” homicides. Oklahoma is one of 15 states that has made the least progress toward establishing a health insurance exchange, but also one whose people could most benefit from one, a study by the Urban Institute shows.

The Tulsa World provides an overview of the income tax debate in Oklahoma. The Number of the Day is the average tax increase on elderly Oklahoma couples with $35,000 in income under a legislative proposal to eliminate a slate of broad-based tax credits and exemptions in order to pay for a cut in the top rate. Find more on this issue at OK Policy’s tax reform information page. In today’s Policy Note, the Foundation for Child Development finds that states with higher taxes and greater investment in public programs score highest for Child Well-Being.

Legislators propose eliminating all state funding for OETA

Two state legislators have proposed zero-funding for OETA, the statewide educational television network. While the move wouldn’t kill the state signal for Big Bird and ”Antiques Roadshow,” it would mean a lot fewer Oklahomans would be able to get it, the executive director of OETA said. OETA is the only Oklahoma public media to receive state appropriations. KOSU and KGOU – public radio stations licensed to Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma – receive their state funding indirectly through those schools, not through appropriations. Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Tuttle, author of HB 3039, said the bill represents a reprioritization of state spending. She specifically cited the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, which needs state funding to protect the lives of children, as an agency with a higher priority than OETA. John McCarroll, executive director for OETA, said eliminating the agency’s appropriation would certainly lead to less of the state getting the network’s signal. OETA’s state appropriation has gone from $5.2 million three years ago to $3.8 million this year.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Previously: Guest Blog (Dr. James Utterback): OETA is vital to the public education mission of Oklahoma from the OK Policy Blog

Lack of mental health beds a drain on law enforcement

When Tulsa Police officers answer a disturbance call and recognize signs of mental illness, they take the person to a local hospital for an evaluation – which often begins the search for an available bed at a mental health treatment facility. Sometimes, the only available bed is at Fort Supply in northwest Oklahoma, a 461-mile round trip. Tulsa police officers made 286 trips to move 357 mental health patients to crisis centers and hospitals as far as Fort Supply between June 2010 – when the department started keeping such records – and December 2011. They drove more than 65,700 miles, at a cost of 2,880 man hours and $81,335 in salary. “It is truly a broken system,” Tulsa Police Major Tracie Lewis said. “It’s costly for us, and time consuming and draining. And it’s really such a horrible process for the patients themselves. They’re on the road, in a police car, handcuffed – and they typically have no family support where they are going.” Statewide, a shortage of mental health treatment facilities is wasting taxpayer money and taxing local police resources, according to a report released earlier this month that aims to reduce Oklahoma’s future prison spending.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Oklahoma’s low liability cap leaves some victims holding the bag

To the state of Vermont, life is worth up to $500,000. In Indiana, it goes up to $700,000. In Georgia, the price of life tops out at a cool $1 million. But in Oklahoma, if the government kills or maims you accidentally, you’re worth a lot less. The recent case of Broken Arrow’s John Zane has brought scrutiny to the Oklahoma Tort Claims Act. Zane was run over by a Broken Arrow school bus Dec. 16 while waiting at a stoplight on his motorcycle, and he now faces medical costs and wage losses that seem certain to far exceed the state’s $125,000 liability limit for most government entities. At least 38 other states have laws that treat people injured or killed by the government more generously than Oklahoma, a Tulsa World review of the 50 state laws found.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

DHS moving ahead on settlement requirements

Holding child welfare staff summits is part of building the improvement plan under an agreement to settle a federal class action lawsuit against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. The DHS oversight commission and New York-based nonprofit Children’s Rights reached the settlement agreement earlier this month. The lawsuit filed in 2008 alleged abuses in the state’s foster-care system. While a fairness hearing is set for Feb. 29 to take testimony from class members, DHS officials are moving forward with the central focus of the agreement, which is to develop a plan to improve the system in 15 areas. The plan is to be ready by March 30 for approval by three independent monitors, who will oversee whether progress is being made during the next several years. DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said a section on the agency’s website will provide updates and give a place for the public to give comments.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

See also: Oklahoma pays $92,500 to settle lawsuit over child’s death from NewsOK

Oklahoma lawmakers file more abortion measures

One measure pending in the Oklahoma Legislature would require a woman to listen to a fetal heartbeat before ending her pregnancy. Sen. Dan Newberry, R-Tulsa, says his Senate Bill 1274, dubbed the “Heartbeat Informed Consent Act,” is not necessarily to discourage abortion but to ensure that a woman has a full understanding of what she is doing. Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, has filed Senate Bill 1433, which would declare that life begins at conception. The measure does not impose any penalties on women who end their pregnancies or for those who perform abortions, he said. Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, has filed a “personhood” measure that goes further than Crain’s bill. Reynolds’ House Joint Resolution 1067 would put the issue to a vote of the people. Reynolds said his proposal would allow prosecution for the taking of a human life. It has exemptions for treatment for life-threatening conditions but not rape or incest. The state has spent at least $120,000 defending prior laws putting restrictions on abortions.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Program helping reduce number of homeless Oklahoma veterans

The number of homeless veterans in Oklahoma declined by more than 25 percent between 2009 and 2011, according to data released this month. There were 475 homeless veterans in the state in 2009. Last year, agencies reported 356 homeless veterans, according to data from the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Local officials said the decline is part of a culture change that puts the full force of the Department of Veterans Affairs behind the initiative to reduce the number, with the overall goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015, announced in 2009 by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. The VA has partnered with local agencies to help identify homeless veterans, get them stable housing then start working on what led to homelessness, from substance abuse to addictions to war-related physical and mental injuries.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Oklahoma ranks 4th in black-on-black homicides

A report last week by the Washington D.C.-based Violence Policy Center ranked Oklahoma No. 4 in per-capita “black-on-black” homicides. Oklahoma’s rate in 2009, the year studied, was 27.96 homicides per 100,000 residents. Only Missouri, with 34.72 black homicides per 100,000, Michigan with 30.21 such murders, and Pennsylvania with 28.30 homicides per 100,000 population, ranked higher. “While Oklahoma has the fourth highest state rate of black homicide victimization, homicides are devastating black teens and adults across the nation,” Josh Sugarmann, VPC executive director and study co-author, said. He urged communities with these higher homicide rates to focus on the toll that guns, in the wrong hands, are extracting. It is true that most black homicide victims – 90 percent of those who died in Oklahoma – are killed with a gun. The availability and proliferation of guns, however, are far from the whole story. Poverty, joblessness and gang involvement also are factors.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Oklahoma would benefit from health insurance exchange, study finds

Oklahoma is one of 15 states that has made the least progress toward establishing a health insurance exchange but also one whose people could most benefit from one, a study by the Urban Institute shows. Three attempts to legislate a basis for an Oklahoma exchange failed last year under pressure from conservative Republicans. Gov. Mary Fallin accepted but later rejected a $54 million federal grant to build an exchange. The resistance is ironic, the study points out, because Oklahoma has a great deal to benefit from the health care law in terms of reducing the number of uninsured people and reducing the amount of uncompensated care absorbed by government agencies and medical providers. Oklahoma has some 597,000 uninsured people, about 19 percent of the population that is not eligible for Medicare, the report says. With an exchange, that number would go down to 259,000.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Income tax debates ratchets up in Oklahoma

Is the personal income tax all that’s keeping Oklahoma from economic nirvana? That seems to be the view of state leaders intent on abolishing that tax. But is it really that simple? The battle lines are drawn in the income-tax debate gearing up, and it’s hard to imagine the two sides could be any farther apart. A group of 23 House members is pushing legislation to phase out the personal income tax over 10 years. “In the past decade states without a personal income tax outpaced Oklahoma in economic growth and job creation,” declared Rep. David Brumbaugh, R-Broken Arrow, who also claimed those states have experienced twice the state and local revenue growth Oklahoma has. The Oklahoma Policy Institute, which quickly moved to the forefront of the save-the-income-tax movement, apparently has come across a different body of research than that tapped by lawmakers.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

See also: Tax reform information from Oklahoma Policy Institute

It’s costly for us, and time consuming and draining. And it’s really such a horrible process for the patients themselves. They’re on the road, in a police car, handcuffed – and they typically have no family support where they are going.
-Tulsa Police Major Tracie Lewis, speaking about people with mental illness that law enforcement officers must transport sometimes as far as 461 miles roundtrip to find an available mental health facility.

$136

Average tax increase on elderly Oklahoma couples with $35,000 in income under a legislative proposal to eliminate a slate of broad-based tax credits and exemptions.

Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Investing in public programs matters: How state policies impact children’s lives

Investing in Public Programs Matters: How State Policies Impact Children’s Lives, focuses on the results of the 2012 STATE Child Well-Being Index (CWI). The STATE CWI ranks children’s well-being in seven different domains for each state and compares them across states. In addition to state rankings, this report includes new findings about the strength of relationships between state policies and selected economic and demographic factors indicative of child well-being. The key findings from this study are: Higher State Taxes Are Better for Children. States that have higher tax rates generate higher revenues and have higher CWI values than states with lower tax rates. Public Investments in Children Matter. The amount of public investments in programs is strongly related to CWI values among states. Specifically, higher per-pupil spending on education, higher Medicaid child-eligibility thresholds, and higher levels of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits show a substantial correlation with child well-being across states.

Read more from The Foundation for Child Development.

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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk is dedicated to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts.

This week OK Policy explained what federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma.  Doug Hall of the Economic Policy Institute underscored the urgency of fixing America’s crumbling infrastructure.  Our director David Blatt spoke at a StateImpact Oklahoma forum about why proposals to reduce or eliminate the income tax would effectively raise taxes for most Oklahomans.

Also this week, we featured remarks by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley on how health care reform improves business competitiveness.  We posted event information about the first annual Grandparenting Workshop at Oklahoma State University.

Numbers of the Day

• $107 – Average tax increase on sixty percent of Oklahoma households under a legislative proposal to eliminate a slate of broad-based tax credits and exemptions.
• 8,600 – Number of jobs lost in state and local government in Oklahoma over 2010.
• $22,007 – Annual average wage for home health aides in Oklahoma, just below the federal poverty level for a family of four in 2010, $22,050
• 11 percent – Percentage of ex-offenders released in Oklahoma who were re-incarcerated for technical violations of their probation/parole in 2004, up from 3 percent in 1999.
• $34 million – Amount needed to repair sewer lines and make major improvements to two facilities slated for closure that house medically fragile, mentally disabled Oklahoma residents.

In The Know, Policy Notes

• The Center for Economic and Policy Research shares five reasons we should be concerned about the rising share of low-wage work.
• Touchstone examines the austerity curve, or the point at which cutting government spending becomes self-defeating because it lowers growth, depresses tax revenues, and pushes up social security spending by more than the government is cutting.
• The Century Foundation shares a series of graphs that bust the myths about food stamps.
• The Kaiser Family Foundation released their annual survey of employer health benefits, with a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage.

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