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The Weekly Wonk – February 3rd, 2012

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 16:38

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: Gov. Fallin proposes eliminating income tax

Fri, 02/03/2012 - 14:47

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.

In The News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quote of the Day

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

Number of the Day

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.

Policy Note

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.

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Watch This: What is a ‘Community School’?

Thu, 02/02/2012 - 17:46

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: Oklahoma tax refunds for the unbanked issued on MasterCard debit cards

Thu, 02/02/2012 - 15:12

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.

In The News

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quote of the Day

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

Number of the Day

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.

Policy Note

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.

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The pseudoephedrine debate: Available with or without a prescription?

Wed, 02/01/2012 - 15:58

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: More than one in four Oklahomans unprepared for financial crisis

Wed, 02/01/2012 - 15:24

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.

In The News

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.

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 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.

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.

In The Know: Task force says foster care reform begins with funding

Tue, 01/31/2012 - 15:05

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.

In The News

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 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.

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

Tue, 01/31/2012 - 14:45

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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The buck stops anywhere but here

Mon, 01/30/2012 - 16:16

Rep. Earl Sears

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: Legislators propose eliminating all state funding for OETA

Mon, 01/30/2012 - 14:55

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.

In The News

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

Quote of the Day

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.

Number 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.

Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Policy Note

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.

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

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The Weekly Wonk – January 27th, 2012

Fri, 01/27/2012 - 16:20

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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In The Know: Tulsa Chamber calls for more education funding

Fri, 01/27/2012 - 14:40

Today you should know that increasing education funding was number one on the list of legislative priorities for the Tulsa Metro Chamber and its partners in the OneVoice lobbying initiative. Speaking in a panel at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Republican legislative leaders urged caution before reducing or eliminating the top income tax rate. Democratic leaders warned about the harm a tax shift would do to middle-class families. Find more on the issue at OK Policy’s tax reform information page.

Rep. David Dank proposed extending a tax credit moratorium for another two years to give lawmakers time to consider the worthiness of each credit. The Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education requested funding for an initiative to combat a shortage of doctors in rural Oklahoma. The OK Policy Blog features remarks by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley about how health care reform helps improve business competitiveness.

High-stakes test scores for six schools were invalidated due to cheating during the 2010-11 school year. Over the last 20 years, the Oklahoma’s Promise Scholarship has helped about 50,000 students obtain access to a college education. Two members of Governor Fallin’s cabinet write in NewsOK that Oklahoma needs to do more to increase the number of college graduates.

Tulsa Emergency Infant Services, which provides diapers, food, and formula to families in serious need, is serving 6 times as many families as it did five years ago. The 2011 count of the homeless in Oklahoma City totaled 1,221 individuals living in shelters, transitional housing or without shelter, up almost 13 percent from 2010. It’s estimated the full population of homeless is up to five times higher. StateImpact Oklahoma looked at poverty in Okfuskee County, where 27.3 percent live at or below the poverty line.

The Number of the Day is the 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 today’s Policy Note, the Center for Economic and Policy Research shares five reasons we should be concerned about the rising share of low-wage work.

In The News

Tulsa Chamber calls for more education funding

Education funding leads the legislative priorities listed Thursday by the Tulsa Metro Chamber and its partners in the OneVoice lobbying initiative. Listed in order of priority behind education funding were: Quick Action Closing Fund; Gilcrease Expressway; municipal funding; funding for uninsured care at the Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic and the OSU Center for Health Services; road funding; OSU Medical Center funding; bond issue for capital investment, including the proposed Oklahoma Pop museum in Tulsa; matching funds for federal reimbursement programs such as Medicaid; and $2 million for a Tulsa community supercomputer. The wish list is likely to run smack against an already tight budget and proposals to eliminate the state income tax. While proponents say it can be done with little or no long-term loss of revenue, skeptics – including some in the Legislature – are many. The summary accompanying the list of priorities says OneVoice opposes “diversion of educational revenue sources such as property tax caps and tax exemptions and further reduction in the income tax rate.”

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Legislative leaders urge caution in reducing or eliminating state personal income tax rate

More study is needed before deciding whether and how much the state personal income tax can be further reduced, legislative leaders told members of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber on Thursday. Most people don’t like the income tax and want to see it eliminated, but “we need to look at this very calmly,” Senate President Pro Tem Bingman said during the chamber’s annual legislative breakfast. “We should take a methodical, logical approach, a systematic approach,” House Speaker Kris Steele said. Steele, R-Shawnee, and Bingman, R-Sapulpa, both said they welcome a thorough discussion on various proposals to reduce the income tax rate during this year’s session, which starts Feb. 6 and runs through late May. Some proposals call for the personal income tax’s gradual elimination, but the GOP legislative leaders said they want to make sure reducing that stream of revenue won’t harm the funding of core governmental services such as transportation, education, health and human services and public safety.

Read more from NewsOK.

See also: Leaders differ on reducing income tax from 23rd and Lincoln; Tax Reform Information from the Oklahoma Policy Institute

Extension of Oklahoma tax credit moratorium proposed

Economic tax credits no longer would be transferable and an existing moratorium on nearly 30 economic tax credit programs would be continued for another two years under proposals to be taken up by lawmakers this year, the chairman of a legislative task force on tax credits said Thursday. “This extended moratorium will give the Legislature additional time to consider the worthiness of each individual tax credit and to put in place specific criteria which the task force believes must apply to all tax credits, be they existing or future proposals, said Rep. David Dank, chairman of the Task Force for the Study of State Tax Credits and Economic Incentives. The existing moratorium is scheduled to expire Dec. 31. Tax credit programs in the moratorium include those for coal, railroads and the film industry. Two incentive programs, the small business tax credit program and the rural venture capital program, which have caused the state to lose more than $275 million in revenue during a three-year period, are also in the moratorium.

Read more from NewsOK.

Initiative aims to add rural doctors in Oklahoma

An initiative designed to combat a shortage of doctors in rural Oklahoma is headed to the state Legislature. The Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education approved a budget request Thursday that would fund the Oklahoma Healthcare Physician Shortage Initiative. The funding request would give $1 million each to the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as $2 million to regional and community colleges to help increase the number of medical school students. The regents’ office will submit the request to the Legislature for consideration. America’s Health Rankings for 2011 places Oklahoma at No. 48, two spots lower than the previous year. Only Mississippi and Louisiana fell behind Oklahoma in the rankings, which are released annually by the United Health Foundation. The rankings cite a high prevalence of smoking and obesity, limited availability of primary care doctors and low use of prenatal care in the state.

Read more from NewsOK.

Gov. Martin O’Malley: The business case for health reform

These comments were excerpted from a speech by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to a plenary session of an annual healthcare conference hosted by FamiliesUSA. We are ready in Maryland to turn the corner on the healthcare costs that have been sapping our productivity as a people and as a nation. Sapping the productivity of our businesses. Taking from them the ability to reinvest in their own plants and their own opportunities and their own markets. Costs that force moms and dads to choose between health care and paying for groceries, or tuition, or school supplies, heat, rent, mortgage payments. In Maryland we believe we are gaining a competitive advantage by being an early implementer [of health care reform].

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

Cheating on Oklahoma exams leads to resignations, retesting

Test scores for six schools were invalidated for major infractions during the 2010-11 school year, according to a report given Thursday to the state Education Board. Every year the state Education Department screens test results for irregularities that may indicate cheating on Oklahoma’s high-stakes exams. The results are used for federal accountability and, this year for the first time, serve as a graduation requirement. Maridyth McBee, interim assistant state superintendent, said every year the state randomly inspects classrooms where tests are being administered, screens every test for too many questions being changed from wrong to right, and receives tips from schools and the public. “We can’t be in every classroom across the state as the tests are being administered, but … we do make it more inconvenient for people to not follow the procedures,” McBee said.

Read more from NewsOK.

Oklahoma scholarship program celebrates 20th anniversary

When D’Andre Fisher attended Edmond Santa Fe High School, he knew he wanted to go to college. He just wasn’t sure how to make it happen. At the time, Fisher was living with his grandmother. She hadn’t been to college herself, he said, and she wasn’t able to pay for him to go to school without help. Still, she supported him and pushed him academically. “She didn’t know much about college,” Fisher said. “But she knew enough to know that a C is not acceptable.” When he graduated in 2007, Fisher received a scholarship through Oklahoma’s Promise, a program sponsored by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education. The program gives scholarships to Oklahoma students who meet certain criteria and demonstrate financial need. That scholarship allowed Fisher to enroll at the University of Oklahoma, where he received a bachelor’s degree in human relations. Now he’s pursuing a master’s degree in human relations and adult higher education at OU. “The scholarship really opened up doors for me as far as pursuing a higher education,” Fisher said. “It really was a blessing.”

Read more from NewsOK.

More quality college graduates needed in Oklahoma

Affordability and quality are two words rarely found together, particularly with respect to higher education. Higher ed is more often spoken about in terms of increasing tuition costs and falling standards. However, recent independent reports indicate that Oklahoma higher education institutions are providing excellent service and producing sought-after graduates at an affordable cost. A recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Oklahoma eighth nationally in higher education efficiency and college affordability. This reinforces analyses by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, which rank Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma among the best college buys in the nation. Despite some opinions that the number of graduates from Oklahoma colleges is far in excess of the available jobs within the state and therefore funding for higher education needs to be reduced, detailed analyses reveal the opposite — especially in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Read more from NewsOK.

Tulsa’s Emergency Infant Services sees growing need

Emergency Infant Services provided more than 225,000 diapers, 250,000 pounds of food and 139,000 of formula to area families last year. In total, it provided services to nearly 14,000 infants and children, a 14 percent increase from the previous year and a 600 percent increase from nearly five years ago. When the agency moved to its current location at 222 S. Houston Ave., in 2008 it served 2,000 children. Executive Director Tom Taylor credits the increase to a number of factors including its location near the bus station and other social service agencies, word of mouth, referrals from other agencies and increased need. “We’re seeing clients who have never had to ask for help before. They have jobs but are having trouble making ends meet,” he said. Because of the emergency nature of the agency, clients can only receive assistance four times a year.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Volunteers count Oklahoma City’s homeless

The man who friends call “Uncle Billy” lives in a tent in the woods near Interstate 40 and S Eastern Avenue. He’s been homeless in Oklahoma City for almost 17 years. Volunteers tried to reach people like Billy Ball, 58, Thursday in an annual tally of Oklahoma City’s homeless population. The census of homeless individuals is organized by the Homeless Alliance, the Coalition for the Needy and the city of Oklahoma City. The one-day, point-in-time count is required every two years by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s used as part of an application for about $2.5 million in federal funds used for street outreach and housing. Doing the count every year helps address the ongoing needs of the homeless community, said Dan Straughan, executive director of the Homeless Alliance. The 2011 count totaled 1,221 homeless individuals living in shelters, transitional housing or without shelter, up almost 13 percent from the 2010 count of 1,081 individuals. Straughan said it’s estimated the population of homeless is up to five times higher than that.

Read more from NewsOK.

Paid off, but peddling to pay bills

Boley’s biggest employer is a state prison, the John Lilley Correctional Center, which houses about 800 inmates on any given day, officials there say. Technically, more than half the town is behind bars. You’ve heard of a one-horse town. Boley is a one-restaurant town, and its owner has a lot of perspective on life in the most poverty-stricken county in Oklahoma. McCormick’s Grill is the only restaurant in Boley, Okla. Everyone calls her “Pookie,” and her eponymous hamburger and soul food Sunday dinners are legendary. “Business is so slow,” she says. “Businesses is not like it used to be.” Poverty in Oklahoma is at a 10-year high. Things are particularly bad in Okfuskee County, where 27.3 percent of its residents lived at or below the poverty line in 2010, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statewide, the poverty rate is 16.8 percent.

In The Know: DHS Director Howard Hendrick announces retirement

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 15:02

Today you should know that DHS Director Howard Hendrick will step down at the end of February. See Hendrick’s resignation letter here. CapitolBeatOK reported on lawmakers’ reactions to Hendrick’s announcement. Attorney Jerry Fent presented arguments to a Supreme Court referee that the approval the settlement over treatment of children in foster care is unconstitutional. The head of a state school boards group is opposing changing the date of school board elections to coincide with general elections, because it would allow partisan politics to creep into the process.

OK Policy features a guest blog on why fixing America’s crumbling infrastructure should be a top priority for every national, state, and local official throughout the nation. Also on the OK Policy blog, we discuss what the coming federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma. Concerns about the impact of further cuts to the income tax dominated a state budget discussion hosted by StateImpact Oklahoma. The next budget panel will be held tonight in OKC.

The Republican Party is continuing a 50 year trend in voter registration gains, with 41.4 percent of voters registering as Republicans compared to 47.2 percent registered as Democrats. Sen. Harry Coates has filed a bill to add the ACT to the list of tests that can be used to meet graduation requirements. A reduction in sentences for certain second-time convictions of marijuana possession is included in legislation intended to cut prison costs.

Natural gas prices have sunk so low that many industry observers say it is not economically feasible to continue drilling for it. Oklahoma has depended on the energy industry for the biggest part of state wage growth in recent years. Urban Tulsa Weekly examines the complexities of changing Oklahoma’s liquor laws.

The Number of the Day is the percentage of ex-offenders released in Oklahoma who were re-incarcerated for technical violations of their probation/parole. In today’s Policy Note, 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.

In The News

DHS Director Howard Hendrick announces retirement

DHS Director Howard Hendrick is retiring, leaving a $162,750-a-year job after public confidence in his leadership plummeted because of child deaths. Hendrick, 57, a former state senator, has served as director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for more than 13 years. He oversees more than 7,000 employees and a more than $2 billion budget. Hendrick made his emotional announcement at the monthly meeting of DHS commissioners, who will choose his replacement. He said he will step down from his daily responsibilities Feb. 29. He said he will retire officially after taking vacation time. Hendrick said he could have retired more than a year ago but wanted to stay until a federal class-action lawsuit critical of the state’s foster care system was resolved.

Read more from NewsOK.

Attorney argues DHS settlement unconstitutional

The Oklahoma Supreme Court should declare void an action taken by the Contingency Review Board to approve the settlement of a lawsuit over treatment of children in the Department of Human Services foster care system, attorney Jerry Fent told a referee Wednesday. Fent has successfully challenged the CRB’s participation in funding decisions for the Opportunity Fund and approving certain bonds, as well as parts of a statute requiring the governor to consult with legislative leaders on use of the Quick Action Closing fund. Fent contends that having the House speaker and Senate president pro tempore on the CRB with the governor constitutes a violation of the constitutional separation of powers by involving legislators in executive-branch decisions. In his latest lawsuit, Fent is also challenging a section of the Open Meeting Act that allows legislators to attend executive sessions of state entities. Legislators can coerce agencies or make threats to their appropriations during executive sessions, Fent said.

Read more from NewsOK.

Guest Blog (Doug Hall): America’s infrastructure — ticking time bombs in every state

Later today, I will pass through two of our nation’s airports, where I will see ample evidence suggesting that we collectively place a very high priority on protecting our transportation infrastructure from harm. On my way through security, I will dutifully remove my shoes, and will remove from my pockets such benign items as a marker, an extra paper napkin from lunch, and the keys to my bike lock. Yet throughout this same country, there are nearly 70,000 bridges that the U.S. Department of Transportation has identified as “structurally deficient.” We all recall with horror the 2007 collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis, yet there are thousands of such ticking time bombs throughout America today. In three states — Iowa, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania — there are over 5,000 bridges deemed to be structurally deficient. While not every one of those bridges is in imminent danger of collapse, these remain alarming numbers. Fixing America’s crumbling infrastructure should be a top priority for every national, state, and local official throughout the nation.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

What the coming federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma

Election news may soak up a lot of the attention this year, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the major policy changes set to go into effect no matter who wins in November. High among those are the automatic budget cuts that were part of the deal to increase the federal debt ceiling. A brief recap: The Budget Control Act created a supercommittee tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction measures. When that group failed to reach an agreement, an automatic budget cutting process called sequestration went into effect. Under sequestration, there will be $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade, divided 50/50 between domestic and defense spending. These cuts are scheduled to begin January 2013, with one important caveat. Although the cuts are automatic under existing law, Congress is still free to intervene at any time. Much like with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, also scheduled for the end of 2012, there is certain to be legislative wrangling. However, President Obama’s promise to veto any attempt to alter the automatic cuts makes it much less likely that they will be stopped.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

Impact of tax cuts “feels like a broken promise”

We kicked off our three-city roadshow on the state budget last night, and the Tulsa event couldn’t have gone better. Not surprisingly, the income tax dominated a lot of the conversation — both from the panelists and the forum audience. Several teachers attended the event. One woman felt strongly that even talking about cutting taxes with the current state of education in Oklahoma was “unconscionable.” One man, a social studies teacher at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School who described himself as a “tax cut casualty,” asked whether funding would be restored to a state program that gives National Board Certified teachers a $5,000 annual stipend for 10 years. The stipend program wasn’t included in the Department of Education’s 2012 budget. Losing the stipend was the equivalent to a 12 percent pay cut, the teacher said: “It feels like a broken promise.”

Read more from NewsOK.

Legislation filed to allow students to use ACT to graduate

Each year, thousands of Oklahoma school students take their end-of-instruction tests in order to be able to graduate. In an effort to help more students get their high school diploma and provide educators with more classroom time for teaching, Sen. Harry Coates has filed Senate Bill 1093. “This bill was requested by school administrators in my districts who say they are required to give so many tests that they don’t have enough time to actually teach,” said Coates, R-Seminole. “Most students, especially those that are college-bound take the ACT so this is a way to allow our teachers more time to focus on their job of educating our youth.” SB 1093 would add the American College Testing Program (ACT) to the list of tests that could be used by students to show mastery of state academic content standards in order to graduate. In order to qualify, test scores would need to fall within the 41 to 100 percentile levels.

Read more from NewsOK.

Low natural gas prices cause industry shift

The oil and natural gas industry is thriving, thanks to a dizzying array of technology that helps producers pinpoint new resource plays or reach reserves that could not be extracted just a few years ago. But some of those companies have been undone by basic economics. Natural gas prices have sunk so low that many industry observers say it is not economically feasible to continue drilling for it. Economist Steve Agee said a “perfect storm” of factors — a record amount of gas in storage, rising production and a mild winter for much of the country — led to natural gas prices to crash. He said cutting back on natural gas production is a prudent business decision. Industry giant Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Monday detailed its plans to curtail gas production, but observers say the shift has been under way for quite some time.

Read more from NewsOK.

See also: Energy provides boost for Oklahoma’s recent wage growth from NewsOK

Legislation to allow wine in grocery stores not as simple as it looks

In the past year, legislation to allow wine and stronger beer to be sold in grocery stores has been noisily wending its way through the state legislature. The pros and cons have been dissected, rehashed and analyzed by state senators and casual consumers alike. Mary Stewart is quick to answer the phone at Ranch Acres Wine & Spirits, where she’s been the owner and operator for 30 years. Stewart thinks any changes will probably “hurt the smaller stores more and grocery stores won’t carry the same number of [beers, wines and spirits] that liquor stores do,” she said. Bigger chain stores may buy certain items in bulk, which would lower prices but also limit selection. She’s also concerned that rules and regulations that apply to small liquor stores may not apply to grocery or convenience stores. “We can’t have any refrigeration, we have to be closed on certain holidays,” Stewart said. “It would be so unfair to allow that in another setting.” Under current regulation, you must be a sole proprietor of only one liquor store and an Oklahoma resident for 10 years before you can get a retail liquor license.

Gov. Martin O’Malley: The business case for health reform

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 14:36

These comments were excerpted from a speech by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to a plenary session of an annual healthcare conference hosted by FamiliesUSA.

Our country is now poised through the Affordable Care Act to help millions of American families and small businesses and their employees access high quality, affordable health care coverage. This isn’t going to happen by itself. This is not simple. If it were simple, someone would have accomplished it years ago. This is complicated, but it is not beyond our grasp [..]

We are ready in Maryland to turn the corner on the healthcare costs that have been sapping our productivity as a people and as a nation. Sapping the productivity of our businesses. Taking from them the ability to reinvest in their own plants and their own opportunities and their own markets. Costs that force moms and dads to choose between health care and paying for groceries, or tuition, or school supplies, heat, rent, mortgage payments. These are the big decisions that happen in the most important place – the kitchen table of every family home.

In Maryland we believe we are gaining a competitive advantage by being an early implementer [of health care reform]. Last year we had the best year of new job creation that we’ve had since the recession hit [..] Why is it that at the same time we’ve cut 7.5 billion from our state budget, we’re increasing the ranks of those who are covered by healthcare so very, very dramatically? It’s because there is an historic truth – not a Democratic truth or a Republican truth – but an American truth and an economic truth. In order to create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments.

Along with the investments we make in the education of our workforce, in the innovative capacities of our people, there is also the health of our people. That too is an economic development investment. It’s an investment in greater productivity, greater prosperity, and greater promise. We’ve chosen to invest in healthcare [..] Our goal was to support the health of our workforce. So moms and dads could go to work, so they could be productive, so they wouldn’t miss days from work or searching for work because they had to take care of sick kids or to take care of themselves. It’s very hard to put in a full day’s work if you’re sick, if you can’t go to a doctor. You see that played out time and time again in the economies of third world nations. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce, is a profitable workforce.

In some places in our country Medicaid expansions are kept quiet. States worry if you let people know the uninsured are becoming covered and they might go to the doctor, that this could cost money and that that might be something our neighbors scowl at. In fact, some of our sister states in their legal briefs to the Supreme Court are describing people signing up for Medicaid as “one of the harms brought to states” because of the Affordable Care Act. I encourage those who make that argument to read Matthews gospel 25[..] I want to mention the tragic case of Deamonte Driver, a little 12-year old boy in Prince George’s County who died because his family could not afford to go get a toothache looked at. That toothache led to an infection that led to his brain that took his life. Deamonte lived just outside this nation’s capital [..]

We might want to ask [those who say they want to repeal the law] what advice they would give to the millions of Americans who don’t have health insurance. Crossing your fingers is not really a responsible option. Do they believe, like that debate audience, we should allow hospitals with an injured uninsured patient to just ‘let him die’? [..] That’s not how you move America forward and that is not what the vast majority of Americans in their heart expect of ourselves or our government.

We have a responsibility to make the business case for the Affordable Care Act. What are the opportunity costs of inaction? When a small business is paying another fifteen to twenty percent annually, every year for health insurance, how many fewer people are they employing? How many dollars could have gone into expanding markets for their products or services? What are the opportunity costs for families when a mom has to choose between a roof over their head, food on the table, or healthcare?

People who are sick can’t work. Mom and Dad can’t provide for their family if all of their dollars are going to rising healthcare costs, let alone keep paying the mortgage if all of the sudden they’re wiped out by some unanticipated hospital bills. In the private sector rising costs are eroding the quantity and quality of health benefits for American workers. In the public sector health costs are the single greatest threat to our fiscal sustainability [..]

Peter Orzag wrote these words:

It is no exaggeration to say the United States standing in the world depends on its success in constraining the healthcare cost explosion. Unless it does, the country will eventually face a severe fiscal crisis or a crippling inability to invest in other areas.

Truly, bending the cost curve requires innovation [..] Innovations like the health information exchange which allows the sharing of data between hospitals, labs and thousands of doctor’s offices. This isn’t something that we’re imagining. It’s not something that we’re hoping for. It’s something that we’re doing [..]

There is no area that cries out for better choices more so than the area of containing healthcare costs, of having better preventive care. Making our workforce healthier, making the balance sheets of our small businesses better so that they can reinvest in more jobs and more opportunities. We need to talk about this in terms of the business case for healthcare. There are better ways to do this, virtually every country has shown that this is possible [..]

We’ve seen what works, but we’ve been too timid to do what our parents and grandparents had the courage to do. Which was to do it at scale, to do it in an impactful, broad way. To realize that in our America there is no such thing as a spare American. Everyone is needed. Are other countries so much more innovative than us that they can figure out how to do this to scale and we can’t? I don’t buy that [..] There are in fact challenges so large that we can only hope to tackle them together. Making better choices in terms of healthcare is one of them.

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Guest Blog (Doug Hall): America’s infrastructure — ticking time bombs in every state

Wed, 01/25/2012 - 13:02

Doug Hall is Director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network at The Economic Policy Institute. This is a slightly revised version of a post that originally appeared on EPI’s Working Economics blog.

Yet throughout this same country, there are nearly 70,000 bridges that the U.S. Department of Transportation has identified as “structurally deficient.” We all recall with horror the 2007 collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis, yet there are thousands of such ticking time bombs throughout America today. In three states — Iowa, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania — there are over 5,000 bridges deemed to be structurally deficient. While not every one of those bridges is in imminent danger of collapse, these remain alarming numbers.

Fixing America’s crumbling infrastructure should be a top priority for every national, state, and local official throughout the nation. It’s easier than often is the case in public policy debates to connect the dots on this one:

Crumbling infrastucture + alarmingly high rates of unemployment (particularly amongst construction workers) + interest rates at rates that remain at unprecedented low levels = jobs plan that helps put Americans back to work today, while laying the foundation for future economic growth and prosperity.

While there’s certainly room for debate about how to proceed with infrastructure investment at this time, there really shouldn’t be any debate about whether to do this. My colleague, John Irons, testified recently before the Congressional Progressive Caucus Ad Hoc Hearing on Job Creation. In his testimony, he noted, “Congress should immediately reauthorize the Surface Transportation Act at the higher spending levels requested by President Obama … increase[ing] transportation investments by $213 billion over the next decade [thereby] add[ing] 350,000 job-years of employment over 2012-2014.”

Michael Likosky has written at length about the need to create an infrastructure bank, leveraging both public and private sector money to strengthen America’s infrastructure, and noting that, “If we don’t find a way to build a sound foundation for growth, the American dream will survive only in our heads and history books.”

For state governments, investing in infrastructure through bonding is one of the few (and most effective) tools at their disposal to help spark a real economic recovery that helps working families today, while making investments that will contribute to future prosperity. Friday’s “Smart Brief” from the American Society of Civil Engineers highlights Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan to invest $10 billion over the next five years in capital spending, “focus[ing] on job creation through transportation projects, smart growth and construction and improvement of public higher-education facilities.” This is the sort of initiative that other states should emulate. Only through such aggressive investment in infrastructure will Americans in every state be confident that they are safe crossing today’s bridges, and that the road ahead leads to shared prosperity.

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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What the coming federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 16:38

A brief recap: The Budget Control Act created a supercommittee tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction measures. When that group failed to reach an agreement, an automatic budget cutting process called sequestration went into effect. Under sequestration, there will be $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade, divided 50/50 between domestic and defense spending.

These cuts are scheduled to begin January 2013, with one important caveat. Although the cuts are automatic under existing law, Congress is still free to intervene at any time. Much like with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, also scheduled for the end of 2012, there is certain to be legislative wrangling. However, President Obama’s promise to veto any attempt to alter the automatic cuts makes it much less likely that they will be stopped.

Assuming sequestration goes forward with no changes, an analysis from FFIS calculates the state-by-state impact of cuts. The good news is that out of the $7.43 billion in federal grants received by Oklahoma in FY ‘11, $6.25 billion would be exempted from cuts. Exempted programs include Social Security, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and SNAP food stamp benefits. Medicare, community health centers, and Indian health services are not exempt, but cuts to these programs would be limited to 2 percent.

Cuts to non-exempted programs mean that overall, Oklahoma would receive $100.3 million less in federal funding compared to FY ’12 and $133.7 million less compared to FY ’11. Fully affected programs would see cuts of about 8.7 percent of their federal funding compared to FY ’12.

The impact will be felt in two ways: reductions in services of the affected programs or a need for Oklahoma to cover the shortfall by shifting money out of other programs. Two programs in particular that would likely require an infusion of other state funds are Title I grants for disadvantaged schools funding and IDEA special education funds. Both are set to receive full cuts, but school districts facing mandates for student achievement may end up allocating more to cover the needs of high-poverty or special education student populations. Absent overall increases in state funding for education, this means that other parts of district budgets, including non-Title I schools, could take at least some of the hit.

By contrast, programs administered by the state but using entirely federal funds are unlikely to supplemented with state money. A major example is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income familes with winter heating and summer cooling costs. LIHEAP will take the full cut under the sequester, even though it’s already been reduced to one-third of its 2010 budget. As a result, OK DHS had to close new enrollment in the program and severely restrict eligibility. A DHS programs manager said of the move, “This goes against the very core of our mission at DHS, which is to help Oklahomans in need. However, with limited funds from the federal government we can only do what we can with what we have.”

Several other programs important for Oklahomans would receive the full cut. These include the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which subsidizes nutritious foods and infant formula for low-income mothers with young children, and Head Start, an important component of early childhood education in Oklahoma. The child care subsidy, a joint-federal state program, is only partially exempt and has already been threatened by cuts on the state level. After arousing significant opposition, these cuts were deferred indefinitely, but a loss of federal funds may put them back on the table.

We also shouldn’t forget the impact of the sequestration cuts going to defense spending. Federal employee salaries, both civilian and military, accounted for about 6.1 percent of the total personal income in Oklahoma in 2010, and private defense manufacturers are a major state industry.

Much remains uncertain, but what’s clear is that we need to be prepared for more federal austerity. Sequestration is just one more obligation in a growing pile that threatens to squeeze every dime from the state budget. Rather than fantasizing about the next tax cut, it’s time to acknowledge these obligations and bring our budget discussion back to reality.

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In The Know: Oklahoma ranked 12th in state funding cuts to higher education

Tue, 01/24/2012 - 14:55

Today you should know that Oklahoma ranked 12th in cuts to higher education funding last year. i2E CEO Tom Walker writes in NewsOK that we aren’t investing enough in research, education and infrastructure needed to compete in a global economy. Oklahoma tribal leaders urged more federal support for Indian education efforts at a round-table discussion convened by the Obama administration. Oklahoma City Public Schools will more than double the number of teachers coming from the national Teach for America program next school year.

Steve Fair, a well-known conservative activist and Republican Party County Chair, says Oklahoma should keep the income tax intact. The Tulsa World writes that a bill to ax the income would spell disaster. Find more materials on the income tax debate at our tax reform information page.

The abortion rate in Oklahoma remains low compared with the national average and held relatively steady throughout the past decade. An Oklahoma bill on how evolution and global warming can be discussed in schools is similar to a Louisiana bill that was opposed by every scientific society that took a position on it. OKC as state officials are looking into developing a multi-million dollar incentive package for Boeing, even though the company has already announced they are moving the jobs here and is already building a 320,000-square-foot facility to house them.

Oklahoma State University is hosting the first annual grandparenting workshop, titled “Linking Gerontology and Geriatrics – Grandparent Rearing Grandchildren: Expectations and Experience.” Senators Coburn and Inhofe expressed support for President Obama’s nomination of OKC judge Robert E. Bacharach for a position on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Oklahoma Tax Commission will issue debit cards instead of paper refund checks to taxpayers who choose not to have a direct deposit. A fee of $1.50 per month will be deducted from the refund amount after 60 days of inactivity and go to a private vendor.

Rep. Mike Reynolds is filing legislation to disallow lobbyists from purchasing meals for lawmakers at the Oklahoma Capitol. The Number of the Day is the number of jobs lost in state and local government in Oklahoma over 2010. In today’s Policy Note, The Century Foundation shares a series of graphs that bust the myths about food stamps.

In The News

Oklahoma ranked 12th in state funding cuts to higher education

Oklahoma ranked 12th in cuts to higher education funding last year, according a list assembled by the Associated Press. The funding has declined because of a slow recession recovery and the end of federal stimulus money, according to the annual Grapevine study, prepared by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. When federal stimulus money is excluded, state funding for higher education declined 9.6 percent from FY 2011 to FY 2012 in Oklahoma, the AP reported. State funding for higher education declined the most in New Hampshire, 41.3 percent, during that time period. Montana increased state funding for higher ed. the most, 17.2 percent. The funding reductions, seen across nearly every state, have resulted in larger class sizes and fewer course offerings at many universities and come as enrollment continues to rise, the AP’s Christine Armario reported.

Read more from NewsOK.

Oklahoma tribal leaders, White House officials discuss funds for Indian education

State tribal and community leaders urged more federal support for Indian education efforts Monday at a round-table discussion led by White House official William Mendoza. About 100 people attended the discussion at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Norman. It was the second of four events being held across Western states as part of the initiative’s partnership with the U.S. Departments of Education and Interior. Gene Pekah, representing the Comanche Nation College in Lawton, urged support of tribal colleges that he said better fit the needs of American Indian students than traditional colleges, especially in terms of preserving their languages, history and culture. Statistics show that American Indian students are less likely to graduate high school or continue to college than white students, he said. “It’s not a matter of intelligence. It’s a matter of meeting their needs,” Pekah said.

Read more from NewsOK.

Oklahoma City Public Schools to accept more Teach for America teachers

Oklahoma City Public Schools will more than double the number of teachers coming from the national Teach for America program next school year. Teach for America recruits top college graduates from across the nation from a variety of professions, gives them a crash course in teaching over the summer and then places the teachers for two years in some of the nation’s toughest inner-city school districts. Oklahoma City schools began the program in the 2011-12 school year with 54 of the first-year teachers. Two dropped out of the program before fall semester ended. The Oklahoma City School Board approved hiring another 70 of the teachers for the 2012-13 school year for an additional cost of $280,000. Lance Tackett, executive director of Oklahoma’s Teach for America, said that the district pays only a fraction of the $2.4 million needed to support the 122 teachers in the school district. The rest of the support comes from private donors who believe in the Teach for America program.

Read more from NewsOK.

Steve Fair: Leave income tax intact!

Several Republican legislators are planning to introduce bills in the next session to phase out the state income tax over the next decade. They claim eliminating the state income tax would help recruit jobs and industry to Oklahoma, but before elimination of the state income tax happens, it should be carefully vetted. For example, currently the teacher’s pension system, the state’s largest system, gets five (5) percent of the state income tax. If the income tax is eliminated, how will the teacher’s system get funded? That is something that has not been addressed. … But it’s not the phasing out of the state income tax that worries me; it’s how the legislature will deal with the possible loss of revenue. Will they hide taxes and fees or will they cut government in direct proportion to the loss of revenue.

Read more from NewsOK.

A ‘critique’ of evolution proposed in Oklahoma

If it seems like we keep hearing about the fight over teaching evolution in schools and teaching creationism, we do. It comes up like clockwork, despite the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. Oklahoma is the latest state to breach the subject, but the language of the proposed law is different, even if, as critics suspect, the goal is the same. According to the National Center for Science Education, Oklahoma Senate Bill 1742 is the sixth anti-evolution bill introduced in 2012, following bills in New Hampshire, Missouri and Indiana. The model for the bill, which is stated explicitly in it, is the Louisiana Science Education Act, which was passed in 2008, and is part of so-called “academic freedom” laws. Louisiana’s bill was opposed by every scientific society that took a position on it. Oklahoma’s bill would cover discussion of evolution, the origin of life, global warming, and human cloning.

Read more from the OK Policy Blog.

Oklahoma magistrate judge Robert E. Bacharach nominated for federal appeals court

President Barack Obama on Monday nominated Robert E. Bacharach, a federal magistrate judge in Oklahoma City, for a position on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, ending for now a long-running White House effort to replace Robert H. Henry on the Denver-based court. Bacharach, a Mississippi native, has been a U.S. magistrate judge since 1999 for the Western District of Oklahoma and has handled nearly 3,000 criminal and civil matters, according to the White House. It appeared Monday that Bacharach might clear an initial hurdle toward confirmation — agreement from his home-state senators for the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing for him. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, praised the selection. “I like the guy,” Inhofe said. “I told him that it’s not very often the White House and I agree on anything.” A spokeswoman for Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, said Monday that Coburn wanted to review the full background report from the FBI and Judiciary Committee. But she said the senator believes Bacharach “has many excellent credentials and comes highly recommended from lawyers and judges in Oklahoma.”

Read more from NewsOK.

Oklahoma won’t issue paper tax refund checks, only debit cards

The Oklahoma Tax Commission will no longer issue paper refund checks. Instead, the Tax Commission will issue refunds on debit cards if the taxpayer chooses not to have a refund deposited directly into a checking or savings account, said Paula Ross, a spokeswoman for the commission. “Cardholders with proper identification can simply present their card at the MasterCard member bank or credit union teller window and request a withdrawal of funds,” Ross said. Last year, the agency deposited 622,788 refunds directly and issued 477,240 paper checks for refunds, she said. House Bill 1086, passed last session, provides that payments from the state treasury be issued electronically. A fee of $1.50 per month will deducted from the refund amount after 60 days of inactivity on the debit card, according to the Tax Commission. If the card is used periodically, no fee will be assessed, Ross said. The vendor administering the program – Affiliated Computer Service – will keep the fee, she said, adding that Affiliated Computer Service offered the lowest fee.

Read more from The Tulsa World.

Reynolds to file legislation ending lobbyist meals at Capitol

In response to a recent action by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, state Rep. Mike Reynolds announced today that he will file legislation to ensure lobbyists are not allowed to purchase meals for lawmakers at the Oklahoma Capitol. I know the public already disapproves of lobbyist influence at the Capitol, and I am certain they do not want lobbyists to be allowed to purchase even more meals for legislators,” said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. “There’s no justifiable reason for a lobbyist to buy our meals.” By a narrow 3-2 margin, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission recently approved a proposed rule that would allow lobbyists to provide lunch or dinner for a group of legislators at the Capitol building. The rule was passed in spite of the fact that lobbyists are forbidden by law from giving campaign contributions at the Capitol building. The exemption would be allowed only once per year while the Legislature is in session and the meal would have to be provided at the Capitol. In addition, under the proposed rule, lobbyists would not have to identify lawmakers receiving the meals.

Upcoming Event: 2012 Grandparenting workshop at OSU

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 17:21

Oklahoma State University, a consortium partner of the Oklahoma Geriatrics Education Center (OKGEC), is hosting the first annual grandparenting workshop, titled “Linking Gerontology and Geriatrics – Grandparent Rearing Grandchildren: Expectations and Experience” on February 18, 2012. The workshop will: (a) identify the links between Gerontology and Geriatrics; and (b) apply evidence-based information to enhance the best practices or fill professional practice gaps of healthcare & other professionals working with older adults.

The population growth of older adults in Oklahoma is out-pacing the number of health care and other professionals trained in Gerontology and Geriatrics. The Oklahoma Geriatrics Education Center (OKGEC) is a consortium of institutions across the state that seeks to train health professionals in Oklahoma using evidence-based education specific to gerontology and geriatrics. This workshop is part of a series of events in 2012 linking gerontology and geriatrics that will focus on three primary themes: (a) Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren; (b) Special Populations of Older Adults in Oklahoma, such as widows and older Oklahoma prisoner populations; and (c) Health and Wellness with a two-part session on information on and diagnostic assessments for Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The workshop will be in Stillwater on February 18, 2012. Click here to register for this event online. For more information about the workshop, please visit http://humansciences.okstate.edu/okgec or contact Dr. Tammy L. Henderson at tlhokgec@okstate.edu or 405-744-8350.

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In The Know: Lawmaker alleges improper release of medical records by House

Mon, 01/23/2012 - 14:56

Today you should know that Rep. Mike Christian accused the Oklahoma House of inappropriately releasing confidential medical information related to a workers compensation claim. Mickey Hepner, Dean of the University of Central Oklahoma College of Business, explains to the Edmond Sun why a recent legislative proposal amounts to a tax increase on Oklahoma’s middle class. Oklahoma Policy Institute provided a detailed analysis of the effects of this legislative proposal in this fact sheet. Sen. Clark Jolley told the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce that the state still faces a multi-million dollar budget shortfall.

Advocates warn of ‘transfer trauma’ and even death if medically fragile mentally disabled Oklahomans are moved out of facilities slated for closure improperly. The trial of a Stephens County sheriff’s deputy charged with rape, sexual battery, and kidnapping begins today. A former detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail was indicted on six charges related to two separate assaults of an inmate and subsequent attempts to cover up the assaults.

Oklahoma Department of Human Services Director Howard Hendrick will be considering whether or not he will stay with the agency he has lead for 13 years. Rep. John Enns filed a bill to make knowingly transmitting human papillomavirus (HPV) a crime. In today’s Policy Note, the Kaiser Family Foundation released their annual survey of employer health benefits, with a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage. Today’s Number of the Day is the average tax increase on sixty percent of Oklahoma households under a legislative proposal to eliminate a slate of broad-based tax credits and exemptions.

In The News

Oklahoma lawmaker says medical, legal records released

A Republican state lawmaker alleged Friday that GOP leaders of the Oklahoma House have inappropriately released his confidential medical and legal information — an accusation that was promptly denied House speaker. Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, said the accusations by Rep. Mike Christian, R-Oklahoma City, “are just the latest in a continued series of disingenuous political attacks on the House of Representatives. “We have work to do here and won’t be deterred by false accusations and attacks,” Steele said.

Tax proposal burdens poor, middle-class

Thanks to a proposal going before the Oklahoma Legislature this spring, taxes on middle-class Oklahoma families could soon be going up. Recently, a legislative task force on comprehensive tax reform proposed reducing the top Oklahoma personal income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 4.75 percent. In order to offset the lost revenue from the reduction in the top tax rates, though, the task force proposed the elimination of many deductions, exemptions and credits claimed by Oklahoma taxpayers.

Legislators brace for state revenue shortfall

The state of Oklahoma will have a revenue gap when the 2012 legislative session begins at noon Feb. 6, said state Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond. “Despite what my good friend Ken Miller (state treasurer) has been saying in the media, Oklahoma’s economy has not completely recovered and we are not completely out of the woods yet,” said Jolley, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. One more certification is needed before the Legislature will know how much of a budget shortfall it will have this year, Jolley said. Gov. Mary Fallin bases her budget on the November revenue certification. “That one is $150 million short of what we spent last year when you take the one-time revenues out,” Jolley said.

Change ahead for Oklahoma’s mentally disabled

Some of Oklahoma’s most fragile mentally disabled people could die as Oklahoma moves toward closing state centers for the mentally disabled, warned an attorney who helped dismantle the state’s first institution. Bullock worked with DHS on the Hissom plan that placed about 450 severely mentally disabled residents in community homes. But he said DHS planning is different this time. “The plan that DHS originally presented, we are convinced is not well thought-out. And it lacks the essential safeguards that are necessary to be sure that the move is safe and successful,” Bullock said.

Former Okla. deputy faces trial in assault charges

A former Stephens County sheriff’s deputy charged with assaulting women he allegedly targeted while on the job is set to go on trial Monday on felony counts including rape, sexual battery and kidnapping. Brandon Balthrop, 29, is charged with three counts of sexual battery, two counts of rape by instrumentation and one count of kidnapping, online court records show. According to a copy of the complaint posted by KWTV when he was charged in 2010, Balthrop was accused of molesting four people, ages 16-37, between 2007 and 2010 while he was employed as a law enforcement officer.

Former Oklahoma Detention Officer Indicted For Assaulting An Inmate

A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Okla., has indicted Jerrod Porter Lane, 26, former detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ) in Oklahoma, on six charges related to two separate assaults of an inmate housed at MCJ and the subsequent attempts to cover up his behavior, all during October 2011. Lane is charged with violating the civil rights of the victim for spraying him with Oleoresin Capsicum (OC or pepper spray) on Oct.1, 2011, while the victim was fully restrained. Lane is also charged with falsifying both his own incident report and the report of a fellow jailer when Lane falsely wrote that the victim was physically resisting and that the victim was not restrained at the time Lane dispensed his pepper spray.

DHS director to decide whether he should stay or quit

After 13 years of leading the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Howard Hendrick says he will be deciding in the next two to three months whether to stay on the job. Hendrick said Friday that he is not going to make a decision next week, but “this is a good time to consider that question.” “There are several milestones for me coming up, but you’re never really going to have everything done that you want,” Hendrick said. Significant accomplishments he cited under his leadership included having the 16,000th adoption finalized last week, tripling child support collections and moving food stamp applications online.

Culture and HPV

State Representative John Enns also has a list of bills filed for the session. One of his bills deal with tornado liability. If an individual allows his neighbor to use his cellar during a tornado, and the neighbor is hurt, Enns’ bill will prevent the owner from being liable. Another bill will make knowingly transmitting human papillomavirus a crime. A transmission of HPV, which constitutes an assault if knowingly transmitted, will be added to the list of sexually transmitted diseases, he said. “It you have HPV and know it and expose someone else, it is considered assault,” Enns said. “I’m adding HPV to that list, because of the cancer it causes. There are more than 100 HPV viruses, and one third of them cause cancer.”

Read more from the Enid News and Eagle at http://enidnews.com/localnews/x431306960/Culture-and-HPV

Quote of the Day

These grandiose visions that agencies are going to get hundreds of millions of dollar more than they got last year, because we’re back healthy, or even $1 million more is probably not going to happen.

State Senator Clark Jolley, R-Edmond

Number 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.

Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute

See previous Numbers of the Day here.

Policy Note

Employer Health Benefits 2011 Annual Survey

This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. This year’s survey also includes new questions on the percent of firms with grandfathered health plans, changes in benefits for preventive care, enrollment of adult children due to the new health reform law, and the use of stoploss coverage by firms with self-funded plans. The survey continues to document the prevalence of high-deductible health plans associated with a savings option and includes questions on wellness benefits. The 2011 survey included 3,184 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees (2,088 of which responded to the full survey and 1,096 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage). Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, NORC at the University of Chicago, and Health Research & Educational Trust designed and analyzed the survey.

Read more from the Kaiser Family Foundation at http://ehbs.kff.org/

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The Weekly Wonk – January 20th, 2012

Fri, 01/20/2012 - 17:17

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 refuted a claim by Senator Mike Mazzei that “special interests” were the real losers in the tax reform task force proposal. StateImpactOklahoma and Sen. Charles Wyrick both discussed our finding that the plan would amount to a tax increase for a majority of Oklahomans. We released an issue brief and a related blog post outlining Oklahoma’s Medicaid program and its eligibility requirements, breaking down its funding sources, and debunking some common Medicaid myths.

Also this week on our blog, we discussed how Arthur Laffer’s economic analysis of tax cuts is highly misleading, because his real goal is to tell politicians what they want to hear. A guest blog from Fab Lab Tulsa’s Matthew Norris presented the vision of an economy based on personal fabrication. This Land Press conducted a live interview with David Blatt about the history of OK Policy, our notable accomplishments, and some of the work we are doing now.

Numbers of the Day

63.9 percent - Percentage of deliveries in Oklahoma paid for by SoonerCare (Medicaid).
3/5ths - Proportion of Oklahoma households who use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating.
37.7 percent - Percentage of working-age Oklahomans with a disability who were employed in 2009
40th - Oklahoma’s rank among the states in amount of state and local taxes collected as a share of personal income, 2009

In The Know, Policy Notes

The Center for American Progress looked at how far we still need to go to reach MLK Jr.’s dream of equal opportunity.
Dean Baker discussed why Social Security is not in danger.
Businessweek examined the perils of offering corporations tax incentives to relocate.
The White House profiled the diversity of approaches and progress being made to establish state-based insurance exchanges.

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FEATURES

What's New on OK Policy's Blog

2012 Legislative Overview

Online Budget Guide

The Weekly Wonk – February 3rd, 2012

In The Know: Gov. Fallin proposes eliminating income tax

Watch This: What is a ‘Community School’?

In The Know: Oklahoma tax refunds for the unbanked issued on MasterCard debit cards

The pseudoephedrine debate: Available with or without a prescription?

In The Know: More than one in four Oklahomans unprepared for financial crisis

In The Know: Task force says foster care reform begins with funding

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

The buck stops anywhere but here

In The Know: Legislators propose eliminating all state funding for OETA

The Weekly Wonk – January 27th, 2012

In The Know: Tulsa Chamber calls for more education funding

In The Know: DHS Director Howard Hendrick announces retirement

Gov. Martin O’Malley: The business case for health reform

Guest Blog (Doug Hall): America’s infrastructure — ticking time bombs in every state

What the coming federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma

In The Know: Oklahoma ranked 12th in state funding cuts to higher education

Upcoming Event: 2012 Grandparenting workshop at OSU

In The Know: Lawmaker alleges improper release of medical records by House

The Weekly Wonk – January 20th, 2012

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