On January 1^st, tax cuts with a revenue impact exceeding $100 million, which include the full repeal of the state’s estate tax and a steep increase in the standard deduction, will take effect in Oklahoma.  Do these tax cuts reflect our priorities at a time when budget shortfalls are leading to layoffs of school personnel, cuts in Medicaid benefits, and the closing of treatment facilities for people suffering from mental illness? If Oklahoma legislators, and the voters they represent, were asked to make these choices today, most would likely decide to target scarce resources to limiting the magnitude of cuts. But because of multi-year revenue commitments made by the Legislature several years ago, during very different economic and fiscal circumstances, these tax cuts will take effect automatically next month.

As state leaders grapple with the short-term challenges of bringing the budgets for this year and next into balance, it is not too early to draw lessons from the current state fiscal crisis to design policies that will allow us to respond better the next time the economy falters. This post, the third in a series that will recommend changes to our budget and tax system, looks at options for putting multi-year commitments on hold during downturns. Our first post recommended enhanced and expanded budget forecasting; the second looked at strengthening reserve funds. The final piece will consider tax expenditures. Our proposals are all intended to enhance the Legislature’s ability to manage budget downturns without having to implement deep cuts to vital state services or enact tax increases. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s been a lot of news about stimulus reporting the last few weeks. A lot of it has focused on jobs created or saved; that’s understandable since that was a major point of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is the stimulus’ grown-up name. The federal stimulus web site, Recovery.gov,  has posted the first compilation of stimulus grants, loans, and contracts, which covers the first six months under the act. The reports exclude funds allocated directly to individuals through such mechanisms as increased food stamp benefits, extended Unemployment Insurance, Medicaid payments, and tax cuts.

The STAR Coalition of organizations promoting accountability in the recovery praised this effort:

Our groups can now follow the money in ways they never could before and will use it to engage their policy-makers and build a recovery that benefit communities. We will also use the data to actively engage the public to better understand how the Recovery Act is impacting our communities, and how taxpayers can advocate to improve the Recovery Act and other government investments in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

In October, federal agencies, grantees, and contractors who are getting some of the stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA) money are required to submit six month reports. This post points you to places you can see reports or summaries of them and includes some analysis and further thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve recently joined with CFED, a national organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity, and the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition, in releasing the 2009-2010 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard. Our earlier post summarized the Oklahoma results, as did several media reports.

One area where Oklahoma needs to do better is our 529 college savings plan. Section 529 of the federal tax code allows families to set aside savings in a special account overseen by the state government. Interest earnings on the account are not subject to the federal or state income tax. CFED points out that: Read the rest of this entry »

From time to time we publish guest blog posts that help illuminate a policy issue or advance the discussion of public policy in Oklahoma (see our guest blog guidelines). This post was written by Laura Dempsey-Polan of Life Senior Services, a Tulsa senior service care provider. Laura may be reached at (918) 664-9000 X267 or LDPolan@LIFEseniorservices.org. The opinions stated below are not necessarily the opinions of OK Policy, its staff, or its board. This blog is a venue to help promote the discussion of ideas from a variety of different points of view.

Oklahomans and their families prefer in-home supports over institutionalization and we know these supports offer marked savings with much better outcomes. Over two decades, Oklahoma developed five in-home support Medicaid programs (i.e., 1915C Waivers) now serving 31,000 eligible citizens, and 2 more are in the works. Yet, in-home programs are increasingly squeezed by nearly eight years of stagnant reimbursement. Read the rest of this entry »

Today we released our long-awaited Online Budget Guide, a comprehensive resource exploring how Oklahoma’s state and local government collect and spend money to provide public services. While the Guide is packed full of facts and figures and works as both an introduction for citizens and students and a quick-reference for legislators, public managers, advocates, and reporters, it is about more than basic information. It’s also about some basic concerns we want to share with our fellow Oklahomans. Matt Guillory, OK Policy’s Executive Director, said: Read the rest of this entry »

The House of Representatives Appropriation and Budget Committee recently held hearings on an interim study of State Question 744. State Question 744, also known as the HOPE petition, is an initiative sponsored by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) that would require the state to fund education at the regional average of per-pupil spending. Reps. Leslie Osborn and Randy McDaniel asked for the interim study to explore the impact of the initiative on the state’s finances. Read the rest of this entry »

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) hosts its annual Fall Forum in Edmond on October 13 and 14. This unique event brings together hundreds of opinion leaders and advocates to identify issues affecting children. Participants work together to help shape OICA’s legislative priorities for the coming session. Topics that will be discussed this year include early childhood care and education, children of incarcerated persons, and many other important issues. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in advocacy workshops, hear from four candidates for governor, and see OK Policy’s David Blatt discuss Oklahoma’s changing budget picture.

Early bird registration ends this Friday, October 2 and all registration ends next Tuesday, October 6. For directions, an agenda, and online registration, see OICA’s web site.