Recently I had the pleasure of being invited by the Oklahoma Food Security Committee to give a presentation on funding for food and nutrition programs in the stimulus bill.  The meeting featured a superb overview from Liz Tate of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma on food insecurity in Oklahoma and the programs that help to supplement the food needs of individuals and families (you can also read the 2007 report of the Oklahoma Task Force on Hunger). Food insecurity – defined as “limited or uncertain unavailability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods” – affected more than one in eight Oklahomans in 2007. Oklahoma’s food insecurity rate of 13.0 percent is significantly above the national average of 11.1 percent.

The economic downturn is creating added pressures on family food budgets and leading to unprecedented demands on both private charities and public programs for food assistance. As we’ve noted in our monthly Numbers You Need bulletins, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) has increased every month over the past year and has now reached an all-time high, with 450,000 Oklahomans having received SNAP benefits in March 2009. The Committee was reminded that programs like SNAP not only serve a social welfare role, but also have a significant impact on Oklahoma businesses and communities by providing families the resources to buy food at local grocery stores. SNAP payments in Oklahoma exceeded $48 million in the month of March; since then, the stimulus bill provided a 13.5 increase in monthly SNAP benefits.

Children are especially affected by hunger issues, and several programs focus on trying to ensure that children in economically disadvantaged families are adequately fed. The largest is the free and reduced-price school lunch program, which provides meals to children in families with income up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Just under 425,000 Oklahoma school children participated in the program in FY 2008, while just under 200,000 participated in the school breakfast program.

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Though the dust hasn’t yet settled at the Capitol, Oklahoma’s Legislature has nearly finished a budget for FY’10, which starts July 1. The final budget totals $7.231 billion. Legislators used $641 million from the federal stimulus bill to make up for a state revenue decline of more than $600 million. The resulting spending total is 1.5 percent higher than last year’s, counting the stimulus. Without the stimulus, state spending is down 7.1 percent.

OK Policy will shortly be releasing a full-fledged issue brief that will look in detail at the numbers and what they could mean in FY’10 and beyond. Meanwhile, we have put together a four-page fact sheet that shows how this year’s budget fits into historical perspective, where the money comes from, and how it is allocated among state agencies.(With the Senate’s abrupt adjournment on Friday, some appropriation bills await final passage. The numbers in the fact sheet are based on appropriation bills that have passed both chambers or been voted out of conference committee.)

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It’s taken me awhile, but I finally made it to the White House blog, which has been up and running since President Obama’s inauguration. For those interested in paying attention to what is going on in the White House, the blog, which is updated several times daily and includes a wide range of contributors, is an invaluable source of materials and information. In addition to entries tied to press releases coming from the President or members of his Administration, the blog includes transcripts and videos of press conferences, public speeches, town hall meetings, and the President’s weekly radio address, along with lots and lots of pictures. When the President makes a major announcement, as with last week’s commitment to cut $17 billion in federal spending as part of the FY’10 budget, the blog provides a space for the Administration to lay out its case and guide the public to more detailed information.

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In addition to the multiple funding streams made available to state governments by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), tribal governments are also in line to receive substantial assistance for programs serving Native Americans. This website of the National Congress of American Indians provides detailed and comprehensive information, including a handy tribal summary spreadsheet (PDF) available for download. As with state governments, tribes will receive some funds through formula allocations, while in other cases, tribal governments will be eligible to apply along with other government entities for competitive grants.

For Oklahoma, tribal funding can amount to considerable sums of money. For example, in the case of housing, Oklahoma’s formula-based allocation allocated to native housing authorities through the Native American Housing Block Grant is $37.4 million, which is considerably more than the $25.1 million going to non-native public housing authorities in Oklahoma through the Public Housing Capital Fund.

During the last state fiscal crisis, from 2002 -04, funding for Oklahoma’s Medicaid program was hit hard. In FY ’02 and FY ’03, as revenues began to plummet, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) put coverage of almost all non-mandatory benefits and eligibility categories on the table for cuts. The agency ended up eliminating dental coverage for adults, reducing prescription drug coverage for seniors and persons with disabilities in home- and community-based waivers, limiting hospital in-patient coverage, and abolishing the medically needy eligibility program for individuals facing large medical bills, among other measures. Only an 11th-hour promise of supplemental funding by legislative leaders and some serious arm-twisting led OHCA’s Board to reverse a decision that would have eliminated eligibility for over 50,000 low-income children and pregnant women. Read the rest of this entry »

A new OK Policy issue brief looks at the federal stimulus funding that is being made available to states that adopt a number of modest reforms to their Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs. As the number of jobless workers claiming UI benefits rises rapidly, Oklahoma’s UI program may be approaching a situation, known as conditional factors,  that automatically triggers cuts in jobless benefits and increases in employer taxes to keep the state’s UI Trust Fund solvent. The stimulus bill would provide Oklahoma $75.9 million that could avert or minimize these tax hikes and benefit cuts, contingent on implementing some worthwhile changes to the UI program that Oklahoma has already largely enacted.

Read our four page brief or see this guide from the National Employment Law Project on the various provisions of the stimulus bill benefiting unemployed workers.

The AP reported Thursday that Oklahoma’s budget shortfall could potentially take another $65  million hit as a result of tax provisions that were included as part of the federal stimulus bill passed by Congress in February. The stimulus bill, or ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), included several provisions that reduce businesses’ taxable income in 2009 and 2010. Since Oklahoma ties its income tax to federal definitions of taxable income, these federal tax cuts can wind up affecting state revenue collections as well. The most substantial provision – accounting for $46 million in lost revenue for the upcoming budget year – comes from the bonus depreciation allowance, which allows companies to write-off assets more rapidly than under normal law. Read the rest of this entry »

As we’ve said, we are very pleased by Governor Henry’s swift action in launching a state website to provide information on the federal stimulus bill (formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA), as it applies to Oklahoma. If you surf through the site, you’ll find various pieces of information about the multiple funding streams available to the state and Oklahoma’s expected share of these funds. What you won’t find, however, is a single document pulling together information on all the programs, grants, and funding streams that may come Oklahoma’s way as a result of ARRA. Read the rest of this entry »

Federal agencies are releasing information and guidance on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) at a fast and furious pace.  The Department of Education has a webpage that has detailed information on each of the major funding streams for education, including Title I (funding for low-income students), IDEA (special education), and the state fiscal stabilization fund. The Department articulates the basic principles guiding the education funds in the stimulus bill:

Principles: The overall goals of the ARRA are to stimulate the economy in the short term and invest in education and other essential public services to ensure the long-term economic health of our nation. The success of the education part of the ARRA will depend on the shared commitment and responsibility of students, parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, education boards, college presidents, state school chiefs, governors, local officials, and federal officials. Collectively, we must advance ARRA’s short-term economic goals by investing quickly, and we must support ARRA’s long-term economic goals by investing wisely, using these funds to strengthen education, drive reforms, and improve results for students from early learning through college. Four principles guide the distribution and use of ARRA funds: Read the rest of this entry »