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

Today you should know that in the wake of a fertilizer plant explosion that leveled buildings and killed 14 and injured 200 in Texas last week, the Tulsa World reports that Oklahoma has few regulations for fertilizer manufacturing. Former Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth was attacked by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him. Some Oklahoma Muslims have expressed concern about anti-Islamic rhetoric mounting at the state Capitol after the creation of a counter-terrorism legislative caucus whose members have focused on the activities of a Muslim civil rights group.

Oklahoma Policy Institute is now accepting applications for our summer internship and the first Summer Policy Institute, where 40 to 50 students from across the state will learn from policy experts from government, academia, and community organizations. A Republican state senator says Gov. Mary Fallin and her staff are refusing to take his calls or meet with a group of his constituents about plans to close a state care center for the developmentally disabled. More than 300 contract workers at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City have received layoff notices because of federal spending cuts forced by sequestration. 

continue reading In The Know: Oklahoma has few regulations for fertilizer manufacturing

This summer, we are pleased to offer two exciting opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students interested in Oklahoma public policy. We are now accepting applications for summer interns, as well as for the first Summer Policy Institute, where 40 to 50 students from across the state will participate in panels, workshops, and keynote addresses involving leading policy experts from government, academia, and community organizations.

Please share these opportunities with any students, classmates, or others who may find them of interest.

Summer Internship

OK Policy is looking for students for a paid part-time or full-time internship during the Summer of 2013. Students will be expected to work between 15 and 40 hours per week, depending on their schedules and availability. The position will be based primarily in our Tulsa office, with occasional opportunities to work from home or school.

Eligible students should have completed at least four semesters of college course work or be pursuing a graduate degree. We are happy to cooperate with an institution’s requirements for academic credit.

Interested candidates should complete the application form by Friday, May 3rd. For more information and the application form, go to http://okpolicy.org/who-we-are/internships.

Summer Policy Institute

Oklahoma Policy Institute will host the first Summer Policy Institute (SPI) from August 5 -7, 2013 at the University of Tulsa. The event will bring together 40-50 highly-qualified undergraduate and graduate students for an exciting and stimulating three-day learning experience. SPI will offer participants a unique opportunity to become better informed about vital Oklahoma policy issues, network with fellow students and leaders in the policy process, and prepare for their future studies and work in public policy-related fields.

The Institute will be hosted and led by the staff of OK Policy. It will also involve leading policy experts from government, academia and community organizations throughout Oklahoma. Keynote presentations will provide a chance to hear from top political practitioners and observers on such topics as the practice of political leadership, Oklahoma campaigns and elections, the intersections of state and federal policy, and the changing media landscape.

To learn more about the Summer Policy Institute and how to apply, go to http://okpolicy.org/summer-policy-institute. The application deadline is May 31, 2013.

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

Today you should know that a plan by Governor Fallin’s office to provide health coverage to 200,000 uninsured, working-class Oklahomans without expanding Medicaid likely won’t materialize before this year’s legislative session ends, and it still isn’t clear how any plan might work. Following large income tax cuts, Kansas is burning through its reserves and faces a $545M shortfall in 2015 if they do not increase taxes.

The Oklahoman editorial board writes that Oklahoma needs to significantly increase its investment in mental health treatment. The Oklahoman also wrote that it is time for a conversation to solve Oklahoma City’s transit shortcomings. Politico reports that Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas is resisting a move to impose work requirements for food stamps at the federal level, even as state lawmakers push for them in Oklahoma.

continue reading In The Know: Governor will have no plan this year for uninsured Oklahomans

The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage.  Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know.  Click here to subscribe to In The Know.

OK Policy’s director David Blatt was quoted in a NewsOK article explaining that 337,000 Oklahomans will be eligible for ‘Obamacare’ tax credits in 2014. David’s Journal Record column discussed the potential for an overhaul of public pensions to emerge at the very end of the legislative session, bringing major but uncertain and poorly understood changes. 

On our blog we highlighted policy analyst Kate Richey’s upcoming lecture regarding closing the opportunity gap. We also explained that despite attempts by state officials to block the law, Oklahoma consumers will still benefit when the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect next year. The blog also gave an update on bills targeting the state’s poorest families and introduced a new Oklahoma Policy Institute fact sheet showing that Oklahoma’s public schools have relatively low administration costs.

Numbers of the Day

• 26,295 – The number of affordable homes and apartments in Oklahoma that were developed and financed under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, enacted in 1986
• 63 percent – Percentage of women in Oklahoma without health insurance that are currently employed, 2013
• 27 – The number of states who are participating (or leaning towards participating) in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act
• 6^th – Oklahoma’s rank for the rate of female death due to firearms, 4.6 women per 100,000, compared to just 2.8 women nationally
• $706 – Amount Oklahoma’s public schools have lost per student in education funding over the last five years

Policy Notes

• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shares their top five state tax charts.
• The Huffington Post reports on a survey that finds, most employers won’t drop health care coverage because of Obamacare.
• The Washington Post’s Wonkblog explains what you need to know regarding the Senate immigration bill.
• A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families extend well into the next generation.
• Governing Magazine asks whether pension reforms have gone so far that governments can no longer attract the best person for the job.

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

Today you should know that a plan to slash Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate could be unveiled next week, but state leaders acknowledged the deal hinges on agreements between the House, Senate and governor’s office on a workers’ compensation overhaul and an eight-year infrastructure improvement plan. A new Oklahoma Policy Institute fact sheet shows that Oklahoma’s public schools have relatively low administration costs. The okeducationtruths blog discussed Republican angst over Common Core Standards for school curriculum.

Western Oklahoma State College’s accrediting board has placed the school on probation following a review of controversial online courses reportedly favored by college athletes. The owner of a southern Oklahoma refinery will contest nearly two dozen citations and a $281,000 fine levied by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following an explosion that killed two workers. Test results have identified 57 former patients of Tulsa oral surgeon W. Scott Harrington who have hepatitis C and 3 who have hepatitis B. The Tulsa County jail is lifting its ban on jailing municipal prisoners, even though it is still over capacity.

The Number of the Day is the amount Oklahoma’s public schools have lost per student in education funding over the last five years. In today’s Policy Note, Governing Magazine asks whether pension reforms have gone so far that governments can no longer attract the best person for the job.

continue reading In The Know: Oklahoma leaders nearing deal on income tax cut

[Download a pdf of this fact sheet here.]

Over the last five years, Oklahoma has made some of the deepest cuts to funding for local schools of any state in the country. Some critics claim that Oklahoma can adequately fund schools by reducing administrative costs without increasing the total amount spent on our public education system. However, an analysis of school spending shows that Oklahoma spends relatively little on school administration, and there are not enough savings to be found in cutting administration to significantly improve funding for instruction.

continue reading Oklahoma’s public schools have relatively low administration costs

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

Today you should know that nearly 337,000 Oklahomans will be eligible for tax credits next year that will help them pay for health insurance premiums. You can see the full Oklahoma fact sheet from Families USA. Arkansas’ plan to use federal Medicaid expansion money to buy private insurance for low-income residents has won final approval from state lawmakers. The Tulsa World writes that there is a growing chorus of support for Oklahoma to participate in the expansion, including some from leaders not known for entering political frays.

House Majority Leader Dennis Johnson, R-Duncan, had to apologize for using an ethnic slur while debating on the House floor. A state audit found that employees at Oklahoma nursing homes for veterans work long shifts, with little pay and little guidance, contributing to serious problems with patient care. The OK Policy Blog gave an update on bills targeting the state’s poorest families.

continue reading In The Know: 337,000 Oklahomans eligible for Obamacare tax credits next year

A little over a month ago we alerted readers to a slew of bills targeting safety net assistance programs for the state’s poorest families and most vulnerable residents.  Some of those bills have been amended to be less draconian, some are now dormant for the session, and many are further on their way to becoming law.  At this point the bills we’ve been tracking aimed at low income Oklahomans can be divided into three categories:  bills that enact ‘ornamental’ but not real changes, bills that enact real changes but not exactly as advertised by proponents, and bills that are now dormant and off our radar.

‘Ornamental’ bills

While the authors and proponents of these bills tout them as bold measures to cut off undeserving recipients of public benefits or combat waste and abuse, the reality is these bills don’t enact major changes.

HB 1909 forgoes a temporary federal waiver, enacted during the recent recession, to extend food stamp benefits to able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) in counties with very high unemployment.  In reality, HB 1909 likely won’t change the state’s food stamp program at all.  It won’t take effect until October and Oklahoma almost certainly won’t be eligible to apply for the federal waiver by then because unemployment has already dipped below double digits in every county.

HB 1909 does make it appear as if the state is no longer offering food stamps to ABAWDs, but that just isn’t the case.  HB 1909 stipulates that it applies ‘except as otherwise provided by law’ and federal law does require the states to provide minimal benefits to some childless adults working at least 20 hours a week.  The author, House Speaker TW Shannon, hailed the bill in a press release as a ‘welfare reform’ that encourages responsibility and discourages dependency, but that’s more hyperbole than fact.

Similarly, SB 887 inserts redundant new language into existing state statute that already bars food stamp recipients from ‘transferring‘ or otherwise fraudulently using their benefit.  Also not new is language in the bill directing district attorneys to have defendants facing fraud charges sign ‘disqualification consent agreement’ (DCA) that block them from future access to the food stamp program.  DCAs are already used routinely by the state in food stamp fraud cases.  The bill does nothing new to reduce fraud or save taxpayers’ money.

SB 667 mirrors a recently enacted federal law which restricts the electronic distribution of public benefits through EBT cards at certain establishments (liquor stores, casinos).  The federal law does not require enacting legislation at the state level.  OKDHS is obligated to enforce the new federal law as enacted and their administration of EBT cards won’t be affected by SB 667 at all.

Last but not least, a bill that has already passed the Senate and the House, SB 456, requires county DHS offices to post signs in their waiting rooms encouraging people to report the ‘fraudulent acquisition and use of public assistance.’  States already spend more investigating reports of benefit fraud than what they recoup from valid reports of recipient fraud. If these signs result in an increase in fraud reporting, there’s no evidence it will save the state money and anecdotal evidence it might cost us more.

‘Red herring’ bills

These bills would enact substantive changes, but have implications beyond those outlined by proponents.

HB 1908 diverts ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ (TANF) funds to produce public service announcements promoting marriage among the general public.  TANF or ‘welfare’ is designed to support vulnerable and very low-income single parents and their children.  No estimate has been provided of how much these ad spots promoting marriage will cost or whether they work.

Evidence about the efficacy of ‘marriage promotion’ as a way to reduce poverty is mixed.  Evidence about the efficacy of PSAs is nonexistent.  Why would lawmakers take money from the state’s existing marriage counseling initiatives, which the state already funds to the tune of $2M in TANF dollars?  These services have already proven that they work to enhance relationships, improve parenting, and strengthen couples (yet do not improve families’ financial situations, which is worth noting).  

SB 959 attempts to dragoon law enforcement officers into human services record-keeping:

Upon the arrest of any person for a drug-related offense, the arresting peace officer shall ask the arrested person the following question: “Are you currently receiving public assistance, including, but not limited to, food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF-formerly known as welfare), housing assistance or Medicaid?”. Responses to such questions shall be collected by the law enforcement agency and shall be made readily available to the Legislature upon request.

This bill imposes new rules around the questioning of suspects under arrest that are immaterial to the criminal investigation at hand.  It requires that law enforcement create a new data-gathering regime, capable of collecting, storing, and reporting information back to the legislature.  Yet it doesn’t provide any new funding or even basic guidelines for how this might be accomplished.  

Inactive bills

Finally, the bills listed below are now dormant pursuant to legislative rules and will not become law this session; click here for our previous post detailing these problematic proposals.

• HB 2014: Exclude persons with a drug related felony from receiving SNAP or ‘food stamp’ benefits
• HB 2017: Exclude low-income households who save up to $5,000 from food stamp eligibility

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

Today you should know that Governor Fallin signed four school security bills developed by a task force created after the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Law enforcement and school officials say the bills will not do anything that wasn’t already being done. The Senate passed 3 abortion bills and a resolution against same sex marriage. On the OK Policy Blog, we explain that despite attempts by state officials to block the law, Oklahoma consumers will still benefit when the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect next year.

The court date for Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board members’ misdemeanor case for alleged Open Meeting Act violations was delayed until June 27. The Oklahoma City School District is seeking to close a northeast OKC charter school which the superintendent says has mismanaged money and failed to provide adequate academic progress to students. Cherokee Nation officials presented $3.2 million from tribal car tag sale proceeds to 92 northeastern Oklahoma school districts.

continue reading In The Know: New Oklahoma school safety laws change little

Barriers still remain in achieving the real goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to get uninsured Americans affordable healthcare coverage. The Supreme Court created one of these barriers when it ruled that the federal government could not force states to expand Medicaid coverage to all individuals with incomes less than 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). As a result, 14 states, including Oklahoma, have decided or are leaning towards not expanding Medicaid.

The latest barrier is the unwillingness of some states to enforce the consumer protection provisions of the ACA. In states unwilling or unable to enforce these provisions, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has empowered the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) to directly enforce the provisions.

These provisions, which take effect January 1, 2014, reform current health insurance market practices. They are designed to protect health insurance consumers by guaranteeing accessible, affordable, and adequate health insurance plans:

• Accessibility – The consumer protection provisions of the ACA will make health insurance more accessible by requiring that insurers guarantee healthcare coverage to all who apply and prohibiting waiting periods of longer than 90 days.
• Affordability – To ensure affordability of health insurance plans, insurers can only vary rates based on four factors: family composition, geographic area, age and tobacco use. The ACA further limits the variation for age and tobacco use. An insurance company cannot charge an adult more than 3 times the rate of a younger person, and can only charge a tobacco user 1.5 times more than a non-tobacco user.  Consumer out-of-pocket cost will also be limited under the ACA and insurers will be required to cover at least 60 percent of the plan’s total cost.
• Adequacy -  As a result of the market reforms, insurance companies will no longer be able to exclude preexisting conditions from coverage. The law also outlines ten categories of essential health benefits that must be covered by insurance plans being offered through the insurance marketplace.

Health insurance regulation is primarily a state action. In partnership with the federal government, states are expected to enforce the consumer protections provisions of the ACA. States will be responsible for enforcing the provisions for insurance plans offered inside and outside of the health insurance marketplaces. However, CMS will step in and enforce the law if states notify the agency of their lack of authority or unwillingness to enforce the law, or if CMS finds that a state is not substantially enforcing the provisions.

A report by the Commonwealth Fund found that only 11 states so far have taken legislative action to enforce the ACA insurance market reforms. To be fair, some states already have the necessary legislation in place to enforce these provisions, so no more action is required on their part. However, four states, including Oklahoma, have notified federal officials that they will not be taking action to enforce the consumer protection provisions.

In a press release, Commissioner John Doak explained that the Oklahoma Insurance Department would not be participating in a collaborative effort with CCIIO to enforce the ACA. He also released a letter sent to the CCIIO director explaining his department’s lack of authority to enforce the ACA and his disapproval of subjecting health insurers to a “system of dual regulation.” In the letter, Commissioner Doak expressed his concern regarding the impact these dual regulations would have on Oklahoma consumers. 

This system of dual regulation is actually nothing more than requiring insurers to take an extra administrative step to ensure compliance with the ACA. Since Commissioner Doak refuses to enforce the ACA, Oklahoma health insurers will now have to submit policy information and other health insurance plan documentation directly to the federal government. CCIIO will confirm that insurers comply with ACA market reforms and will work with those found to be non-compliant.

For health insurance consumers in Oklahoma, there should be little concern with the federal government regulating health insurance plans. Even some on the right, in our state, have expressed a welcoming attitude in having the federal government enforce the ACA market reforms. Within Wyoming, another state where the federal government will be enforcing the ACA, the outlook for federal enforcement of the ACA is relatively positive.

The Oklahoma legislature could authorize Commissioner Doak to enforce the ACA in the future, but until that time the federal government will ensure that Oklahoma health insurance consumers are receiving the benefits and protections provided by the ACA.

 Click here for our other resources and analysis on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act