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 officials with the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon say the race will proceed as scheduled in less than two weeks, despite the explosions at the Boston Marathon. At least five earthquakes shook parts of Oklahoma early this morning. Gov. Fallin said she feels heartened after talking with the House Republican caucus about the prospects of getting an income-tax cut bill this year, while Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said his caucus  may consider more changes, such as eliminating or reducing tax credits or deductions. Kurt Hochenauer writes that the tax cut boosters arguments are full of misguided assumptions, lack empirical evidence, and rely on dogma.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Service’s Practice and Policy Lecture Series will host OK Policy analyst Kate Richey on April 25th to discuss Oklahoma’s racial wealth gap in asset building. A former state health commissioner joined Oklahoma House Democrats on Monday in calling on GOP Gov. Mary Fallin and Republican legislative leaders to expand access to Medicaid. With little more than eight months before key mandates of health care reform take effect, new research shows almost half of Americans don’t know much if anything at all about the new federal laws. Proposed federal rules for who can assist consumers to purchase health insurance on the new exchanges appears to be at odds with Oklahoma law because the navigator role is not limited to licensed agents and brokers.

continue reading In The Know: Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon officials say race is on as scheduled

The Oklahoma Department of Human Service’s Practice and Policy Lecture Series will host our very own policy analyst, Kate Richey, on April 25^th  to discuss Oklahoma’s racial wealth gap in asset building. The free event will take place from noon to 1 pm at the Oklahoma History Center located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. Click here to pre-register for the lecture.

Kate’s lecture, entitled Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building Equity in Oklahoma, is based on her report released by OKPolicy last year. Asset building refers to items necessary for prosperity such as a savings account, home ownership, and an education. Kate will outline how the housing crisis and Great Recession has widened the already present opportunity gap between whites and minorities in Oklahoma. She will argue that unless policy initiatives are implemented that facilitate asset building for low-income Oklahomans, the American dream will not only stay out of reach for thousands, but also hurt the entire state’s future economic prosperity.

A policy analyst for OKPolicy since 2011, Kate Richey possesses an extensive knowledge on a wide range of public policy issues including poverty, race, immigration, healthcare, and asset building.  She received her B.A. in Business from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her M.A. in Political Science from the University of Central Oklahoma. In addition to public policy research and writing, Kate also has taught government and public policy at the college level. Visit our Staff webpage for her complete bio.

 All lectures in the Policy and Practice lecture series are free and open to the public.  For more information contact the Office of Planning, Research and Statistics at 405-521-3552. View the complete lecture series lineup here.

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 Republican legislative leaders and the governor say they are optimistic about passing tax cuts and an overhaul the workers’ compensation system, but Senate President Brian Bingman said the Senate may consider more changes to the tax cut bill, such as eliminating or reducing tax credits or deductions. KJRH reported on why the proposed tax cut would do little for average Oklahomans. The Oklahoman editorial board responded to OK Policy’s arguments (seen in this blog post) against the need for another tax cut.

The Tulsa Chamber of Commerce remains cool to tax cuts, and Kurt Hochenauer points out that if tax cuts are going to be delayed, it would be more responsible to wait and see how well the economy is doing next year. Mickey Hepner writes that the state economy might not be as strong as some report. Higher education may face a $24 million shortfall unless the Legislature picks up the tab on debt restructuring.

continue reading In The Know: Legislative leaders optimistic about tax cut, workers’ comp laws

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 Director David Blatt’s Journal Record column discussed the continuing failure of tax credit reform. David was also quoted by Tulsa television station KJRH, in an online article, discussing the proposed tax cut’s impact on education in Oklahoma. Policy analyst, Kate Richey released a statement that Governor Fallin’s veto of SB 817 (a bill that would have raised fees on short-term, high-interest, unsecured loans) was the right decision for consumers. The Oklahoman editorial board argued against OK Policy’s position on tax cuts and the Tulsa World editorial writers mentioned OK Policy in their discussion regarding the decline in collection of state and local taxes in March.  

The OK Policy Blog this week featured a TED Talk on how the way we think about charities is actually undermining the causes we care most deeply about. We discussed the promising life and untimely death of tax credit reform in Oklahoma and why any fair assessment of the facts makes clear that another tax cut is the wrong priority for Oklahoma this year.  We also featured the announcement of the two new Oklahoma Policy Institute  Board members, John Feaver of Chickasha and Ann-Clore Duncan of Edmond.

Numbers of the Day

• 339,000 – Number of low to moderate income working Oklahomans claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on their federal return, roughly 13 percent of filers in 2012
• 40,320 – Number of Oklahoma small businesses now eligible for a new health insurance tax credit under the Affordable Care Act, a federal income tax credit worth $746/year on average for each worker provided health coverage
• 82 percent – Percentage of Oklahoma’s TANF or ‘welfare’ recipients who are children, FY 2012
• 37,004 – Number of high-tech jobs in Oklahoma, 33rd among the states in 2011
• 759  - The number of state troopers on Oklahoma’s highways, comparable to the number of troopers in 1991, 22 years ago

Policy Notes

• The Center for American Progress discusses the potential advantages and pitfalls of the use of prepaid cards for government payments.
• The Economic Policy Institute reports that vast majority of wage earners are working harder, and for not much more
• The National Women’s Law Center suggests raising the minimum wage rate will narrow the gender pay equity gap.  
• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities discusses how President Obama’s latest budget affirms that Washington will pay nearly all the costs of expanding Medicaid.
• The blog Governing addressed the question regarding “What’s Wrong with Kansas’ Tax Reform.”

by Max Resnik, KJRH

TULSA – According to the non-partisan, non-profit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the proposed income tax cut currently being discussed by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders would add little cash to the pockets of Oklahomans.

Much of the discussion has involved reducing the income tax from the current rate of 5.25 percent to 5 percent, a quarter of a percent cut.

That cut, according to Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy , would mean an extra $39 a year for median income earners, who are making less than $53,200.

The greatest benefit would be given to the state’s top 1 percent of income earners, those making upwards of $393,000. They would see a yearly income increase of $1,870.

Income taxes make up a third of Oklahoma’s revenue and play a role in funding for things like road construction projects, public safety and education. 

Some of the most negative effects of an income tax cut, according to David Blatt, director of the non-profit independent think tank Oklahoma Policy Institute, would be levied against education. Blatt says further cuts could lead to larger class sizes and fewer teachers.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Oklahoma is among the states that have cut the most money in per-student spending. Since 2008, Oklahoma has decreased per-student spending by 20 percent .

Tulsa Public Schools superintendent Dr. Keith Ballard says he’s opposed to any income tax rate cuts.

According to Ballard, TPS has cut 300 teaching jobs since 2008 and has seen $22 million less from the state in funding.

“Education funding in Oklahoma has been decimated. There can’t just be talk and say, ‘Well, we support core services but we also support any income tax cut.’ They’re incompatible,’” Ballard said.

He says that under the proposed tax cut, TPS would lose at least $8 million more, which could go towards rehiring the teachers lost through cutbacks over the last five years.

“How many teachers could we hire with $8 million? How many raises could we give? How much could we give in raises, if we had that $8 million? This is a serious issue that impacts education in a serious and dramatic way,” he said.

“We would like to add teachers back, in a planned manner. We would like to be able to give raises. This is all about classroom teachers, and this is why there has been a huge outcry from parents.”

Blatt estimates $100 – $150 million would be lost from the state’s budget if the quarter of a percent cut would go into effect.

There is some talk that the cut could be greater than a quarter of a percent.

Where Gov. Fallin and the legislative leaders will agree remains to be seen. When it could go into effect is also the subject of continued discussions.

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 Gov. Fallin and Speaker Shannon have backed off from insisting that cuts to the state’s income tax must take place immediately. GOP lawmakers are pushing for several new tax breaks, including exemptions for helicopter purchases and sporting events.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma urged the governor to veto HB 1060, a bill they say disrespects the American ideal of religious pluralism. The Senate’s budget chair says money will likely be available to pay for state teacher benefits this year.

continue reading In The Know: Gov. and Speaker now open to delaying tax cut

John Feaver

Oklahoma Policy Institute is proud to announce that John Feaver of Chickasha and Ann-Clore Duncan of Edmond have joined its Board of Directors.

John Feaver is President of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO). John joined the faculty of USAO in 1980 and served as chair of the Division of Business and Social Sciences, Assistant to the President, and Vice President for Academic Affairs before being named the college’s 12^th president in 2000. He earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, and performed military service in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star.

Ann-Clore Duncan is a community volunteer.  She serves as education chair and a trustee to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum Foundation and is past president of Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma and the Junior League of Oklahoma City.  Ann-Clore is also active with United Way of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.  Her undergraduate degree is from DePauw University.

continue reading OK Policy adds John Feaver and Ann-Clore Duncan to Board

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 is opposing any delay of a proposed income tax cut, saying that “people in Oklahoma have less money in their pocketbooks and one of the ways that we can help relieve some of that is to give them a tax cut this year.” OK Policy previously showed that under the Governor’s plan, 43 percent of Oklahoman would receive no tax cut and the vast majority of the benefit would go to the already wealthy. The OK Policy Blog discussed why any fair assessment of the facts makes clear that another tax cut is the wrong priority for Oklahoma this year.

Oklahoma’s state Capitol was named as one of Oklahoma’s most endangered historic places. OK Policy Director David Blatt’s Journal Record column discusses the continuing failure of tax credit reform. Legislators approved three new tax breaks on Wednesday for tickets to sporting events, construction of affordable homes and the purchase of helicopters. OK Policy released a statement that Governor Fallin’s veto of SB 817 (a bill that would have raised fees on short-term, high-interest, unsecured loans) was the right decision for consumers.

continue reading In The Know: Gov. Fallin opposes delay of income tax cut

Photo by Chuck Miller used under a Creative Commons License.

Last week, General Electric announced they would build an energy research center in Oklahoma. The company said it would employ at least 125 people in well-paid, high tech engineering jobs. GE executives said they chose Oklahoma because of proximity to GE’s oil and gas customers, the state’s academic institutions, and the area’s skilled workforce. They did not mention taxes, and indeed, chose Oklahoma City over Houston, the nearby oil and gas hub without a state income tax.

The GE example illustrates what the majority of research into economic development shows: that proximity to customers, qualified workers, and quality public services are far more important to business than state and local tax rates. In Oklahoma, we owe our recent economic successes to rising gas prices and new technologies for natural gas extraction. Growth in mining and pipeline transportation jobs accounted for 58 percent of Oklahoma’s relative job gains from 2004 to 2011. Tax cuts did not create the oil and gas in our rocks, nor did they create the experienced energy workers, drilling infrastructure, and historic connections to the energy industry that allowed us to take advantage of this boom.

continue reading Do we need another tax cut?

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 the co-founder of the Sooner Tea Party was charged with blackmail over a threatening email that he sent to a state senator. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against Gov. Fallin, alleging that the Governor’s refusal to release some records related to health care policy decisions is a violation of Oklahoma Open Records Act. The Tulsa World reported on Governor Fallin’s veto of a bill to allow lenders of small loans to further increase charges on borrowers.

The Oklahoma League of Women Voters brought seven communities together in a live-broadcast forum on issues facing public education in Oklahoma. An Oklahoma Policy Institute fact sheet shows how severe education funding cuts threaten Oklahoma’s economic future. The authors of the law that created Oklahoma’s controversial A-F school report cards are now sponsoring legislation that would dramatically alter the method of grading schools. The OK Policy Blog discussed the promising life and untimely death of tax credit reform in Oklahoma. Oklahoma’s general fund revenue took a hit in March, falling 4.7 percent from the same month a year ago and coming in 13 percent less than expectations. 

continue reading In The Know: Sooner Tea Party co-founder charged with blackmailing Oklahoma state senator