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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly W onk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
This Week from OK Policy
This week, we released newly updated CountySTATS fact sheets for all 77 Oklahoma counties. On the OK Policy Blog, Policy Analyst Carly Putnam shared a recent study showing Oklahoma’s child uninsured rate has dropped significantly. Intern Elizabeth Armstrong discussed food insecurity among military families.
In his Capitol Update, Steve Lewis explained a recent proposal to give the governor more authority to appoint agency directors. Chris Powell, former chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party, advocated for ballot access reform to improve voter turnout. In his Journal Record column, Executive Director David Blatt discussed research on why tax cuts are the wrong strategy for economic growth.
OK Policy in the News
The Oklahoman quoted Blatt in a piece on an OCPA challenge to a proposed $0.01 sales tax increase to fund education. Perry spoke to Oklahoma Watch about review of state business incentives. The Oklahoman’s Editorial Board cited OK Policy data while discussing the impact of term limits. The original blog post on the topic is available here.
Weekly What’s That
Ad valorum manufacturing exemption
In 1985, Oklahoma voters approved State Question 588 by a 69.7 percent majority. This created the ad valorem manufacturing exemption. Under Article X, Section 6B of the Oklahoma Constitution, all real and personal property that is necessary for the manufacturing of a product and facilities engaged in research and development, which meet certain requirements, receive a five-year exemption from ad valorem (property) taxes. Read more.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“The effect is that the press and public don’t know how and why their leaders are making these decisions until well after the decision is already made, and the consequences are already realized.”
Joe Wertz, a reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma, speaking about how Oklahomans often wait longer than six months for routine open records requests to be filled by the governor and Attorney General’s office (Source).
Editorial of the Week
Editorial Board, The Kansas City Star
As he ran for re-election last year, Gov. Sam Brownback brushed aside critics of his fiscal policies and proclaimed “the sun is shining in Kansas.”
On Friday, the latest full eclipse of that sun occurred when state officials slashed revenue projections by a total of $350 million over the next two years and cut $120 million in spending this year.
Numbers of the Day
- 479,750 – Acres of irrigated farmland in Oklahoma in 2012, down from 534,768 acres in 2007
- $4,457 – Estimated annual cost of food for a household consisting of one adult and one child in Oklahoma
See previous Numbers of the Day and sources here.
What We’re Reading
- Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax policies are causing the sun to sink on Kansas’ future [Kansas City Star].
- Police are searching black drivers more often, but finding more illegal stuff with white drivers [Washington Post].
