2022 in Review

  Reports

A Better Path Forward: Focus on Transparency (Oklahoma’s Budget Process)	Better Tomorrows: A Landscape Analysis of Oklahoma’s Youth Justice System and Suggested Reforms	Medicaid Expansion in Oklahoma: Year One

Research and Analysis

• Medicaid expansion improved access to care for Indigenous Oklahomans

• New report shows Oklahoma led nation in improving health insurance coverage, but more than 75,000 Oklahoma children remain uninsured

• Dental therapy can improve Oklahoma’s oral health, help address dental workforce shortage (Guest)

• Oklahoma’s parole process has helped safely lower the number of people in prison. Continued investments could build on this progress.

• Enacting recommended expansion of pregnancy, postpartum care will represent a step forward for Oklahoma families

• Oklahoma’s 2022 General Elections

• Judges on the Ballot in Oklahoma: What You Need to Know

• Make your voice heard: Vote absentee!

• Supporting immigration will boost Oklahoma’s economy 

• Latest poverty, health insurance data show that Oklahoma still has work to do

• It’s time for action to address Oklahoma’s eviction crisis

• Excluded in the Expansion: The persisting gaps in health care coverage for immigrant Oklahomans

• Oklahomans need common-sense tax reform

• Effective democracy requires more transparency in Oklahoma state government

• Improving future for Oklahoma children will require long-term investments today

• Medicaid expansion is a vital piece of reentry for Oklahomans leaving incarceration

• 2022 KIDS COUNT Report Shows Oklahoma Ranks 40th for Child Well-Being, Still Lags Nation

• Expanding driver’s license eligibility is better for all of us

• Oklahoma lawmakers should get serious about addressing inflation

• Medicaid expansion’s rippling impact on Oklahoma

• Tribal-state coordination to prioritize Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare is one way to improve child well-being

• Protecting Oklahoma’s economy requires labor force-oriented solutions

• The Oklahoma Legislature could have done more to support everyday Oklahomans

• Targeted relief can help Oklahoma families weather inflation

• FY 2023 Budget Highlights

• Budget includes a few long-awaited investments, but misses crucial opportunities

• Lawmakers voted down a corporate income tax cut this spring. Leadership should leave it out of the budget.

• A county-by-county look at how increasing Oklahoma’s Sales Tax Relief Credit benefits families, seniors

• A thoughtful approach to the end of the public health emergency will mitigate coverage lapses

• Increasing economic security in Oklahoma can strengthen families, assist in child abuse prevention (Child Abuse Prevention Month)

• Oklahoma should work towards true housing equity

• HB 1933 attacks an indispensable support to our workforce

• Personal income tax cuts won’t deliver relief to low- and middle-class Oklahomans

• Tax Day 2022–The view from VITA (Guest Post)

• Broadband bill presents opportunity for Oklahoma (Guest Post Dr. Brian Whitacre)

• Oklahoma’s state question process should be protected

• Legislators have an opportunity to make a down payment on the state’s future

• Tribal health systems need more resources to fight public health emergencies, but there are still long-standing barriers that need to be addressed

• Reducing our incarceration population is a matter of public safety — and public health

• Mitigation efforts helped keep our justice-involved youth safer during the pandemic

• The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in services to vulnerable communities, particularly immigrants

• New report examines Oklahoma’s youth justice system, proposes reforms 

• Smart investments are the key to an equitable economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession

• COVID-19 worsened an existing crisis for child care in Oklahoma

• Cutting taxes this year would be short-sighted and harmful

• Evictions are returning to pre-pandemic levels. That’s not a good thing.

• Medicaid expansion has helped Oklahomans weather the pandemic

• All Oklahomans pay taxes, but not all of us can reap the rewards

• Oklahoma families need economic support following the ending of the expanded Child Tax Credit

• The fiscally responsible way to reduce taxes on groceries

• “Long COVID” increases the urgency for a state paid family and medical leave program

• The 2022 session brings rare opportunity for significant progress in our criminal justice system

• Oklahoma hasn’t always been inclusive of our immigrant communities. It’s time to change that

• Strengthening the Grocery Tax Credit would provide fiscally smart tax relief to working Oklahomans

• Oklahoma Policy Institute now includes tribal-state policy advocacy

• The cheeseburger economics of the minimum wage

• A lack of data hinders policy efforts to address anti-LGBTQ2S+ discrimination

• Data shows discrimination is a clear barrier to the success of LGBTQ2S+ Oklahomans

Policy Matters (Weekly op-ed, Journal Record)

• Policy Matters column archived at Journal Record  

Capitol Update (Weekly column, former House Speaker Steve Lewis)

• Capitol Updates column archived at OK Policy

Additional Op-Eds and Other Publications

• Viewpoint: Tax cuts’ drain on revenues would stifle Oklahoma’s economic growth [The Oklahoman, April 2022]
• Column: Lower courts costs for justice-involved children [Tulsa World, April 2022]
• Column: Oklahoma could stop failing its children, if leaders would start investing in them [Tulsa World, August 2022]
• Column: Time for lawmakers to follow through on SQ 781 for community well-being [Tulsa World, November 2022]