Recent Articles

Bill Watch: Best laid plans often go awry

On the eve of the last regular committee deadline for many bills, some legislation appears to have been derailed by feuding between the House and Senate. These bills might still be saved by some creative reinterpretation of legislative rules, but it's a reminder that we can't take a smooth process for granted, even in a Legislature dominated by one party. [More...]

Bill Watch: Beware the Ides of April

We have one week to go before the next big deadline in the Legislature. Legislative committees have until Thursday, April 11th for bills from the opposite chamber. Those that don't receive a vote by the deadline will go dormant until next year. [More...]

Release: OK Policy launches search for new Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TULSA, OK (April 2, 2019): Oklahoma Policy Institute today launched a search for a new Executive Director to replace David Blatt, who announced last week that he intends to step down from his position once a new… Read more [More...]

Release: OK Policy announces that Executive Director David Blatt will be leaving later this year

Oklahoma Policy Institute announced today that David Blatt, its longtime Executive Director, will leave the organization later this year. Blatt intends to remain with the Tulsa-based think-tank through the transition process to a new Executive Director. “We are extremely grateful to David for the great success he has had in building OK Policy into an organization that is widely recognized and respected for its quality, credibility, independence, and integrity,” said Don Millican, who serves as OK Policy’s Board Chair. [More...]

Bill Watch: Whoa, we didn’t see that coming!

Every legislative session is a mix of the expected and unexpected. In this edition of our Bill Watch series, we look at some of the bills we are now paying closer attention to that have come from out of left field. [More...]

Joint Statement: Installment loan bill needs improvement to protect Oklahomans from financial harm

For Immediate Release Oklahoma Policy Institute along with a coalition of Oklahoma organizations and individuals released this joint statement on a bill that would allow a new high-cost lending product in Oklahoma: Last month, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill,… Read more [More...]

Bill Watch: At a dead end

Six weeks into the 2019 legislative session, the House and Senate hit their second major deadline last Thursday. Bills that failed to pass off the floor of their chamber of origin are now dead for this session. [More...]

Bill Watch: One more week for bills until next Survivor elimination

Last week, we reported that just over 1,000 bills and resolutions had survived the initial committee deadline and were still alive. The ranks of surviving bills will be thinned once again by next Thursday, March 14th, the deadline by which bills must pass out of their chamber of origin to avoid being booted off the island (for various exceptions to this rule, see our 2019 Legislative Primer).This coming week will see the sausage-grinding machine speed up considerably, as hundreds of measures vie for hearings during what are expected to be long days and nights on the House and Senate floor. Here are some key bills OK Policy continues to track closely in the areas of criminal justice, education, economic security, and taxes. [More...]

Bill Watch: You’re all dead to me!

As of today, 1,020 bills and resolutions remain active out of the 2,836 total measures introduced thus far this session. This translates to a 37 percent survival rate. In this update, we stop to mourn or celebrate some of the key pieces of legislation that missed the deadline and have been relegated to the sidelines, if not the graveyard, this session [More...]

Fact Check: Property crime decreased in Oklahoma after SQ 780

In the months after State Question 780 went into effect, Oklahomans reported fewer theft crimes to law enforcement agencies across the state. The early results of Oklahoma’s landmark justice reform add to the evidence that it is possible to reduce both crime and punishment at the same time. [More...]