Former Executive Director David Blatt joined OK Policy in 2008 and served as its Executive Director from 2010 to 2019. He previously served as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. David has been selected as Political Scientist of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association, Local Social Justice Champion by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.
By: David Blatt
March 20, 2026 // Updated: March 20, 2026
The use tax is a complementary tax to the state sales tax that is applied to items bought outside a state (or not taxed inside) but used, stored, or consumed in the state. Oklahoma taxes items subject to the use… Read more [More...]
Sales tax holidays are designated periods of time when states allow for the purchase of certain items to be exempted from the sales tax. Since 2007, Oklahoma shoppers are allowed to buy clothing items under $100 free of state and… Read more [More...]
State Question 836 was a proposed constitutional amendment that would change how Oklahoma nominates and selects candidates for political office. If the initiative petition qualifies for the ballot and is approved, rather than each political party holding separate primaries, there… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
December 18, 2025 // Updated: December 18, 2025
Food stamps is the historic and familiar name for the national food security program formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). See SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) for more information. … Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 24, 2025 // Updated: December 19, 2025
The Statewide Official Compensation Commission (SOCC) is an entity that was created in 2025 to set the salaries of Oklahoma’s statewide elected officials. Previously, these salaries were decided statutorily by the Legislature. The SOCC is composed of the same nine… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 19, 2025 // Updated: December 19, 2025
SoonerSelect is the Medicaid managed care program operated by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority that launched in 2024. For more details, see Managed Care.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 5, 2025 // Updated: October 21, 2025
CHIP – the Children’s Health Insurance Program, formerly known as SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) – was a program enacted by Congress in 1997 as a way to expand health coverage to children in families with income above the… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 29, 2025 // Updated: November 10, 2025
The Free and Reduced School Meal Program, also known as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children in public and nonprofit private schools. Eligibility for free or reduced-price meals is based on… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 1, 2025 // Updated: December 19, 2025
In 2024, an initiative petition campaign for State Question 832 gathered more than enough signatures for a ballot measure to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage, currently at $7.25/hr and unchanged since 2009.
The ballot measure was designed to increase the state… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 26, 2025 // Updated: December 5, 2025
The Legislature created the Rate Preservation Fund in 2019. Money in the fund is directed for use by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to maintain reimbursement rates to Medicaid providers when the state’s FMAP — Federal Medical Assistance Percentage —… Read more [More...]
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