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
April 6, 2017 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Last week, news broke that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) had borrowed money from the Rainy Day Fund to make budget allocations to state agencies. The fund had a beginning balance of some $243 million, and OMES… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 31, 2017 // Updated: May 9, 2017
As a result of continued declines in state revenues, another cut to Oklahoma’s top income tax rate will not be triggered in 2018. However, unless legislators take action this year, the top income tax cut rate could kick in automatically as… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 22, 2017 // Updated: May 3, 2017
HB 2209 (Rep. Marcus McEntire – R. Duncan/Sen. AJ Griffin – R. Guthrie) is good legislation that would help promote better tax policy decisions in Oklahoma by ensuring that legislators and the public know more about who pays taxes and… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 21, 2017 // Updated: March 21, 2017
Oklahoma Policy Institute is pleased to announce the addition of Courtney Cullison to its staff and Susan Chambers, MD to its Board of Directors.
Courtney Cullison has been hired as a policy analyst focusing on issues of economic opportunity and… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 15, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Along with all of their other budget challenges, lawmakers this session will need to allocate an additional $10.1 million for the Education Lottery Trust Fund as the result of a determination made last month that lottery funds had been used… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 8, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
[Download this fact sheet as a pdf.]
Oklahoma faces another large budget hole next year.
The State Equalization Board has certified $6.030 billion in available revenue for next year, which is $748 million less than this year’s initial appropriation. The… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 7, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
For many Oklahomans in a financial trouble, payday loans can seem like a quick and easy fix. Borrowers can take out a payday loan for up to $500, secured by a post-dated check, usually for a period of 12 to… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 28, 2017 // Updated: August 13, 2024
A committee substitute is a revised version of legislation proposed for consideration and adoption by a committee. The committee substitute replaces, in whole, the original bill that was referred to a committee, including conference committees.
It is quite common for… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 27, 2017 // Updated: September 22, 2023
A centerpiece of Gov. Mary Fallin’s FY 2018 Executive Budget is her proposal to expand the sales tax base on services. As she explained in her State of the State address:
“As the economy in the United States has shifted… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 23, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The State Board of Equalization met on February 21st to approve revised revenue estimates for FY 2017 and FY 2018. This estimate will be binding on the Legislature as it develops the FY 2018 budget over the coming months.
Here are… Read more [More...]