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 8, 2016 // Updated: March 8, 2016
Oklahoma Policy Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Joseph (Joe) Siano, Superintendent of Norman Public Schools, and Charles (Chuck) Garrett, executive vice president at Cherokee Nation Businesses, have joined our Board of Directors.
“We are delighted to add two… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 4, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Download this fact sheet as a pdf.
The state faces a huge budget shortfall
As a result of revenue collections coming in below projections, mid-year revenue failures were declared in December and February. Agencies were cut by 7 percent of… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 3, 2016 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As Oklahoma grapples with a rapid decline in state revenue collections, agency budgets have already been cut once this year, and a second round of even greater cuts has just been announced. Oklahoma’s Rainy Day Fund was designed specifically to… Read more [More...]
In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved State Question 712, which established legal compacts between the state of Oklahoma and Native American tribes to regulate tribal gaming. Under the gaming compacts, tribes contribute over $125 million to the state, which goes almost… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 23, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Should Oklahoma strip Medicaid health care coverage from people least able to afford insurance on their own? In a state that trails most of the nation in uninsured rates and health outcomes, who could defend this?
Should the Department of… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 18, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Giving Oklahoma’s teachers a pay raise has been proclaimed as one of the highest priorities of legislators and Governor Mary Fallin this session. Despite a $1.3 billion budget shortfall and the near certainty of cuts to all state agencies, including… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 11, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As part of her effort to close the state’s budget shortfall and avoid devastating cuts, Gov. Mary Fallin has proposed $910.5 million in additional revenues in her FY 2017 Executive Budget. The largest revenue item involves changes to the sales… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 8, 2016 // Updated: September 1, 2024
Managed Care is a health care delivery system organized to manage cost, utilization, and quality. Unlike a traditional fee-for-service system, in which a provider is paid directly by an insurer for every service delivered, under managed care, an insurance company,… Read more [More...]
Medicaid is a public insurance program that provides health coverage to low-income individuals. The program, which was created by Congress in 1965 as Title XIX of the Social Security Act, is operated by the states and funded jointly by the… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 4, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Over 1,700 bills and resolutions have been introduced for the 2016 legislative session, along with an equal number of measures from last session that remain alive and could still be considered this year. Despite the plethora of legislation, there is… Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
Oklahoma Policy Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Joseph (Joe) Siano, Superintendent of Norman Public Schools, and Charles (Chuck) Garrett, executive vice president at Cherokee Nation Businesses, have joined our Board of Directors.
“We are delighted to add two… Read more [More...]
Download this fact sheet as a pdf.
The state faces a huge budget shortfall
As a result of revenue collections coming in below projections, mid-year revenue failures were declared in December and February. Agencies were cut by 7 percent of… Read more [More...]
As Oklahoma grapples with a rapid decline in state revenue collections, agency budgets have already been cut once this year, and a second round of even greater cuts has just been announced. Oklahoma’s Rainy Day Fund was designed specifically to… Read more [More...]
In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved State Question 712, which established legal compacts between the state of Oklahoma and Native American tribes to regulate tribal gaming. Under the gaming compacts, tribes contribute over $125 million to the state, which goes almost… Read more [More...]
Should Oklahoma strip Medicaid health care coverage from people least able to afford insurance on their own? In a state that trails most of the nation in uninsured rates and health outcomes, who could defend this?
Should the Department of… Read more [More...]
Giving Oklahoma’s teachers a pay raise has been proclaimed as one of the highest priorities of legislators and Governor Mary Fallin this session. Despite a $1.3 billion budget shortfall and the near certainty of cuts to all state agencies, including… Read more [More...]
As part of her effort to close the state’s budget shortfall and avoid devastating cuts, Gov. Mary Fallin has proposed $910.5 million in additional revenues in her FY 2017 Executive Budget. The largest revenue item involves changes to the sales… Read more [More...]
Over 1,700 bills and resolutions have been introduced for the 2016 legislative session, along with an equal number of measures from last session that remain alive and could still be considered this year. Despite the plethora of legislation, there is… Read more [More...]
