Recent Articles

Teacher pay raise proposals probably going nowhere this session

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...]

Should Oklahoma broaden the sales tax to more services?

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...]

Managed Care

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/SoonerCare

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...]

Here are our top priorities for Oklahoma’s 2016 legislative session

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...]

Balanced solutions to Oklahoma’s budget emergency

If we try to solve our budget crisis by doubling down on budget cuts and one-time revenues, we will only inflict greater damage to our economy and to the well-being of Oklahomans. We can solve this crisis through a more balanced approach that includes new recurring revenues... Read more [More...]

Woolly-Booger

Woolly-booger (or woolly-bugger) is a colloquialism used in Oklahoma and Louisiana politics referring to a provision snuck into legislation, usually in the waning hours or days of session, that is likely to be overlooked by all but a small handful… Read more [More...]

Ryan Gentzler joins OK Policy as criminal justice policy analyst

Oklahoma Policy Institute is pleased to announce that Ryan Gentzler has joined the organization in a new policy analyst position that will focus on criminal justice issues. The position is funded through a grant from the Center on Budget and… Read more [More...]

Tax cuts now reducing state revenues by over $1 billion per year

A new report by OK Policy finds that the cost of state income tax cuts since the mid-2000s has grown to over $1 billion annually. Repeated tax cuts and shrinking state budgets have left state services severely weakened, even before… Read more [More...]

Leadership failure

An earlier version of this post appeared in the Journal Record Today, as Oklahomans gather together to enjoy the first day of  the new year by watching Bowl Games, feasting on black-eyed peas, and nursing hangovers, two significant and seemingly… Read more [More...]