Recent Articles

DREAM Act

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is federal legislation that would, if passed, provide a path to legal permanent residency and eventually citizenship for certain categories of currently undocumented immigrants who were… Read more [More...]

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

No Child Left Behind was a major piece of education legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 2001 and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002. The Act, which reauthorized and amended the Elementary and Secondary Education… Read more [More...]

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is the lowest wage per hour that may be paid by law to most employees in most jobs. The U.S. federal government first adopted a national minimum wage in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards… Read more [More...]

Incentive Evaluation Commission

The Incentive Evaluation Commission was created by legislation passed in 2015 “to produce objective evaluations of the State of Oklahoma’s wide array of economic incentives.” The Commission is made up of five members appointed by the Governor, House Speaker, and… Read more [More...]

Absentee Voting

In Oklahoma, any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot.  Absentee ballots may be cast either by mail or in-person at their county election board office or other approved locations in the days prior to the election (early voting). It… Read more [More...]

Emergency Rules

Emergency rules are exceptions to the regular permanent administrative rule-making process for state agencies, boards and commissions. As set out by Title 75, Section 253 of Oklahoma Statutes, emergency rules may be promulgated if an agency can establish that the… Read more [More...]

Budget Reconciliation

Budget reconciliation is a special process that makes specific legislation easier to pass in the U.S. Congress. In the Senate, reconciliation bills aren’t subject to the  filibuster and therefore need only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass. The… Read more [More...]

Tax Expenditure Report

Under a provision of Oklahoma law passed in 1996, the Oklahoma Tax Commission is tasked with preparing a biannual report that provides the Commission’s “best estimate of the amount of state revenue that would have been collected but for the… Read more [More...]

SQ 802

State Question 802, passed by Oklahoma voters in June 2020, expanded eligibility for Medicaid as of July 2021. For more information, see entries for Medicaid Expansion and Medicaid.… Read more [More...]

Term Limits

Oklahoma voters in 1990 approved State Question 632, which limited any member of the Legislature elected after the measure’s effective date to a maximum of 12 years of legislative service. The 12-year term limit applies to service in either legislative… Read more [More...]