Emma Morris joined Oklahoma Policy Institute as the Health Care and Revenue Policy Analyst in April 2021, and she previously worked as an OK Policy intern and as the Health Care Policy Fellow. She has worked as a case manager with justice-involved individuals and volunteered as a mentor for youth in her community. Emma holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Women’s and Gender Studies and Public and Nonprofit Administration from the University of Oklahoma, and is currently working on a Master of Public Administration degree from OU-Tulsa. She is an alumna of OK Policy’s 2019 Summer Policy Institute and The Mine, a social entrepreneurship fellowship.
By: Emma Morris
June 7, 2022 // Updated: June 7, 2022
The FY 2023 budget makes some good and long-awaited investments in Oklahomans. It also misses several critical opportunities to make generational change, such as investing in common education and funding State Question 781. [More...]
This year, Oklahoma lawmakers appropriated $10.68 billion to the state budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which begins on July 1, 2022. The FY 23 state budget includes some long-awaited investments in areas like access to mental health care and reducing the 13-year wait for services for individuals with developmental disabilities. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
May 16, 2022 // Updated: May 16, 2022
NOTE: Policy Fellow Josie Phillips contributed to this analysis
Cutting the corporate income tax — which was proposed in the failed House Bill 4358 — overwhelmingly benefits wealthy and out-of-state corporations over everyday Oklahomans and locally owned businesses. The Senate… Read more [More...]
By: Emma Morris
May 10, 2022 // Updated: May 10, 2022
Oklahoma lawmakers this session are considering a measure (House Bill 3353) that would strengthen the value of Oklahoma’s Sales Tax Relief Credit — commonly known as the “grocery tax credit” — to provide meaningful, targeted relief to the Oklahomans who most need it. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
May 5, 2022 // Updated: May 5, 2022
As the end of the public health emergency approaches (which could be as soon as mid-July 2022), the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) has taken several steps to help eligible enrollees maintain coverage when the public health emergency ends. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
April 20, 2022 // Updated: May 27, 2022
Cuts to the individual income tax rate are unfair to low- and middle-class families since they return the largest benefit to the wealthiest Oklahomans. Tax cuts now can devastate state revenue and funding for services like public education in future years. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
April 11, 2022 // Updated: April 11, 2022
Oklahoma is in a unique position this year to make a downpayment on the future of our state. Premature tax cuts will set the state up to fail; investments will allow us to thrive. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
March 17, 2022 // Updated: June 14, 2022
This legislative session, the Oklahoma legislature is set to consider several proposals that would significantly cut state revenue. Rather than cutting taxes, legislators must consider the state’s long-term fiscal health and its structural deficit by maintaining revenue streams this year and for years to come. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
March 14, 2022 // Updated: March 17, 2022
Throughout this pandemic — and particularly since the implementation of Medicaid expansion in 2021 — Medicaid has fulfilled its purpose: facilitating access to affordable and comprehensive health coverage for those who might otherwise go without health care. State and federal actions have helped maximize the impact of Medicaid, and moving forward we should continue to prioritize accessible coverage for all eligible Oklahomans. [More...]
By: Emma Morris
February 23, 2022 // Updated: May 27, 2022
Lawmakers should consider significantly expanding the Sales Tax Relief Credit that would provide targeted tax relief to Oklahomans who need it, cost less revenue, and give lawmakers more flexibility to raise revenue in the future. [More...]