Author: Gene Perry

Bills filed in special session put many options in play

Yesterday was the first day of the special legislative session called by Governor Fallin to fix Oklahoma’s chronic budget problems. One day in, the outcome of special session is still very much up in the air. With so much at… Read more [More...]

Lawmakers have good revenue options for special session if they have the will to use them

Governor Fallin has officially called the Oklahoma Legislature into a special session beginning September 25 in order to fix the state budget, which has a more than $200 million hole due to the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s rejection of a cigarette fee.… Read more [More...]

End the special tax break for oil and gas producers

Download this advocacy alert as a 1-page fact sheet. Oklahoma is set to enact a budget that will harm our communities and economy and put the lives of vulnerable children, veterans, and seniors at stake – unless we are willing… Read more [More...]

New Census data shows Oklahoma fell further behind the U.S. on poverty and uninsured rate in 2016

New Census data shows the percentage of families living in poverty in Oklahoma increased in 2016, even as the national poverty rate declined to its lowest point since 2008. In 2016, almost one out of six Oklahomans (16.3 percent) were making… Read more [More...]

Statement: Don’t waste second chance to get the budget right

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on Governor Fallin’s announcement that she is calling a special session beginning September 25: Governor Fallin did what’s right for Oklahoma by calling a special session to prevent severe cuts to basic health… Read more [More...]

Statement: Court ruling confirms that Oklahoma lawmakers have good options to fix budget in special session

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on today’s Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling upholding a law that partially ends the state sales tax exemption for auto sales: ​The court’s ruling confirms that lawmakers have numerous options to fill the budget… Read more [More...]

If lawmakers wait until regular session to fix the budget, it will already be too late

Now that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has thrown out a key part of the budget passed by lawmakers earlier this year, it’s clear the lawmakers must return to the Capitol for a special legislative session to fix the problem. Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Statement: Lawmakers must go back to special session and finish job of funding core services

The SOS Coalition, which includes Oklahoma Policy Institute and 20 other organizations, released the following statement on today’s Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that threw out a cigarette fee and created a $214 million hole in the budgets of SoonerCare ($70… Read more [More...]

In dispute between Republican leaders over DHS funding, here are the facts

It’s been an eventful week for the Oklahoma Legislature, especially considering they are not even in session. The week began with House Speaker Charles McCall and Majority Leader Mike Sanders blasting the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for making cuts… Read more [More...]

New Senate health care draft does not fix bill’s core problems and makes some of them worse

Last week, Senate Republican leaders released a “new” version of their health care bill. We wrote before about how the first draft of this bill would make Americans pay more for worse health coverage and how it would undercut the… Read more [More...]