Category: Media

#FoodForThought: Encouraging kids to fill up this summer (Red Dirt Report)

By Jason Doyle Oden OKLAHOMA CITY — Around three out of every five Oklahoma students qualify for free and reduced-priced lunches at school. Now that summer is here, officials are trying to get the word out kids 18 and under… Read more [More...]

Trump Budget Would See Oklahoma Spend $1.5B on SNAP (Public Radio Tulsa)

By Matt Trotter President Trump’s budget would put a substantial burden on Oklahoma to make sure poor families are fed. The president proposes cutting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding 25 percent, or $193 billion, over 10 years. Earlier this year,… Read more [More...]

Kansas repudiates supply-side tax cuts, and Oklahoma should too (Tulsa World)

By World’s Editorial Writers The Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of an income tax hike Tuesday, repudiating his failed supply-side economic belief that a state could find prosperity by eliminating its ability to fund core public services. Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Fallin signs budget to avert state government shutdown (The Ada News)

By Janelle Stecklein OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite repeatedly threatening to veto it and noting that it’s not “ideal,” Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday signed off on the Legislature’s $6.8 billion budget plan. “This plan keeps our government from shutting down… Read more [More...]

Nation’s Least-Funded Schools Get What They Pay For (Governing)

By Liz Farmer In his 17 years as a school official in Oklahoma, Robert Romines has dealt with more than his share of painful situations. In 2013, as superintendent in the town of Moore, he had to shepherd his system… Read more [More...]

Statement: Disappointing results and hope for the future in this year’s legislative session

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on the final results of Oklahoma’s 2017 regular legislative session: If we look only at the bills that made it through the full legislative process to be signed by the governor, most Oklahomans would… Read more [More...]

Final days nonrevenue revenue bills defy sense, if not law (Tulsa World)

By Wayne Greene Way back when Democrats and Republicans were trying to work together to come up with reasonable changes to the state tax code — in other words until late Monday — there was a puzzling story making the… Read more [More...]

Legal threats linger as lawmakers approve budget (Stillwater News Press)

By Janelle Stecklein OKLAHOMA CITY – Lawmakers admit they may be back for a costly special session this summer – even if Gov. Mary Fallin ultimately signs their proposed budget. Even as they adjourned Friday, lawmakers were already facing threats… Read more [More...]

Statement: Lawmakers should vote down budget that breaks their promises

The Save Our State Coalition, including Oklahoma Policy Institute, released the following statement in response to the budget plan unveiled by House and Senate leaders late last night: The legislative session began with promises to fix Oklahoma’s structural deficit, fund… Read more [More...]

House proposal would cut education funding (Journal Record)

By Kateleigh Mills OKLAHOMA CITY – The proposed House bill that would appropriate money to state agencies for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would cut funding to several education agencies by nearly 5 percent. Photos of the revised… Read more [More...]