Category: Media

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...]

Study Finds a Decade of Income Tax Cuts Deprived State of $1B This Year (Oklahoma Watch)

By Warren Vieth Income tax cuts approved by governors and legislators of both parties over the past decade reduced this year’s state revenue collections by more than $1 billion, according to an independent data analysis. The calculation by the Institute… Read more [More...]

Hamilton: Self-inflicted wounds and a leadership failure (Journal Record)

By Arnold Hamilton  The state’s elected Powers That Be are calling it a “revenue failure,” but that’s a misnomer. It’s actually a “leadership” failure. Sorry, elected Republicans, you own this one. As the GOP for decades scratched and clawed from… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s budget woes could hamper services, groups say (Tulsa World)

By Barbara Hoberock   OKLAHOMA CITY — Groups expressed concern Wednesday that a revenue failure for the current fiscal year and large budget hole for the next fiscal year will seriously hamper the state’s ability to provide core services. Officials said… Read more [More...]

Critics Say Irresponsible Policies Contribute to Budget Crisis (Public Radio Tulsa)

By Marshall Stewart It’s official, the state is headed toward budget failure. The $900 million dollar shortfall is blamed mostly on dropping oil prices, but the head of an Oklahoma think tank says bad policy has contributed to the crisis.… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s Top Finance Official Expects ‘Revenue Failure’, $900M Shortfall (KGOU)

By Brian Hardzinski The hole in next year’s state budget will likely be just over $900 million, Oklahoma Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger said Tuesday.   State agencies will also likely face mandatory mid-year budget cuts due to the declaration of what’s… Read more [More...]

Statement: Budget emergency won’t be solved by doubling down on cuts

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to official projections that Oklahoma will enact midyear budget cuts this year and is expecting a $900.8 million budget hole next year: The projected mid-year cuts and next year’s massive budget… Read more [More...]

Study: Oklahoma maintains streak of deepest state-aid cuts to schools since ’08 recession (Tulsa World)

By Andrea Eger A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows Oklahoma’s cuts to per-pupil funding for public schools are nearing 25 percent, by far the deepest in the nation since the economic recession struck in… Read more [More...]

Energy slump, policies contribute to state’s budget shortfall (Examiner-Enterprise)

By Emily Droege Holiday cheer may be in the air, but the long-term forecast for the state’s budget looks bleak, according to David Blatt, executive director for the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Speaking to the Monday Rotary Club, Blatt explained Oklahoma’s… Read more [More...]

Once in Place, Sales Tax Breaks Nearly Impossible to Touch (Oklahoma Watch)

By Warren Vieth and Mark Lash Buried deep in the Oklahoma tax code is a sales tax exemption for railroad spikes. Once it got hammered into place, it never budged. The tax break was created in 1993 for the benefit… Read more [More...]