Category: Media

Payday loan legislation resurfaces (The Journal Record)

By Catherine Sweeney OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure that riled up consumer protection advocates and religious leaders this year died in committee, or so they thought. A measure that would allow what opponents call predatory lending practices has resurfaced in the… Read more [More...]

Spending cuts will cost our state its future (Tulsa World)

By Mubeen Shakir It seems that our state just can’t balance its books. Recently, it was announced that Oklahoma would face another revenue failure because our state government was unable to accurately project revenue in making budget decisions for its… Read more [More...]

Legislature again takes up the shrinking county tax giveaway (Tulsa World)

By the Tulsa World Editorial Board One of the worst legislative ideas we’ve ever seen — the shrinking county tax giveaway — has reared its ugly head again this year. House Bill 1156 would give a 100 percent income-tax exemption… Read more [More...]

Local schools bracing for budget cuts (Enid News)

By James Neal Local school districts are bracing for the impact of mid-year budget cuts and worsening projections for the coming year. With a revenue failure coming after two years of deep cuts, some area districts are anticipating fewer teachers… Read more [More...]

Lottery money going into education won’t immediately solve budget issues (KTUL)

By Tyler Butler TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Lots of Powerball tickets walked out the door of Quiktrip on Wednesday in Brookside. Of course, the question we’re asking is the same one running through everyone’s minds: What would you do with your… Read more [More...]

Payday lending bills floated from both sides of aisle (NONDOC)

By Josh McBee History: One either learns from it or finds oneself doomed to repeat it. That’s a memo that may have missed the desk of Sen. Dan Newberry (R-Tulsa). In early January, the mortgage banker introduced SB 112, which,… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association touts long-lateral bills (The Oklahoman)

By Paul Monies Longer horizontal drilling in nonshale formations is back before the Oklahoma Legislature as the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association touted it Tuesday as a partial solution to the state’s budget woes. The association and its members, mostly… Read more [More...]

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, for the Common Good (The Express-Star)

By David Perryman A few weeks ago a friend from church asked me about the recurring budget problem that we have in Oklahoma. Like most Oklahomans, he said that he would really like to have three or four things fixed.… Read more [More...]

Reform bill needs support (The Ada News)

Oklahomans took a major step forward when they voted to approve state questions 780 and 781 for criminal justice reform. With the knowledge that there are too many Oklahomans in prison, and many were there for drug offenses, we chose… Read more [More...]

Payday loans called “predatory” by group seeking reform (Oklahoma City Free Press)

By Brett Dickerson As a pre-teen, Angela Basse saw her mother go through a hard divorce and then turn to a payday lender for help with a bad financial situation. Her mother had three children to raise by herself. “I… Read more [More...]