Category: Media

Oklahoma budget games: Less is more, more or less (Oklahoma Watchdog)

By Patrick B. McGuigan OKLAHOMA CITY — If analysts on the right and the left are to be believed, the Oklahoma Legislature managed to produce a state budget for the coming year that is both dishonest and impenetrable. Jonathan Small,… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill Raising Energy-Output Tax (Wall Street Journal)

By Daniel Gilbert Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation on Wednesday that will raise taxes on much of the state’s new oil and gas wells, but the higher rate still falls short of what some executives wanted to help fund… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Vote to make drilling tax break permanent folds to lobbying power, harms OK economy

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to the Legislature voting to make permanent a multimillion dollar tax break for horizontal drilling: This bill continues a huge, unnecessary subsidy for drilling that would have happened without the subsidy.… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Educators Say Proposed State Budget Essentially Flat (NewsOn6)

By Emory Bryan The give and take of the state budget process continues for Oklahoma public education. Governor Mary Fallin says lawmakers are giving schools $80 million in new money – but school districts says the increase is really half… Read more [More...]

Reactions To Negotiated Oklahoma State Budget for FY15 (KGOU)

By KGOU Staff Reactions so far to the announced budget deal between the Governor’s office the the Oklahoma House and Senate leaders are focusing on different aspects of the plan that require cuts for 52 state agencies, increases to others… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Budget deal is fiscally irresponsible, hurts Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to Oklahoma’s FY 2015 budget deal: The budget deal is fiscally irresponsible and will do serious harm to Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens and those who care for them. Even in a… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Lawmakers should reject deal to expand industry tax break

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement on reports that state leaders are arranging a deal with oil and gas executives to extend the horizontal drilling tax break to all wells at 2 percent for four years: Expanding this unnecessary… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin boasts far-right record (MSNBC)

By Irin Carmon An execution this week that went terribly wrong has catapulted Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, a Republican, to the national stage. But there’s more to Fallin than her zeal for capital punishment. The first female governor of Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Teachers Speak Out at Oklahoma Watch-Out Forum (Oklahoma Watch)

By Nate Robson Teacher pay and school accountability were among the biggest topics discussed during a community forum Wednesday evening tackling issues facing Oklahoma public-school teachers. A panel of educators, joined by other teachers and representatives from education and public-policy… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma governor signs income tax cut into law (Tulsa World)

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed an income tax cut measure into law Monday that will gradually lower Oklahoma’s top income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 4.85 percent over several years if state revenues continue to rise. The Republican governor,… Read more [More...]