Category: Media

Recipe for Disaster: The high cost of ‘tough on crime’ (Red Dirt Report)

By Mindy Ragan Wood SHAWNEE, Okla. — Oklahoma appears to be racing towards a disaster. With overcrowded and understaffed prisons, questions are being raised that may lead to judicial and prison reform. From the “tough on crime” laws that win… Read more [More...]

Another legislative assault on Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program (The Oklahoman)

By The Oklahoman Editorial Board OKLAHOMA’S Promise has helped thousands of students attain college degrees. For many of these lower- and middle-income students, higher education would have been out of reach without this taxpayer-funded scholarship program. So why would lawmakers… Read more [More...]

Old friends face off in Oklahoma wind farm debate (Tulsa World)

By Casey Smith Blue Mound is the highest point on Frank Robson’s Craig County cattle ranch and was once, he says, one of the highest points in the Cherokee Nation. Robson, who runs a commercial real estate business in Claremore,… Read more [More...]

On budget, Oklahoma lawmakers’ rhetoric, reality conflict (The Oklahoman)

By The Oklahoman Editorial Board THE Republicans who hold a supermajority in the Legislature often claim they want to reduce the size of government. When they announced the latest state budget, legislative leaders declared it reduced spending by $102.1 million.… Read more [More...]

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...]