We have one week to go before the next big deadline in the Legislature. Legislative committees have until Thursday, April 11th for bills from the opposite chamber. Those that don't receive a vote by the deadline will go dormant until next year.
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By 2020, 67 percent of all jobs created in Oklahoma will require some college, a certificate or a college degree. Legislators would be wise to invest some of this year's growth revenue back into higher education so our economy can continue to thrive for years to come.
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Thousands of Oklahomans who have not been convicted of a crime are locked in county jails across the state because they can’t afford to buy their freedom from a bondsman. How long you stay in jail often depends on where…
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By:
Steve Lewis
April 1, 2019 // Updated: April 1, 2019
It came to light recently that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) is out of money and needs an emergency $16 million to avoid furloughing employees. Obviously, this isn't going down well with legislators who just went through the same thing in 2017 with the Oklahoma State Department of Health only to later learn that the shortfall wasn't really a shortfall. Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson has filed a bill splitting out the information technology functions of the agency.
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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma.
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By:
Daniel Huff
March 28, 2019 // Updated: March 28, 2019
Oklahoma has the second-highest uninsured rate in the country, with nearly 1 in every 7 Oklahomans uninsured. This is a big problem – and some legislators are pushing to expand the availability of short-term insurance and association health plans (AHPs). Unfortunately, these are lousy insurance options.
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Nearly 30 percent of the American workforce needs a license to do their job, so we should carefully examine the rules about who can, and can’t, get an occupational license. This is especially important for the justice-involved, a group that faces multiple barriers (including licensing restrictions) to employment and economic stability.
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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma.
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Every legislative session is a mix of the expected and unexpected. In this edition of our Bill Watch series, we look at some of the bills we are now paying closer attention to that have come from out of left field.
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Governor Stitt signed the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act - also called the "Unity Bill" on March 14th. This legislation is the result of months of work by the bipartisan medical marijuana working group, and it passed easily through both the House and the Senate.
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