By:
David Blatt
April 7, 2009 // Updated: October 17, 2012
Oklahoma’s Constitution includes several fiscally prudent budgeting measures aimed at averting or minimizing budget shortfalls. One of these is the 95 percent appropriations rule: the Legislature may only appropriate up to 95 percent of the certified estimate for the upcoming…
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During the last state fiscal crisis, from 2002 -04, funding for Oklahoma’s Medicaid program was hit hard. In FY ’02 and FY ’03, as revenues began to plummet, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) put coverage of almost all non-mandatory…
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Mickey’s Musings, the policy blog of UCO Economics Professor Mickey Hepner, is consistently one of the best local sources for credible information and thoughtful opinion on economic and fiscal issues facing Oklahoma and the nation. One of Mickey’s favorite themes,…
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“The sky is falling!” clearly would make a more compelling headline, but in the case of state agencies trying to deal with the continuing pressures of rising costs, increasing responsibilities, and flat funding, the reality is less dramatic but no…
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In the early 1990’s, faced with health care costs that were rising at unmanageable rates and widespread dissatisfaction with the quality of the state’s Medicaid program, the Oklahoma Legislature created the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) as a stand-alone agency…
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A new report released by the National Alliance of Mental Illness grades the states on their overall care and treatment of people with mental illness. Sadly, the nation’s overall grade is a D, with not a single state making an…
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The Tulsa World penned a strong and persuasive editorial on the voter ID proposal, SB 4, that has now passed both legislative chambers and is now awaiting action by the Governor. Supporters of the legislation try to argue that requiring…
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A new OK Policy issue brief looks at the federal stimulus funding that is being made available to states that adopt a number of modest reforms to their Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs. As the number of jobless workers claiming UI…
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This session, OK Policy has been involved with a coalition of organizations and individuals promoting an increase in the Sales Tax Relief credit, commonly known as the grocery tax credit. The existing credit, intended to offset the state sales tax…
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SB 1070, the Charitable Solicitations Act has recently passed in the Oklahoma State Senate and has now moved to the House. The bill was introduced by Sen. Susan Paddack (D-Ada), who has worked closely with the Association of Fundraising Professionals…
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