By:
Steve Lewis
January 6, 2020 // Updated: January 6, 2020
When they want to, prosecutors will agree that a harsh sentence is not always necessary to achieve justice. The goal of criminal justice reform is to get them to want to more often.
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By:
Steve Lewis
December 23, 2019 // Updated: January 6, 2020
Last month, the Oklahoma State Board of Equalization held its first meeting for the purpose of certifying how much money the legislature will have to appropriate for the budget year beginning July 1, 2020, when it convenes in February. The current economy on the current tax rates has produced what amounts to a level budget going forward next year. But with state finance it is never that simple.
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A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that under the new law, some of America's biggest and most profitable corporations paid $0.00 in federal income taxes on U.S. income in 2018.
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By:
Guest
December 17, 2019 // Updated: December 17, 2019
A new report from ITEP shows that, based on the first year of financial reports released by companies operating under the new tax law, tax avoidance appears to be every bit as much of a problem under the new tax system as it was before the 2017 tax law took effect.
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By:
Steve Lewis
December 16, 2019 // Updated: December 16, 2019
Instead of a determined effort to fulfill its charge of classifying felonies with an eye toward reducing the prison population, the Council spent the year discussing improvements that should be made everywhere except in court.
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The Governor's criminal justice task force is expected to release its recommendations in January and it has the potential to fundamentally alter Oklahoma's justice system.
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By:
Damion Shade
December 13, 2019 // Updated: January 12, 2020
The RESTORE task force could bring greater justice to the state’s prison system by strengthening investments in alternatives to incarceration and treatment, reducing fines and fees, lowering the impact of cash bail on the poorest Oklahomans, and creating a dedicated re-entry system.
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The Oklahoma Policy Institute has named Dave Hamby as its communications director to oversee the organization’s communication and media relations programs.
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By:
Steve Lewis
December 9, 2019 // Updated: December 9, 2019
There's an interesting dynamic emerging between the governor and the legislature regarding next year's budget. Usually state agencies are free to make budget requests based, within realistic limits, on what they feel is needed to accomplish their duties and, if funds are available, to increase services. In preparation for the session, agencies appear before the appropriations committees to explain and justify their budget requests. Depending on available revenue, the legislature will decide which, if any, programs deserve either cuts or additional funding. This is done with input from the governor and his staff because, at the end of the day, the governor has the right to sign or veto the appropriations measures.
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By:
Steve Lewis
December 2, 2019 // Updated: December 2, 2019
With the recent widely publicized sentence commutations, one might have the impression that the work of criminal justice reform is done. To the contrary, these commutations only serve to emphasize how much progress can be made with passage of just one reform proposal. But even after the commutations, Oklahoma is still near the top of the world in incarceration.
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