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The Weekly Wonk: New reserve fund could siphon new revenue from education

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. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In… Read more [More...]

Bill Watch: Next week in #okleg | April 20, 2018

Yesterday, the Oklahoma Legislature adjourned sine die from special session. The tax increases approved in special session to pay for a teacher raise and other increases in school funding will go into effect 90 days after that sine die date they… Read more [More...]

Unheralded law puts increased funding in doubt

Lawmakers this year have approved over half a billion in new taxes to pay for a package of spending measures, including increased pay for teachers, support staff, and state workers, and increased operating support for schools. While the new obligations… Read more [More...]

Updating drug courts is important, but Oklahoma must invest in all forms of substance abuse treatment

In the wake of the passage of SQ 780, which reclassified simple drug possession as a misdemeanor, legislators and advocates began to discuss how the state should adjust its approach to substance abuse. Among the most pressing questions was what… Read more [More...]

Next year’s Legislature will look different (Capitol Update)

Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. No matter what happens in the elections — which promises to be plenty — the legislature next… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Education funding package a good start, but there’s still work to do

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. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In… Read more [More...]

Bill Watch: Next week in #okleg | April 13, 2018

In our weekly Bill Watch post, we discuss what happened and what to look for in the bills we’re following most closely in the Oklahoma Legislature. Next Thursday (April 19th) is the deadline for Senate bills assigned to make it… Read more [More...]

Will the teacher raise be delayed by a veto petition?

[Note: The post has been edited to correct the information regarding HB 1024xx] On March 28th, just hours before Oklahoma Senators were to vote on pay raises for teachers and other employees funded by new taxes, a group calling themselves “Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Passing revised justice reform measures is necessary but not nearly enough

After criminal justice advocates’ hopes of real reform were dashed at the end of the 2017 session, many were hopeful that 2018 would be the year Oklahoma got serious about criminal justice reform. With the governor and legislative leaders expressing… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma makes progress on collecting taxes from online sales

This session has seen the Oklahoma Legislature take a couple of important steps towards addressing the problem of untaxed online sales. These bills and reforms from earlier sessions are moving Oklahoma closer to an even playing field when it comes… Read more [More...]

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