OK Policy Blog

Featured Read

2024 Census data: Oklahoma ranks as 8th poorest state

By: Dave Hamby
September 11, 2025 // Updated: September 12, 2025
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, released Sept. 11, show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate was 14.9 percent, which means that more than 1 in 7 state residents live in poverty. While the state’s overall poverty rate… Read more More...

Recent Posts

The Weekly Wonk: Next year’s budget will start with a $400 million hole, Recurring revenues may be at risk due to legal challenges

By: Courtney Cullison
June 11, 2017 // Updated: June 9, 2017
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...]

What supporters of SQ 640 didn’t foresee (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
June 9, 2017 // Updated: May 1, 2019
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. This is the first year that SQ 640 has come into play. In 1992, SQ… Read more [More...]

Kansas experiment yields valuable lessons (Guest post: Heidi Holliday)

By: Guest
// Updated: May 2, 2019
Heidi Holliday is Executive Director of the Kansas Center for Economic Growth. You’re welcome, America. Our state, Kansas, just wrapped up a 5-year long experiment in governance from which the other 49 states can now glean some important lessons. The… Read more [More...]

Congress is trying to strip away Americans’ protections from predatory lending

By: Courtney Cullison
June 7, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last month, Governor Fallin made the right choice when she vetoed HB 1913 – a bill that would have expanded predatory lending in Oklahoma. In her veto message, Fallin pointed out that Oklahomans frequently take out high-interest loans at a… Read more [More...]

Next year’s budget starts over $400 million in the hole

By: David Blatt
June 6, 2017 // Updated: May 1, 2019
When Governor Mary Fallin delivered her State of the State address in February, she made a strong call for lawmakers to end the practice of balancing the state budget through the use of one-time revenues, saying: Oklahoma will continue to… Read more [More...]

In The Know: Republicans, Democrats agree that Oklahoma has a revenue problem; Tax equality needed to spur OK success; and more

By: Courtney Cullison
June 5, 2017 // Updated: June 5, 2017
In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Click here to subscribe to In The Know and see past editions. Today In The… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Despite disappointing legislative session, public engagement provides reason for hope

By: Courtney Cullison
June 4, 2017 // Updated: June 5, 2017
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...]

State budget sitting on shaky constitutional foundations (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
June 2, 2017 // Updated: May 1, 2019
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. Wow! I admit I never saw this coming. When the legislature returned for its last… Read more [More...]

Schools use food trucks to fight food insecurity during summer months

By: Maggie Den Harder
May 30, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Maggie Den Harder is an intern with Oklahoma Policy Institute and a Masters of Public Administration student at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. For Oklahoma families who are food-insecure, school meals can be a lifeline. Six in ten students qualify for… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Budget deal continues to underfund state services, Some funding measures could face legal challenges

By: Courtney Cullison
May 28, 2017 // Updated: May 28, 2017
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...]

Search the Blog