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

Prescription monitoring bill is a good first step. It’s also not enough.

By: Carly Putnam
May 4, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last year, we argued that the legislature had missed an opportunity by punting on a bill that would have required doctors to check the state’s prescription monitoring program (PMP) before writing a prescription for some of the most dangerous drugs,… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: May 3, 2015

By: Carly Putnam
May 3, 2015 // Updated: July 25, 2015
The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.… Read more [More...]

Budget hole brings back memories of 1985 (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
May 1, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 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. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

Watch this: “Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later”

By: Carly Putnam
April 30, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On the five-year anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, author and blogger John Green asks: is it working? The answer is yes – and no. In the clip below, Green discusses the ACA’s successes, including a sharply… Read more [More...]

See our Summer Policy Institute video preview, and apply by May 26!

By: Gene Perry
April 29, 2015 // Updated: April 29, 2015
[youtube id=”wGpaUmSHRNM” mode=”normal”] Apply by May 26th for this year’s Summer Policy Institute! Click here to learn more and apply. Video credits: Footage by Sam Stalcup and Kara Joy McKee. Edited by Amina Benalioulhaj, Bread & Roses Media. Voiceover by… Read more [More...]

Will this be Oklahoma’s next education reform controversy?

By: Gene Perry
April 28, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A recent pattern in Oklahoma education policy has been major education reforms passed in earlier years becoming highly controversial just as they are about to go into effect. A strong pushback from parents and educators has led to the rollback… Read more [More...]

House bill threatens Oklahoma’s Promise

By: David Blatt
April 27, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In today’s economy, a college education is more important for finding a good job and earning a decent income. Yet for children of low- and moderate-income families, the cost of higher education can be a substantial barrier to enrolling in… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk April 26, 2015

By: Carly Putnam
April 26, 2015 // Updated: July 25, 2015
The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.… Read more [More...]

Another deadline and longstanding controversies in the Legislature (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
April 24, 2015 // Updated: April 24, 2015
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. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

Yes, most Oklahomans don’t want a tax cut

By: Gene Perry
April 23, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
OK Policy recently commissioned a scientific poll that showed a majority of Oklahoma voters oppose going forward with a tax cut at a time when the state is looking at a $611 million budget shortfall and lawmakers are planning more… Read more [More...]

Search the Blog