
A lot of good things happen in state government that most of us citizens have never heard about. We tend to hear about some bill being introduced in the legislature that we think (or know) is downright stupid or the…
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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…
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Understanding Tribal sovereignty is key to Tribal-state relations
In order to better understand how the State of Oklahoma and Tribal Nations interact, it’s vital to first understand what tribal sovereignty means. Sovereignty is the authority of a self-governing group of…
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Automatic triggered tax cuts provide little to no financial relief for low- and middle-income families, jeopardize the state's fiscal health, and limit investment in Oklahoma's already underfunded public services.
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Gov. Stitt's veto of Senate Bill 128 is more than a missed opportunity — it's a step backward for housing stability in Oklahoma. This bipartisan bill would have added just five days to the eviction trial timeline and increased the notice period from three to seven days. Five days could mean the difference between a family staying housed or landing in a shelter.
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While the legislature was plowing its way through multiple bills toward this week’s deadline for floor passage of bills originating in the opposite chamber, issues of private religious faith in the public sector worked their way toward a conclusion. It has been a cardinal rule that public funding of private schools is prohibited by the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
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The federal government took less than 100 days after President Trump’s inauguration to mount an unprecedented and wholesale attack on immigrant families in America, regardless of their immigration status or criminal history. The Trump administration is destroying lawful pathways into…
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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…
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This column originally appeared in The Journal Record on April 23, 2025
Imagine you’re saving money in case your roof starts leaking during a storm. One day, instead of fixing the roof, you decide to hand that money to someone…
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By:
Steve Lewis
April 28, 2025 // Updated: April 28, 2025

As legislators draft the state budget and conclude the session, they will confront the issue of what to do with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s proposal for an income tax cut and the eventual elimination of the state income tax. House Bill…
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