Quotes of the Day

“We spent a lot of time over the past decade talking about accountability and transparency of taxpayer dollars. … Now we want to set up a parallel system where taxpayer dollars can be spent for home school students and private school students that have no accountability.”

-Oklahoma State School Boards Association executive director Shawn Hime, speaking about proposals in the legislature that would redirect state aid funding to pay for private and home school expenses (Source)

“It’s a racket. You’re sitting here, you’re free, and he’s sitting in jail. What are you going to do when you’re a parent? You’re going to pay it, and they know it. It breaks my heart.”

– Brenda Baker, a Florida resident whose son was in prison in Oklahoma and is now in a halfway house. Baker estimates that she has spent $1,500 to keep in touch with her son since July 2014. Of every $3.00 required for a 15-minute call, $2.30 goes to the Department of Corrections, one of the highest rates of commission in the US (Source)

“I would say short of emergency, one-time needs, I think at this point the discussion is quickly turning to: ‘What will the amount of budget cuts be for a state agency?’”

– House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, on news that the state’s budget hole could be twice as large as previously calculated (Source: bit.ly/171FLcA)

“Few goals are as achievable, or as critical, as cutting the rate of Oklahomans who struggle without health insurance. The path forward is right before our eyes. If the governor wants her promises of accountability taken seriously, she will take it.”

– Executive Director David Blatt, arguing that the best way for Gov. Fallin to achieve her stated goal of substantially lowering the state’s uninsured rate by 2019 is to accept federal funds to expand health coverage to low-income Oklahomans (Source: bit.ly/1vm8cZ0)

“We can’t estimate corporate income tax because there’s so many tax credits. And we can’t tell you who has a tax credit, how much they have and when they’re going to cash that in.”

– State auditor Gary Jones, explaining the need for business incentives review in Oklahoma at OK Policy’s 2015 State Budget Summit (Source: bit.ly/1zJI9jw)

“It’s the equivalent of saying I can’t take a job because it’s going to cost me additional money in gas, clothing and childcare, without considering I’d also make a salary. They look at the expenditure side only, so that’s not a look at a full or fair picture.”

-OK Policy Executive Director David Blatt, responding to claims by the Governor’s office that accepting federal funds to expand coverage health coverage for low-income Oklahomans would be too costly. Although the state cost to expand coverage is about $850 million over 10 years, net savings from the expansion are estimated at nearly $500 million (Source: bit.ly/1y3mbTn).

“I think that if I was a teacher in Tulsa right now, having gone through everything that Tulsa teachers have gone through, (and everything that) Oklahoma teachers have gone through in terms of some of the stuff happening in the state Legislature, and the funding issues and so forth — and then I saw that there was this connection — I probably would be having the same reaction right now that some teachers are having right now in Tulsa.”

-New Tulsa schools superintendent Deborah Gist speaking about Tulsa teachers’ protests of her hiring, in part because she belongs to the controversial “Chiefs for Change” association that also counted as a member ousted state superintendent Janet Barresi (Source: http://bit.ly/1DXccUb)

“Public funding of effective programs to reduce teen pregnancies are a smart investment for the state. They improve lives and leave the state financially ahead. There’s no valid reason Oklahoma shouldn’t increase its emphasis on such a smart investment, and many reasons why it should.”

– The Tulsa World’s Editorial Board, urging lawmakers to be more proactive in reducing the state’s teen pregnancy rate (Source: bit.ly/1BZj9Cb)

“This is not about the department failing. This is a result of a lack of funding for services. Obviously, we understand the gravity of the situation and the court’s frustration because we share that frustration.”

– A spokesman for the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, speaking after a district judge threatened to jail department commissioner Terry White because an inmate was not moved to a mental health facility until 6 months after the judge ordered he be transferred there. ODMHSAS said the move did not happen until this week because the facility had no available space. (Source: bit.ly/1CwVheo)

“At the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s legislative breakfast last month, Bingman tried to explain that Medicaid money was really just a loan and that Oklahoma shouldn’t take it. I’m still trying to figure out how he got there; last I checked we all pay federal taxes … And the federal government sends that money back to the states to help poor people get health care.”

-Journal Record Editor Ted Streuli, responding to comments by Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman about why Oklahoma is refusing billions in federal dollars meant to extend health coverage (Source: http://bit.ly/1vsqwVR)