Quotes of the Day

“Oklahoma correctional officers are losing their lives at an alarming rate, and people are not speaking up.”

-Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, who wrote that correctional officers and prison employees are working for too many hours supervising overcrowded, rundown faculties [Source: NewsOK]

“To understand the scope of the crisis Oklahoma faces because we lead the nation — and the world — in incarceration, consider this: If Oklahoma released half of our people behind bars today, we would only drop to the national average while still locking up more people than any other country in the world.”

-Alison Buxton, policy director for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform [Source: NonDoc]

“We are going to make another investment in education this year, but I will tell you that over the past 10 years of the history of agencies, a lot of agencies were cut significantly. I believe all ships rise with the tide, so there will be other investments in other agencies.”

-House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. Out of 65 appropriated agencies, 39 remain 20 percent or more below their FY 2009 funding, without adjusting for nearly a decade of inflation. [Source: Tulsa World]

“The Census Bureau wants you to know completing the census is safe, it’s confidential and it’s easy. Each Oklahoman is counted as $1,675 in federal funds available from the federal government for programs we utilize in the city and the state.”

-Tricia Woodward, a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau [Source: Tulsa World]

“Recently, after assisting with an expungement, an older client said ‘I can hold my head up now and die with a clean record. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.’”

-Attorney Peter Scimeca, writing about a new law that allows Oklahomans convicted of nonviolent felony crimes to become eligible for expungements after not receiving any other convictions for seven years [Source: Journal Record]

“Even in the best times we’ve had in 30 years, still we’re slowly bleeding folks with bachelor’s degrees.”

-Economist Chad Wilkerson, whose study found that Oklahoma’s population growth rate is at its lowest since 1990 because the state is losing college graduates to other states [Source: KGOU]

“In the 2010 Census, Native Americans were undercounted at about 4.9 percent less, a rate more than double the next-closest population group.”

-Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby, speaking at a news conference on the importance of getting an accurate count during next year’s Census. Undercounting can mean lost funding for education, health care, housing and other services treaties require of the federal government. [Source: Public Radio Tulsa]

“I realized in seeking such an extreme sentence for her, I had denied her the opportunity to prove she could grow, change, rehabilitate and show she was worthy of a second chance. I was wrong about her. And current policies that deny children the opportunity to demonstrate that they can be rehabilitated are also wrong, both legally and morally.”

-Rep. Ben Loring, writing about a 17-year-old whom he prosecuted with a life without parole sentence when he was a district attorney [Source: Tulsa World]

“They can’t be on Medicaid before pregnancy or between pregnancy so any kind of health conditions they may have, they’re not able to access health care at those times. Ensuring a woman is healthy when she’s pregnant then that can improve the outcomes, not only for her, but for her baby, their entire lifespan.”

-Barbara O’Brien, director of the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, on why she is calling for expansion of Medicaid during Women’s Health Day at the Capitol [Source: Fox 25]

“The work being done by Special Olympics in Oklahoma, across the nation and globally is life changing, and I strongly support their mission to transform lives through sports. All students can grow and all students can succeed, and Special Olympics is helping to make that happen for students in Oklahoma classrooms every day.”

-State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, responding to a proposal by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy Devos to eliminate $18 million in federal funding to the Special Olympics [Source: KFOR]