OKPOLICY.ORG
In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. Subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
State Government News
Oklahoma legislative leaders hesitant to cut income tax: Legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle Thursday expressed reluctance to fully embrace a cut in the state’s income tax rate championed by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Republican leaders said they were concerned about the timing of Stitt’s proposed half-a-percent cut given the expected $600 million price tag and because they entered the session with an estimated $300 million less to spend just to keep the budget flat. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma revenue projected under $300 million due to tax breaks [KFOR]
Gov. Stitt wants flat budgets for most state agencies — but there are some exceptions: While he has pushed flat budgets for many state agencies, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office said he is supportive of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and not trying to cut its funding. [The Oklahoman]
Rep. Humphrey clarifies intent of mental health bill after drawing anger, concern: A legislative bill filed by an Oklahoma lawmaker sparked outrage and fear that services provided by the state’s mental health department would be moved under the Department of Corrections, but the lawmaker said he was just trying to draw attention to a problem. [The Oklahoman]
Lawmakers detail proposals for business-friendly legislation: Bills to make child care more accessible and affordable to Oklahomans, to prevent frivolous business lawsuits and to simplify taxes were promoted Thursday by lawmakers who spoke at a press meeting organized by the State Chamber of Oklahoma. [Tulsa World]
Who is funding a lawsuit? OK bill aims to require disclosure: An Oklahoma lawmaker wants to crack down on frivolous lawsuits by requiring more transparency. HB 2619 would require, upon request, the disclosure of who is funding a lawsuit. [KJRH]
Language in pornography ban bill concerns some: As it stands now, this bill would ban anything with a sex scene, sexual action, or depiction in it, meaning even romance novels or boudoir photos. [KFOR]
Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: Remembering Ryan Kiesel, Gov. Stitt’s State of the State, Kayse Shrum resigns and more (audio): This Week in Oklahoma Politics panel discuss the untimely passing of our colleague Ryan Kiesel who died last week after a long battle with cancer, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s State of the State address and more. [KOSU]
Opinion: DOGE-OK? Seems like Oklahoma has become ground zero to roll out Project 2025: Oklahoma’s political agenda has been somewhat comical to watch. It’s as if a memo goes out after a national agenda meeting, and Gov. Kevin Stitt can’t wait to be first to execute it. [Clytie Bunyan / The Oklahoman]
Opinion, Rep. Suzanne Schreiber: Lawmakers have tangible ways to improve child care for workforce: There are many policy changes that these business-driven organizations could be promoting, but affordable and accessible quality child care is so critical to our workforce needs and such a good investment in our future that they’ve named it a top priority. [Rep. Suzanne Schreiber / Tulsa World]
Opinion: Will Oklahoma repeat its tax cut mistakes?: “History doesn’t repeat itself,” opined American essayist and humorist Mark Twain, “but it often rhymes.” So it is with Oklahoma’s not-so-distant history of ill-advised tax cuts and the draconian budgets they wrought. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
- From OK Policy: During the past two decades, Oklahoma lawmakers have enacted various revenue and tax cuts that net to more than $2 billion annually.
Editorial: Conservatives lawmakers trying to DOGE their jobs by growing government: An emerging paradox has leaders of the small government party wanting to expand government with mini-versions of President Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency headed by billionaire Elon Musk. Only, the more local the government, the more DOGE is being used to dodge the responsibility of budget oversight. [Editorial / Tulsa World]
Federal Government News
U.S. House members battle over eliminating Department of Education at hearing: The largely partisan clash over whether to abolish the U.S. Department of Education came to the forefront at a Wednesday hearing by a U.S. House education panel, as rumors continue to circulate over President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the federal agency that’s just four-and-a-half decades old. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Newly discovered remains ID’d as Indigenous trans woman missing since 2019: Human remains found last week near Picher in northeastern Oklahoma have been identified as a transgender woman and Cherokee Nation citizen who disappeared in 2019. [Tulsa World]
- Human remains found in Oklahoma identified as missing Cherokee Nation woman [The Oklahoman]
- Remains of Aubrey Dameron found and identified [Cherokee Phoenix]
- Chief issues statement on recovery of Cherokee Nation citizen [Tahlequah Daily Press]
Voting and Election News
Four seeking TPS District 3 seat: Voters across much of north Tulsa will be choosing a new school board representative. [Tulsa World]
Broken Arrow school board seat sees first contested election in 25 years: For the first time in 25 years, more than one candidate is seeking Broken Arrow Public Schools’ Zone 5 seat. [Tulsa World]
Tulsa school board candidates clash with state’s proposed immigration status rule: Tulsa Public Schools’ District 3 candidates largely oppose State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ push to get Oklahoma students to disclose their immigration statuses. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Amid criminal charges, Austin Ball seeks re-election in Norman Ward 1: In Ward 1 of the Norman City Council, incumbent Councilmember Austin Ball is seeking reelection despite new criminal charges filed against him and his wife regarding campaign finance violations, along with resurfaced charges of domestic violence filed against him in Colorado in 2016. [NonDoc]
- Norman Councilman Austin Ball denies wrongdoing in embezzlement, false documents case [Fox 25]
Opinion: Were Oklahoma’s local elections better when they were partisan? I’d argue no: Partisanship has no place in local governance, where collaboration and community-focused problem-solving should take precedence over divisive party politics. [Kris Steele / Oklahoma Voice]
Education News
‘Workforce touches every one of our lives’: Lawmakers eager to tackle career training: Oklahomans may soon benefit from tax credits aimed at encouraging those seeking opportunities to enroll in career training. [Fox 25]
OSU’s silence continues while its Faculty Council expresses thanks for Kayse Shrum’s tenure: Even as the university and the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, maintains radio silence about the “why” behind the university president’s sudden departure after less than four years in office, it’s clear she wasn’t so chummy with members of the nine-person regents board that oversees the university. The internal conflict, according to multiple media reports, boiled over last Friday during a regular meeting of the board. [The Oklahoman]
- What is OSU’s Innovation Foundation? Funding in spotlight as Kayse Shrum, another resigns [The Oklahoman]
Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to eliminate virtual learning days, bill aims to crack down: The governor made clear in his State of the State address that he wants to end virtual learning days in 2025. However, more than a dozen school districts have had to go virtual or close due to rampant illness spreading across Oklahoma in the last week [KOCO]
Okmulgee Public Schools to pay out two years of departing superintendent’s contract: Okmulgee Public Schools will be paying out two years of its three-year contract with its soon-to-be former superintendent, who was on the job for only seven months. [Tulsa World]
Can a Charter School Be Religious? The Supreme Court Could Redraw the Lines: At stake in a case from Oklahoma is whether the court will expand the boundaries of government aid to faith-based institutions. It would be a sea change in education law. [Governing]
TU launches new economics center with inaugural conference: The center is offering sturdy theories that people can embrace to understand how economics can serve a better world, a world that is not about one in six children being in absolute poverty like it is right now in the United States, but it’s a world in which people can actually thrive and be humans. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Editorial: Districts should decline Ryan Walters’ publicity stunts at schools: The state superintendent appears incapable of functioning unless he has a camera in front of him. TPS should decide whether allowing media in on a school day is appropriate for the students and staff there — not be bulldozed into using schools and the students inside as props for Walters. [Editorial / Tulsa World]
Health News
Is a ‘quademic’ swirling? What you should know about flu, RSV, COVID and norovirus: A nationwide surge in flu, COVID-19, RSV and norovirus infections is fueling concerns of a possible virus “quademic.” Or is it just winter? [USA Today via The Oklahoman]
Criminal Justice News
OK County jail’s CEO spoke her mind — from her heart — before she exited the job: Invited to speak her mind, Brandi Garner first spoke from her heart. Finally, she could do so — not as a law enforcement officer, not as a jail administrator, not as a CEO, not as the public face of the notoriously dangerous Oklahoma County jail, but as a human being, a wife and a mom. [The Oklahoman]
Divided OK Supreme Court rules sex offender residency restriction can be retroactive: In a 5-3 decision this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled the Sex Offender Registration Act’s provision prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a park applies retroactively to those who registered prior to the provision’s 2006 enactment. [NonDoc]
Oklahoma Looks to Privatize Prison Food Service: The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is planning a transition from in-house to privatized food service. A pending request for proposal, set to close on Feb. 21, seeks a food service provider capable of feeding nearly 20,000 state prisoners daily. [Oklahoma Watch]
Economy & Business News
Opinion, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president: Protect against growing threats to private property rights: Landowners in Garfield and Kingfisher counties recently found themselves in court after a transmission developer sued them for refusing to allow a survey of their property for a high-voltage renewable energy transmission line. [Rodd Moesel / Tulsa World]
Community News
The Real Definition of a Black Woman is “Superhero”: Black women are often celebrated for our resilience, strength, and power, which can feel almost superhuman at times. This “superpower” manifests in various forms including culturally, socially, and personally and is deeply rooted in the history and lived experiences of Black women across the globe. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Black History Saturdays: Real history the state can’t ban: Entering its fourth year, Black History Saturdays returns Saturday, Feb. 8 for Tulsans of all ages to explore the unfiltered excellence of their real history that’s been banned or blurred from Oklahoma classrooms. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Hundreds rally at Oklahoma State Capitol for 50 states 50 protests: Oklahomans of all backgrounds came together for the #50501 capitol protests to defend democracy and peacefully resist fascism. These demonstrations took place at every capitol in the United States on Wednesday, February 5th, 2025. [The Black Wall Street Times]
From musicians to activists, here are 7 influential Black Oklahomans to learn about this month: Black history is a core part of American history in many ways. The evidence is almost everywhere, from the economic and social contributions of the Black community to the country. [The Oklahoman]
- Activists, politicians, musicians: See 10 notable Oklahomans who impacted Black history [The Oklahoman]
- Opinion: How I learned about Clara Luper and another OKC hero [Dr. David Brinker / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Don’t allow AI to decide your news consumption. Find sources beyond social media: Seemingly overnight most people went from getting their news from news organizations to getting what now passes for news from social media ― so what they get is decided by algorithms that usually aren’t created to advance literacy. In most cases, it’s the opposite. [Robert Kerr / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Keep dreaming and keep moving so the dream never dies: This February, I choose hope and action. I am, and will continue to be, fueled by the strength and power of my ancestors — who endured and resisted in times and in places that were far more oppressive. I am driven by the actions, works and achievements of countless African American people who fought and continue to fight for justice. Their resilience is my inheritance. Their dreams are the foundation of my own. [Shella Bowlin / Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“We’re a balanced budget state. That number has to be balanced. And we either do that with agency cuts or finding revenues, or we balance some of that with some of the cash that we have. I’m not a fan of taking one-time dollars which we refer to as cash and using that to fund recurring expenses.”
-Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton speaking about the state’s financial picture when considering proposals to cut state revenue through tax cuts. [KFOR]
Number of the Day
$450 million
Eliminating the state’s portion of the sales tax on groceries last year reduced recurring state revenue by $450 million for a full year, according to Senate leaders. [Oklahoma Voice]
- NOTE: The initial estimated impact for the cut was $370 million, according to the fiscal impact statement for the law (HB 1955) that removed the state’s portion of grocery sales tax.
Policy Note
Health Experts Are Flying Blind Amid Vanishing Public Health Data: “The removal of critical health information from governmental public health sites is chilling and puts the health of the public at risk,” said Richard Besser, a former acting director of the CDC. [Governing]
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
