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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.
New from OK Policy
‘Broadening the Tax Base’ is code for an unfair tax system (Commentary): Broadening Oklahoma’s tax base sounds like common sense. But in real life, “broadening the base” is more of a slogan than an actual goal. In states like Oklahoma that are set to eliminate their income taxes, lawmakers often use sales tax broadening to accommodate these revenue cuts. Most lawmakers overwhelmingly support cuts to income taxes first, promising to broaden the sales tax base later to make up the difference — a step that almost never happens. [Aanahita Irani Ervin / OK Policy]
State Government News
Oklahoma bill to limit immigrant tuition benefits to lawful residents: The two Oklahoma statutes providing recourse for immigrants lacking permanent legal status who want to pay resident tuition rates at a state college or university may soon be amended to strictly apply only to those who are “lawfully present.” [The Journal Record]
- Oklahoma legislation proposed to deny in-state tuition for undocumented students [News 9]
Oklahoma high court rebukes lawmakers’ request to keep data private: The Oklahoma Supreme Court has denied a request from 34 lawmakers to prevent a state agency from sharing some driver’s license information with a Virginia-based nonprofit. In an 8-1 decision, the state’s high court declined to prohibit Service Oklahoma from sharing some licensing information with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. [Oklahoma Voice]
- State Supreme Court denies request to stop sharing Oklahomans’ data [The Oklahoman]
Education bills filed after OU Bible essay controversy clear first hurdle: Several higher education-focused bills filed by Oklahoma state lawmakers in the wake of a failed essay involving University of Oklahoma junior Samantha Fulnecky passed out of first committee hearings on Tuesday. [News 9]
- Bills tied to Samantha Fulnecky essay controversy, undocumented student privileges make progress [KFOR]
Oklahoma lawmakers consider mask ban, harsher penalties for rioters: Lawmakers advanced a bill out of committee that would implement harsher penalties for rioters, including longer prison terms and requirements that out-of-state residents be held without bail. [Oklahoma Voice]
Unsolved Tulsa homicide prompts legislative effort to ensure hospitals can share info: A bill that gained traction at the Capitol on Tuesday was requested by the Tulsa Police Department in the aftermath of a homicide in the city that remains unsolved. [Tulsa World]
Sports betting and the Oklahoma legislative session, where do we stand?: With another legislative session underway, sports betting is sure to be at the forefront of conversation yet again. Three bills stand ready for review this year after all of them passed their respective chamber in the legislature in 2025. [KFOR]
Federal Government News
Oklahoma Becomes ICE Arrest Hub as Federal Policy Drives Enforcement Explosion: A key federal policy change, with robust cooperation from Oklahoma law enforcement, is transforming the state into one where detention is the default response to immigration status, regardless of a person’s documentation or whether they pose any threat or committed any crime. [Oklahoma Watch]
Trump shuts out Democratic governors from traditional White House gatherings: President Donald Trump decided to exclude Democratic governors from a traditional annual meeting at the White House and to disinvite several others from a black-tie dinner, according to the White House, the governors and the National Governors Association. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Governors to skip Trump meeting after White House invited only Republicans, source says [Reuters]
- All Democratic governors bow out of White House dinner after Trump snubs several [Oklahoma Voice]
- Stitt pulls governors’ group from White House summit after Trump plans to exclude Democrats [KOSU]
- Stitt stays silent as Trump excludes fellow governors from White House dinner [The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
Opinion: Oklahoma tribes honor compacts. They ask Stitt to do same: Tribal sovereignty is rooted in treaties, the Commerce Clause, federal statute and two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. It is not a preference. It is the law. [Rod Wilson / The Oklahoman]
Voting and Election News
Holt wins re-election in Oklahoma City, Norman City Council sees new faces and incumbents: Voters in 60 Oklahoma counties cast ballots in dozens of local elections Tuesday. Among the most watched races, incumbent David Holt claimed another four years as mayor of Oklahoma City, and several large school districts passed bond issues. Below are the results of the races KOSU has been watching. [KOSU]
- Republican Dillon Travis elected in HD 35 special election [NonDoc]
- OKC Mayor David Holt reelected to third term [NonDoc]
- Election results: Edmond approves bonds to build and improve schools, buy buses [The Oklahoman]
- Norman elects 4 to council, Ward 5 heads to runoff [NonDoc]
- Jenks voters approve school bond proposals [Tulsa World]
- Deer Creek and Edmond voters overwhelmingly approve school bond packages [News 9]
Voter registration in Oklahoma on a decline for both Republicans and Democrats: Local elections are underway today across several Oklahoma counties, including the mayoral race in Oklahoma City. However, voter registration has been declining for both Democrats and Republicans in several counties in Oklahoma. [Fox 25]
Long Story Short: Gubernatorial Candidates Rely on Personal Money to Launch Campaigns (podcast): Reporters discuss the proposed Senate Bill 1545, an update on some of the lawsuits still pending stemming from the significant natural gas costs for Oklahoma utility customers following a winter storm in 2021, and about how Republican gubernatorial candidates have loaned themselves millions to launch their campaigns ahead of the June 16 primary election. [Oklahoma Watch]
Education News
‘We are gonna be sued’: Oklahoma statewide board denies Jewish charter school application: Board members said they were bound to follow the St. Isidore ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, despite some doing so begrudgingly. [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU]
Federal lawsuit alleges a ‘culture of abuse and neglect’ for students with disabilities in Tulsa Public Schools: A Tulsa Public Schools parent says “a culture of abuse and neglect” in the district led to the assault of her child with disabilities. She’s taking the allegations to federal court. [Tulsa Flyer]
Health News
Past audit findings spur scrutiny of how Oklahoma will manage $223.5M rural health funds: It’s set to be a huge shot in the arm for healthcare in rural and small-town Oklahoma. Our state is awarded $223.5 million in federal grant money in the first batch of a 5-year $50 billion initiative called The Rural Health Transformation Program. FOX 25 is tracking that money for you and asking ‘Who’s accountable?’ for how it’s spent, posing the question to leaders at the federal level and here in Oklahoma. [Fox 25]
New assessment shows South OKC faces acute mental health resource gap: South Oklahoma City suffers from a “acute” misalignment of mental health resources, according to the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, which presented a community needs assessment to the Oklahoma City Council during its meeting Tuesday morning. [The Journal Record]
Criminal Justice News
Former city attorney alleges ‘nefarious’ scheme to keep money OKC police seized: Orval Jones, 67, claimed in an affidavit filed Feb. 5 in Oklahoma County District Court that the city failed to provide to the courts information related to property seizures involving criminal cases. In such cases the court has consistently held that the funds be used for victim restitution, court costs, probation and incarceration fees before allowing the seizing agency to claim the money, Jones wrote in the affidavit. [The Oklahoman]
Former Oklahoma County jail employees allege wrongful termination in federal lawsuit: Two former Oklahoma County jail employees have filed a federal lawsuit claiming their freedom of speech was violated when they were fired for reporting alleged unlawful violations [KOCO]
Rev. Scobey aims to resurrect Commissioner Lowe’s jail tax plan: A sales tax election for money to finish the new Oklahoma County jail, dead-on-arrival when pitched to county commissioners, will be brought back, but if nothing changes, it will be DOA again. [The Oklahoman]
City to pay $800,000 to settle lawsuit alleging Tulsa police failed a rape victim: The city of Tulsa has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged Tulsa Police left too soon after responding to a 911 call, leaving the woman vulnerable to an attack by her then-boyfriend. [Tulsa World]
Tulsa judge recalls old arrest warrants after wrong woman jailed in Arizona: A Tulsa judge has recalled 26-year-old arrest warrants in a federal criminal case after U.S. Marshals arrested the wrong person in Arizona. [Tulsa World]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
264K Oklahomans called 211 for help last year. Now Tulsa Area United Way wants more state support: During last month’s winter storm, 200 people across eastern Oklahoma found shelter after calling 211, said Alison Anthony, president and CEO of Tulsa Area United Way. It’s a nationwide free and confidential hotline locally operated by United Way — serving 37 counties in eastern Oklahoma and connecting them with community resources. But to really serve Oklahomans best, Anthony says they need state funding. [Tulsa Flyer]
Community News
Sit-inner finally gets to see his statue at plaza named after his mom: Of the original living participants of the first historic Katz Drug Store sit-in, only two have been unable to visit the Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza since its 2025 dedication in downtown Oklahoma City. That changed on Tuesday, Feb. 10, when Calvin Luper arrived at the plaza for a surprise viewing of the art installation featuring a bronze lunch counter depicting that 1958 sit-in. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- Amid ICE fears and Epstein revelations, Tulsans plan to rally every Friday to denounce Trump [Public Radio Tulsa]
- Tulsa touts its new office for families and youth as a success. But it’s fallen behind on its goals [Tulsa Flyer]
- Four Tulsa Public Schools elementaries to come off federal improvement list [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“The majority stakes the largest detention initiative in American history on the possibility that … Congress must have wanted these noncitizens detained—some of them the spouses, mothers, fathers, and grandparents of American citizens. Straining at a gnat, the majority swallows a camel.”
– Fifth Circuit Judge Dana Douglas, dissenting from a decision that allowed the Trump administration’s expanded immigration detention policy to proceed. She criticized the majority for relying on speculative congressional intent and added that it focused on a minor point while ignoring far larger human and legal consequences. [Oklahoma Watch]
Number of the Day
23,613
The number of immigrants in Oklahoma with pending immigration court cases as of December 2025. About 80% of them do not have legal representation, a gap that can significantly affect case outcomes and due process. [Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse]
Policy Note
How the United States Immigration System Works: The U.S. immigration system is built around family reunification, employment, humanitarian protection, and diversity, but in practice it is highly complex and difficult to navigate. Strict numerical limits, country caps, and detailed eligibility rules create long backlogs and uneven access depending on a person’s nationality or family situation. Many legal pathways require a sponsor, significant resources, and years of waiting, while temporary or humanitarian statuses often provide little long-term security. As a result, the system can be hard to understand and slow to respond to real-world migration and labor needs. [American Immigration Council]
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