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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
Strong Tribal–state partnerships benefit all Oklahomans: The Oklahoma Legislature has an opportunity this session to strengthen relationships with Tribal Nations through thoughtful policy in education and gaming. When the state works with Tribal Nations instead of around them, the benefits extend far beyond Tribal citizens. Strong Tribal–State partnerships support local economies, improve public safety, and expand opportunities for communities across Oklahoma. [Taylor Broadbent / OK Policy]
Oklahoma News
Choose Your Own Voters: Republican Lawmakers Send High-Stakes Ballot Initiatives To Low-Turnout Election: Call it a Legismander. Or a Referendamander. Either way, Republicans in the Legislature are trying to force state questions onto a likely GOP-heavy August primary runoff ballot. Not since the right-to-work battles over union membership at the turn of the century has a legislatively sponsored state question appeared on a non-general election ballot in Oklahoma. [Oklahoma Watch]
What Oklahoma counties are growing, shrinking the most? What Census data shows: Eight counties gained more than 1,000 residents just between 2024 and 2025, and five lost 100 or more in that time period. Most counties in the state, however, are experiencing minimal shifts. [The Oklahoman]
Rising from the ashes: Oklahoma families start over despite struggles with obtaining FEMA grants: The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved individual assistance for Oklahomans impacted by the 2025 wildfires, but a request for mitigation funding remains under review. The holdup is hindering long-term recovery and driving Oklahoma officials to consider solutions at the state-level. [Oklahoma Watch]
The trillion-gallon time bomb: Inside the oil industry’s wastewater crisis: The oil and gas industry’s wastewater problem is a trillion-gallon ticking time bomb beneath our feet. For decades, drillers have injected this toxic waste product of oil and gas production back underground. But increasingly, it doesn’t stay where it should. Instead, it’s spreading for miles, irreversibly contaminating drinking water or blasting back to the surface. [The Frontier]
- An Oklahoma family says oil is polluting their home. The state says its hands are tied [Public Radio Tulsa]
The Heartland Flyer: The past, present and future of passenger rail in Oklahoma: Every day the Heartland Flyer carries passengers to and from Oklahoma City and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. It’s the only passenger rail service in Oklahoma, and its future is uncertain. [KGOU]
State Government News
Oklahoma lawmakers are on the trend of running immigration bills suggested by the White House: Proposals would require state workers to verify the immigration status of people applying for federal grocery assistance and healthcare coverage, and report those unlawfully in the country to federal immigration enforcement authorities. But it’s unclear exactly who may be reported to law enforcement under the language in the bills; people in the country without permission already can’t access federal benefits. [KOSU]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma lawmakers once again push for more harmful anti-immigrant bills and Closing the door on lawful immigrants: How HR 1 reshapes the safety net in Oklahoma
Childcare providers warn hundreds of centers will close under proposed state budget: Oklahoma childcare providers say a new state budget Republican leaders proposed this week will force hundreds of childcare centers to close, and warn the fallout will extend far beyond families with young children, threatening the state’s broader economy and workforce. [KFOR]
Capitol Insider: Gov. Stitt and GOP leadership announce FY2027 budget agreement: It’s barely April and already Gov. Stitt and Republican leaders in the Oklahoma House and Senate have produced a budget agreement. That normally does not happen until late April or even early May. How did this agreement come together so quickly? [KGOU]
- Budget deal includes $3M for new Oklahoma state plane [Oklahoma Voice]
- Gov. Kevin Stitt swings key State of the State budget proposals [KGOU]
- Budget bits, TSET fits. [Monday Minute / NonDoc]
- From OK Policy’s Shiloh Kantz: Oklahomans deserve a real chance to see what’s in the budget and speak up before it’s final. Anything less falls short of the trust taxpayers place in their leaders.
Oklahoma agency chief to step down April 24: The executive director of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is expected to leave the agency. Julie Bisbee, who has served as TSET’s executive director since 2019, said that she voluntarily submitted her resignation. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Some may call Oklahoma lawmakers’ special election plan shrewd manipulation. I call it cowardly: During a busy campaign season like Oklahoma finds itself in, it could be easy to miss key details like the timing of an election with all the political noise. And Oklahoma’s Republican leadership seems to be counting on you being distracted. That’s because the Legislature is working now to sneak ballot measures that would undo laws constituents already put in place by scheduling elections almost guaranteed to see lower turnouts. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
Republicans applaud immigrant detention — until it’s in their back yards: In a New Hampshire effort, Republicans have warned that the move to convert warehouses into hulking detention sites in rural areas will strain local communities’ water, sewage, electricity, heat and health care. Yet Republicans also cheered Trump’s 2024 campaign rhetoric on deportation, voted to return him to the White House and in Congress last year, GOP lawmakers spearheaded $45 billion for ICE detention. [Oklahoma Voice]
D.C. Digest: Mullin makes changes at DHS: New Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made several policy and personnel changes during his first two weeks on the job. Mullin also paused plans to build giant detention centers around the country and the use of DHS aircraft to fly detainees to other countries. [Tulsa World]
Tribal Nations News
Supreme Court won’t hear tribal member’s Oklahoma income tax case: The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected calls to hear a pivotal tribal sovereignty case from Oklahoma that could have decided whether some tribal citizens are exempt from paying income tax to the state. [The Oklahoman]
- U.S. Supreme Court turns away Muscogee citizen’s tribal income tax challenge [Tulsa World]
Rematriation retreat returns to Tulsa, linking Indigenous language to resistance: Those who want to engage with matriarchal ways, land-based knowledge and creative expression are invited to gather April 10-12 at Tulsa’s fourth annual Rematriation Retreat. This year’s theme is “Language as Resistance.” [Tulsa Flyer]
Voting and Election News
Oklahoma election preview: Cities seek to update charters, fund improvements: Oklahoma’s 2026 statewide elections may not be happening just yet, but a slew of local races will be on ballots Tuesday. Voters will head to the polls to make their decisions on school bonds, city taxes and more. [KOSU]
- Issues to consider related to Tulsa Public Schools bond proposal on Tuesday’s ballot [Tulsa World]
- View upcoming elections in your area and find your polling location and hours on the Oklahoma Voter Portal.
Hundreds of candidates file for Oklahoma office, setting up contested races for House and Senate: In all, over 600 Oklahomans filed for state and federal office, judgeships and district attorney posts, according to the State Election Board. The number of people filing exceeds four years ago when 569 Oklahomans filed. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Over a quarter of #okleg members up for reelection win without drawing a challenger [NonDoc]
- Statewide, federal races: 15 file for governor, Oklahoma auditor wins by default [NonDoc]
- This year’s election filings a game of dominoes, term limits [Tulsa World]
- Twelve enter Republican CD 1 primary as filing period ends [Tulsa World]
- Oklahoma primary elections pit Republicans vs. Republicans [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma Auditor Cindy Byrd shifts campaign to challenge state treasurer [The Oklahoman]
- Candidates for federal, state and legislative offices [Tulsa World]
- DA races: 23 of 27 district attorneys elected by default, Democrat wins rural post [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma State Senate races: 18 seats contested in 2026 [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma House races: 19 open seats, many intriguing contests [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma County: 8 candidates file for open District 3 commissioner seat [NonDoc]
- Tulsa County candidate filing: 6 elections set, 14 elected by default [NonDoc]
- Political notebook: County Commissioner Stan Sallee gets primary opponent [Tulsa World]
Education News
Opinion: Teacher turnover is high. Why educators are leaving: A teacher turnover study by The Learning Policy Institute found that “about one out of every seven public school teachers moved schools or left the profession between the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years.” The report recommends improving compensation, school leadership and job satisfaction, as well as addressing the problems faced by high-turnover groups of teachers. [John Thompson / The Oklahoman]
Health News
Concerns over a Nebraska hospital show how a $50B rural health fund is coming up short: Hundreds of rural hospitals across the country are facing closures after years of funding problems. The issue was compounded last summer by the Trump administration’s massive cuts to Medicaid, the government’s safety net for low-income Americans, whose reimbursements have long helped hospitals meet their bottom lines. [Associated Press]
Criminal Justice News
At the Tulsa city jail, preventable deaths and hidden records: The City of Tulsa has refused to release records related to a series of deaths at its municipal jail that would answer basic questions about how people died in custody. [The Frontier]
Oklahoma death row inmate questioned about unsolved 1994 double homicide: A convicted murderer who is next up for execution in Oklahoma has told Norman police he can “definitely” solve a 1994 double homicide, authorities have revealed. Raymond Eugene Johnson, though, “wanted a guarantee that the person responsible would not get the death penalty.” [The Oklahoman]
- 5 things to know about Tulsa killer set for Oklahoma’s next execution [Tulsa World]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma Death Penalty Tracker
‘They threw a baby out the window,’ the dispatcher said. OKC officers were playing an April Fool’s joke: While faking emergency calls in the state of Oklahoma is a misdemeanor crime usually punishable by a fine of $500 and possible jail-time, the police department declined to comment regarding policies for fake emergency calls or whether these officers would face charges when reached for comment by The Oklahoman. [The Oklahoman]
Legal roundup: Court of Criminal Appeals weighs in on definition of ‘sexual relations,’ riot laws and more: Decisions by local courts came down on the disestablishment of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Reservation, the difference between “sexual relations” and “sexual intercourse,” as well as another look at Oklahoma’s riot statute. Find items about those topics — and education issues — in this legal roundup. [NonDoc]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Tulsa steps up effort to move unhoused out of downtown as part of $10M homelessness plan: For the past six weeks, social workers have hit the downtown Tulsa streets at 4:30 a.m. to find regular sleepers and figure out what they need to stay housed. It’s been intentional and quiet work among several agencies. Some unhoused Tulsans have already moved into shelters or housing, and more will be placed this weekend as the effort steps up. [Tulsa Flyer]
Opinion: Why Is affordable housing so expensive?: Many factors add significant cost to the development of affordable housing, making these deals incredibly challenging, and in many cases, impossible. What should be the least expensive housing to develop is now the most expensive. Despite the headwinds we’re up against, we’ve developed almost $500 million in affordable and mixed-income housing in Tulsa since 2018. [Aaron Darden / Tulsa World]
Opinion: Rural Oklahoma’s housing crisis needs a fix of its own: Looking at rural housing in Oklahoma gives you a completely different set of eyes. Because what you see out there is not a shortage of ideas. It’s a shortage of housing. Real housing. Not just apartments. Not just high-end homes. But basic, quality housing that working people can actually live in. [Former Rep. Mark McBride / The Oklahoman]
Economy & Business News
Edmond bookstore owner fights developer’s Barnes & Noble plan: A local bookstore owner recently took the Edmond City Council to task over a plan to bring a Barns & Noble to town, saying it could force her store, or two others, to close. [The Oklahoman]
Community News
Opinion: Tulsa can reach the promise of repair: As 111-year-old “Mother” Lessie Benningfield Randle sits beside an empty chair, Tulsa is confronting what it avoided for more than a century. The chair once belonged to “Mother” Viola Ford Fletcher, her roommate and fellow survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, who died in November. Randle is now the last living survivor of Tulsa’s tragedy. With her, Tulsa’s living witnesses are nearly gone. Like Moses on the mountaintop, or Martin Luther King Jr. near the end of his life, she may not get there herself. Still, she believes Tulsa can reach the promise of repair. [Rev. Marlin Lavanhar / Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“Politicians for years have eroded the public’s trust in systems and through gerrymandering, closed primaries and attacks on the initiative petition. They know they’ve got us on the ropes, and they’re going to cram some stuff down our throats in an election most people aren’t paying attention to. The things they’re running are things voters have already voiced their opinion on, and they’re trying to undo it.”
–Andy Moore, chief executive officer of civics group Let’s Fix This, speaking about proposed timing of a slew of legislative state questions being pushed by Republican lawmakers. The proposed state questions are currently scheduled for the Aug. 25 runoff election, which likely only include Republican candidates on the ballot. [Oklahoma Watch]
Number of the Day
63%
The 2024 primary season saw a median 63% drop in turnout from initial primaries to runoffs — the largest decline since tracking began in 1994, with every single runoff drawing fewer voters. Oklahoma is among the eight states that hold primary runoff elections if no candidate wins a majority of votes in a party primary. [FairVote]
Policy Note
Election Timing: When elections are held at times outside major November elections — like in odd years or off-cycle dates — voter turnout drops significantly. Lower turnout doesn’t just mean fewer voters; it also changes who participates, often leading to an electorate that is less representative of the broader population. Because so few people vote in these elections, organized groups and highly engaged voters can have outsized influence over outcomes. [MIT Election Date + Science Lab]
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