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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.
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Crossover week, special election results lead up to impending committee, floor deadlines (Capitol Update): During the lull in legislative action in “crossover” week last week, a bit of politics filled the void. Crossover week is the week after floor deadlines during which House bills that remain alive officially move to the Senate, and Senate bills move to the House. Next week, the committee process will begin, aimed at hearing bills in committee so they can be considered for floor action. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
‘Get rid of the whole thing’: After Stitt ousts Mark Goeller, Forestry Services comment irks #okleg: Stitt suggested April 2 that the Oklahoma Forestry Services division of state government could be shut down — a bold proposal that drew the ire of legislators and a letter from three dozen business, industry and firefighter organizations imploring the governor to maintain the entity in its current form. [NonDoc]
- Stitt claims half of Oklahoma Forestry Services’ resources held back during fires, reportedly suspends employees [KOSU]
- Stitt orders review of handling of Oklahoma wildfires, doubles down on criticism [Oklahoma Voice]
- Gov. Stitt issues statement after firing head forester, backlash from lawmakers [KFOR]
State Government News
Bill targeting wildfire-fueling invasive cedars advances in Senate committee: Efforts to rid Oklahoma of invasive red cedar and salt cedar trees that consume lots of groundwater and tend to explode in flames to fuel wildfires would be stepped up under bills gaining momentum in the Legislature. [Tulsa World]
Judicial cheat sheet: OK Supreme Court candidates’ careers, land holdings, political baggage: After Gov. Kevin Stitt selects one of them for appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, either Donna Dirickson, Travis Jett or Jon Parsley will have a say in the final interpretation of state civil laws — potentially for the rest of their lifetimes. But while each of the three candidates has years of legal experience, little information about their backgrounds or personal interests has been provided to the general public. [NonDoc]
Oklahoma Bar Journal analysis shows St. Isidore case likely to bring down wall between church, state: Gov. Kevin Stitt anticipates the U.S. Supreme Court will accommodate state-sponsored religious education in its upcoming hearing of oral arguments in the St. Isidore Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond case. A recent study published in the state’s Bar Association Journal suggests he’s right. [KOSU]
- Oklahoma Faith Leaders Urge Supreme Court to Block Taxpayer-Funded Religious Charter School St. Isidore [News 9]
Senate committee advances aerospace tax credit extension: House Bill 2019, authored by state Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, and Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, proposes to amend state statute, which provides income tax credits for employers and employees in the Oklahoma aerospace sector. [The Journal Record]
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality ordered back to office amid parking shortage: When Gov. Kevin Stitt announced an executive order in February requiring state employees to work fully in person, the DEQ applied for an exemption until the new garage was complete. Early Monday morning, DEQ’s leadership team learned the exemption had been denied. [KOSU]
Bill allowing mountain lion hunting permits progresses through Oklahoma legislature: Mountain lion hunting has been illegal since 1957, however, it is legal to kill a mountain lion if it threatens people or livestock. Since 2002, about 13 mountain lions have been killed in alleged threatening incidents. [Fox 25]
Federal Government News
Trump administration partially restores Oklahoma health department’s family planning funding: The Trump administration has restored $1.96 million of a federal family planning grant to Oklahoma’s State Department of Health, with potentially more to come. The decision reversed a Biden administration decision that rescinded a $5 million Title X grant in 2023 because the state’s health department said it would no longer refer patients for abortions under Oklahoma’s restrictive abortion laws. [Oklahoma Voice]
Frank Lucas is Trying to Exempt Oklahoma’s Aviation Academy from Government Shutdowns: The legislation introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas would keep the academy at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, one of the FAA’s largest facilities, open if funds stopped flowing due to a federal government shutdown and would exempt employees and students employed by the FAA from a furlough. But Lucas also said that he was concerned about the facility in the context of potential cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency. [Oklahoma Watch]
Sen. Lankford expresses optimism over Trump’s tariffs despite stock market ‘rumble’: Oklahoma’s U.S. senators doubled down on their support for President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on imports. Republican Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin said they believed any short-term shocks would lead to long-term gains for the U.S. economy by closing trade deficits and boosting manufacturing jobs. [The Oklahoman]
Trump administration funding freeze of $27B clean-energy program strands local projects: A multibillion-dollar Environmental Protection Agency program designed to spur investment in energy-efficiency improvements nationwide is tied up in a legal battle that threatens to upend planned projects across the United States focused on affordable housing, the adoption of electric vehicles and more. [Oklahoma Voice]
After efforts to address historic discrimination, future federal programs to help Oklahoma Black farmers are in question: Thousands of Oklahomans got payments from a Biden-era program to help address generations of farm lending discrimination. Now, the Trump Administration wants to end programs that could be labeled as DEI. Some Oklahoma programs have already seen funding freezes. [KOSU]
How does deportation work, and how much does it cost? We break it down: President Trump kicked off his second term vowing to deport a record number of people from the U.S. But deportation — a cumbersome process generally involving an arrest, detention, a removal order from a judge and finally a flight out of the U.S. — can take months or years. [NPR]
USPS changes to mail delivery this month will affect millions. What to know in Oklahoma: The United States Postal Service will be changing how it serves the millions of customers across the country this month. While the move is targeted to make it more efficient and cut costs, some may get certain mail more slowly. [The Oklahoman]
Editorial: Sen. Mullin “jokes” that violence is the answer to fake news. How out of touch is he?: It’s not only disheartening but shameful that Mullin would call for the killing of journalists, joking or not, in a state that is home to the deadliest act of political violence and domestic terrorism in the nation’s history. [Editorial / The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
US Senate Passes Resolution Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Indian Self-Determination & Education Assistance Act: The U.S. Senate on Monday unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, an act of Congress that fundamentally changed Federal Indian policy. [Native News Online]
Speaking the past to life: Students attend Indigenous language fair in Norman: In a Norman auditorium, young Oklahomans speak in languages only a handful of people across the globe can understand. Many of Oklahoma’s Indigenous languages are considered endangered. But at the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, young speakers are encouraged to develop their confidence in speaking them. [KOSU]
‘Drowned Land’ shines light on Choctaw water rights movement: It took seven years for the feature directorial debut of Colleen Thurston’s “Drowned Land” to be completed, a journey that took her along with a community of people within her tribe, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and their fight to preserve water rights to the Kiamichi River. [ICT]
Tribes, long shut out from their own health data, fight for access and sovereignty: The lack of tribe-specific data has hindered tribes from fully taking care of their members and clouded their work on public health responses to disease outbreaks such as syphilis and COVID-19, on maternal and infant health outcomes, and on chronic issues such as diabetes, heart disease and substance use. [Stateline via ICT]
Opinion, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.: Cherokee Impact Grows, Uplifting Families and Improving Communities: This week, we announced our latest economic impact report. The biannual report is an analysis of financial reach throughout our 14-county reservation. Once again, the math shows continued growth in our economic reach — now at $3.14 billion annually. [Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. / Native News Online]
Voting and Election News
House lawmaker representing Oklahoma City resigns, setting up special election: A lawmaker from Oklahoma City had his last day in the House Monday after being elected Oklahoma County commissioner. A special primary election to fill the now-vacant legislative seat, which covers parts of northeast Oklahoma City and surrounding areas, is June 10. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma initiative seeks to legalize marijuana purchases for people over 21: Oklahoma voters could be casting ballots on a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana for people over 21. Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action is behind the proposal, filed as State Question 837. [KGOU]
Education News
Oklahoma House panel advances bills impacting virtual school days, tutoring programs: Senate bills limiting virtual school days and expanding school tutoring are a crucial step closer to becoming law after passing the first House committee stage on Monday. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Bill that would significantly limit virtual learning days for Oklahoma students advances [The Oklahoman]
Tulsa school board reviews proposed foundation policy, approves Parents Bill of Rights: Tulsa Public Schools’ Board of Education got its first look Monday night at a proposed policy that would set some parameters in the relationship between the district and the nonprofit Foundation for Tulsa Schools. [Tulsa World]
13 Tulsa schools removed from federal watch list: Along with Unity, schools announced on Monday as coming off the Continuous School Improvement list are Bell, Dolores Huerta, Eugene Field, Hamilton, Key, Lewis and Clark, MacArthur, Owen, Patrick Henry and Robertson elementary schools; Edison Middle School and Tulsa MET High School. [Tulsa World]
- 13 Tulsa schools moved off state improvement list; Walters expresses “excitement” over education department dissolving [Public Radio Tulsa]
Health News
Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services gets state funding extension for Tulsa mobile mental health service: The state has agreed to restore funding for a key mental health initiative in Tulsa, but long-term state funding for the Family & Children’s Services program remains in limbo. [Tulsa World]
- COPES funding temporarily restored [Public Radio Tulsa]
Criminal Justice News
A bill would let Oklahoma detention centers apply for ‘get out of jail free’ cards from health and safety standards: After failed health inspections at most of Oklahoma’s county detention centers, a bill at the Legislature would allow jailers to ask the state for waivers from rules that set basic standards for humane conditions. [The Frontier]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Homeless youth shelter expansion back on OKC Council agenda: An ordinance allowing expansion of a shelter for homeless youth is back before the Oklahoma City Council this week after being deferred March 11. [The Journal Record]
Economy & Business News
International space company plans to set up U.S. operations in Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority board voted to approve an agreement with Dawn Aerospace during a special meeting on April 4. The vote sets in motion a plan to bring the space company to Oklahoma, an initiative that started at least a year ago. [KGOU]
Community News
Opinion: Tulsa County Commission expanding government rather than doing their job: So much for small government at Tulsa County, with the creation of a DOGE-like position with a job description that’s almost exactly how someone would describe what a commissioner is elected to do. [Ginnie Graham / Tulsa World]
Local Headlines
- New arena among construction projects starting at Expo Square [Tulsa World]
- OKC’s Deep Fork Trail future in question as nature preserve seeks to change its route [The Oklahoman]
Quote of the Day
“While we understand the importance of fiscal efficiency, dismantling OFS would not reduce costs — it would shift the burden to already strained local departments and jeopardize coordinated wildfire management across the state. Eliminating this agency would be a step backward, leaving our state more vulnerable in a time of growing wildfire risk.”
– The State Firefighter Association, joined by organizations like the State Chamber of Oklahoma, the Petroleum Alliance, the Oklahoma Education Association and the Association of County Commissioners, wrote in a joint letter urging the governor to reverse course on his plan to shut down Oklahoma Forestry Services after wildfires devastated much of the state last month. [NonDoc]
Number of the Day
11%
Share of school-aged children in Oklahoma who live in a household with at least one noncitizen adult. [KFF]
Policy Note
Potential Impacts of Increased Immigration Enforcement on School Attendance and Funding: Research shows that children of immigrants attain higher educational outcomes than the children of U.S.-born parent(s), play an outsized role in the U.S. health care workforce, and contribute more in taxes on average than the rest of the U.S.-born population. Actions being undertaken by the federal government to restrict immigration, including attempts to end birthright citizenship, rescission of protections from immigration enforcement in schools, and plans to carry out mass deportation, could negatively impact children living in immigrant families and have longer-term ramifications for the U.S. workforce and economy. [KFF]
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