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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
The HB 1200 tax proposal would be a terrible legacy for this session (Capitol Update): As legislators draft the state budget and conclude the session, they will confront the issue of what to do with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s proposal for an income tax cut and the eventual elimination of the state income tax. House Bill 1200 contains an income tax cut – not for this year but for next year – and an ill-advised “trigger” mechanism to eventually eliminate the state income tax. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
Oklahoma election board to mail voter address confirmations soon: How to check registration: Be sure to check the mail. Over the next several weeks, voters who meet specific criteria will receive an address confirmation notice from the Oklahoma Election Board to ensure voters still reside at their registered address. [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma Election Board sending out voter address confirmation notices [KOSU]
- Oklahoma State Election Board sending address confirmation letters to voters [News 9]
- From the Oklahoma State Election Board: Address Confirmation Notices Mailed to Oklahoma Voters
- Check your address and voter registration status with the Oklahoma Voter Portal
State Government News
Flat budgets, tax cuts and priorities: lawmakers balance agendas with finances, economic uncertainty: Lawmakers are in the final stretch of Oklahoma’s 60th regular legislative session and state budget talks are ramping up. However, concerns over state agency spending and federal funding cuts mean uncertainty lies ahead, along with differing ideas on where tax dollars should be prioritized. [KOSU]
LOFT: ODMHSAS still has $27.4 million ‘unexplained’ from shortfall recalculation: For the first time in the two and a half weeks since the House investigative committee first convened to examine the finances of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, lawmakers heard a detailed report of the agency’s accounting practices this morning. [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma mental health department ‘has a long-standing issue’ with proper accounting: LOFT [Oklahoma Voice]
- Mental health agency hammered for budgeting: ‘The most confusing budgeting we’ve seen’ [Tulsa World]
- Committee receives presentation on Department of Mental Health finances [The Journal Record]
- Persistent budget gaps in Oklahoma’s mental health agency exposed by legislative review [KOSU]
- Mental health agency launches new CFO search following Oklahoma lawmaker grilling [Oklahoma Voice]
- LOFT shares findings of Dept. of Mental Health investigation with lawmakers [KFOR]
Republican lawmakers mull proposal to reject new Oklahoma academic standards: After a private meeting with state Superintendent Ryan Walters, Republican lawmakers made no promises that a leading state senator’s resolution would succeed in rejecting new academic standards proposed for social studies and science education. [Oklahoma Voice]
Gov. Stitt adds another new member to Ryan Walters-led education board: Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to fill the lone open seat on the Oklahoma State Board of Education with a veteran Edmond educator. Stitt’s appointment of Becky Carson could further curb the influence of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters over the board and Oklahoma schools. [The Oklahoman]
- Governor appoints retired Edmond teacher to Oklahoma State Board of Education [Oklahoma Voice]
- Gov. Stitt appoints fourth new member to seven-member Oklahoma Board of Education [KOSU]
- Gov. Stitt fills last State Board of Education vacancy with new member appointment [News 9]
- Stitt fills vacant State Board of Education seat [Tulsa World]
Helping emergency responders communicate among wildfire task force recommendations: The independent nature of the state’s 1,000 fire departments and the lack of overall command and coordination were cited as factors after historic wildland fires in March left devastation in Mannford, Stillwater and other areas. [Tulsa World]
Despite demonstrators, Muslims gather for 11th annual day at Oklahoma Capitol: A faith group’s day of advocacy continued for an 11th year at the Capitol, drawing a smaller crowd and less than a handful of demonstrators. Imad Enchassi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, addressed the presence of the demonstrators during his welcome remarks and encouraged those in attendance to continue coming to the advocacy day event. [The Oklahoman]
Federal Government News
Separation of church and state at risk as Oklahoma case goes before Supreme Court this week: When the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week for and against a proposal to open the nation’s first-ever religious charter school in Oklahoma, it could consider removing a long-standing boundary between public school funding and religious teaching. [Tulsa World]
- Religious charter school puts Oklahoma at center of key Supreme Court case [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma religious charter case splits Republican leaders [The Journal Record]
- Supreme Court to consider bid for first religious charter school [SCOTUSblog]
‘We’re citizens!’: Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren’t suspects: A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were not the suspects the agents were looking for. The agents had a search warrant for the home, but the suspects listed on the warrant do not live in the house. [KFOR]
- From OK Policy: Anti-immigration raids harm all communities
Oklahoma international students regain visas after initial revocation: More than a dozen international students in Oklahoma have had their visas reinstated after initially being revoked, amid ongoing legal challenges and administrative reviews. [KOCO]
ICE seeking out unaccompanied immigrant children to deport or prosecute: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials are seeking out unaccompanied immigrant children in operations nationwide with a view to deporting them or pursuing criminal cases against them or adult sponsors sheltering them legally in the US, according to sources and an Ice document. [The Guardian]
- Trump border czar defends removal of U.S. citizen children [Oklahoma Voice]
Here’s what it was like inside (and outside) Sen. James Lankford’s Oklahoma City book signing: As supporters lined up to meet Sen. James Lankford at an Oklahoma City bookstore Friday, protesters gathered outside. [KGOU]
Received an IRS Letter? Here’s How to Handle It Safely: With the tax deadline behind us, many Americans are feeling a sense of relief. But what happens if a letter from the IRS or the state tax commission shows up in the mail? Paul Hood, with Hood CPAs, says receiving a letter doesn’t necessarily mean taxpayers have made a mistake. [News 9]
Tribal Nations News
Long road to successful car tag compact, leaders say: In March, the Cherokee Nation continued its tradition of handing out millions of dollars to schools across the reservation, a celebration that was threatened in years to come without a car tag compact with Oklahoma. [Cherokee Phoenix]
Oklahoma wants to keep Osage County windfarm up despite order to dismantle: The State of Oklahoma is asking a federal judge to keep an Osage County wind farm operational, despite being ordered to dismantle it late last year. [KOSU]
Cherokee Nation citizen from California is part of 2025 bike ride team: Life has changed a lot for Cherokee Nation citizen Kalina Campos of Concord, California, as she devotes much of her time to preparing for the 2025 “Remember the Removal” bicycle ride. The bicycle ride is a youth leadership program and is a three-week, nearly 1,000-mile memorial ride taken to commemorate the forced removal of Cherokee people in 1838 and 1839. [Cherokee Phoenix]
Voting and Election News
Opinion: Open primaries are no threat to conservatism — they’re a return to it: As a lifelong conservative, a Republican pollster, and someone who has spent decades helping Republican candidates win in Oklahoma and across the country, I understand the instinct to be cautious when it comes to changes in how we conduct our elections. But I also believe that when a system no longer serves the principles we claim to uphold, we must be willing to reform it. [Pat McFerron / The Oklahoman]
Education News
Opinion: Origin stories shed light on Tulsa Public Schools’ nonprofit relationships: Tulsa Public Schools finds itself in recovery mode and self-reflection after one administrator landed in prison for fraud and another was found to be running a side hustle on school time and financially benefiting from a vendor. [Ginnie Graham / Tulsa World]
Criminal Justice News
Investigation underway after Oklahoma County inmate is found dead in cell: The Oklahoma County Detention Center is investigating the death of one of it’s inmates. Jail officials say a detention officer found Rachel Nalley unresponsive in her cell Saturday morning. Despite life-saving measures she did not survive. [News 9]
- OK Co. Jail employee fired, charged after inmate death [KFOR]
Oklahoma Prisoner Perseveres in Pro Se Wrongful Detention Lawsuit: The U.S. Constitution guarantees state prisoners the right to challenge their confinement in the federal courts, but it’s an arduous process. A 2007 study by researchers at Vanderbilt University found that just 0.4% of habeas corpus petitioners were granted relief. [Oklahoma Watch]
Inside the trial that exposed Oklahoma’s broken justice system: Q&A with Gary Pitchlynn: Gary Pitchlynn, defense attorney for a Cherokee man accused in the 1977 Girl Scout murders case, reflects on the trial’s lasting impact and his new book The Usual Suspect. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Economy & Business News
Tech-related tariffs remain uncertain, but prepare for cost hikes, experts say: The price of technology goods and services in the U.S. will likely rise in the next few months, experts say, as the White House continues to shift its strategy on tariffs for imported electronic hardware. [Oklahoma Voice]
Community News
‘Focus: Black Oklahoma’: real change, moral courage, new ‘Culture and Music’ series (audio): This episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma features lengthy talks with Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Carol Rittner, as well as the first installment of our ‘Culture and Music’ series. [KOSU]
Local Headlines
- WWII-era drilling may have polluted groundwater in Oklahoma County. It could slow development [The Oklahoman]
Quote of the Day
“Can we afford it? We’re fully absorbing the grocery sales tax cut that we did last year. And fully absorbing that means we’re underwater a little bit, but not bad…We have plenty of savings to pull in there so we can keep our agency budgets level.”
– Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (Tuttle) said last week that any cut to the income tax comes down to whether or not there is room in the state budget. One tax cut measure gaining traction this session is House Bill 1200, a proposal to flatten the personal income tax rate. When coupled with the recent elimination of the state sales tax on groceries, the state would be losing around $675 million in revenue each year, a deficit some lawmakers plan to offset with the state’s Rainy Day Fund while having no long-term plan for recovering those funds. [KOSU]
Number of the Day
9.9%
Nearly 1 in 10 Oklahoma seniors (9.9%) are food insecure, meaning they lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity is associated with numerous adverse social and health outcomes and is increasingly considered a critical public health issue. [Feeding America]
Policy Note
2025 Budget Stakes: Working Families Could Lose Vital Health, Food, and Other Assistance: Proposals that Congress could enact this year, including through fast-track “reconciliation” legislation, would take away health coverage and food assistance from working families and individuals, significantly raising their costs for buying groceries and seeing a doctor. This is in addition to those who aren’t employed and could lose vital health and food assistance, including when they are in between jobs, have a disability or health condition, or are caring for a sick family member. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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