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.
New from OK Policy
Want to improve reentry outcomes? Raise the minimum wage: A person working a full-time job at Oklahoma’s current minimum wage – $7.25 per hour – earns below the federal poverty level for a single person. Raising the minimum wage will improve the economic prospects for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans and their families, and it will specifically help improve the outcomes for the thousands of people leaving Oklahoma’s prisons each year. [Cole Allen / OK Policy]
Oklahoma News
House ‘disappointed’ as Senate blocks bills, leaves Medicaid alone and most vetoes intact: Oklahoma’s 2026 regular legislative session ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. As SB 2‘s supposed compromise to establish wind farm setbacks failed by a 20-67 vote in the House, the Senate suddenly adjourned sine die to end a session that saw a historically early budget deal followed by perplexing politics that irritated more than a handful of legislators, advocates and onlookers in the weeks that followed. [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma lawmakers have left the building. Here’s a brief recap of the session [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma lawmakers end session after a last-day speed run from the Senate [KOSU]
- Oklahoma legislative session ends with new laws and unresolved debates [KOCO]
- OK House efforts to go back on Oklahoma voters fails [KFOR]
Oklahoma executes man convicted of killing of his ex-girlfriend and her baby: Raymond Eugene Johnson was sentenced to death for beating Brooke Whitaker with a claw hammer and setting her home on fire with Whitaker and her infant daughter still inside. [The Frontier]
- Double murderer Raymond Eugene Johnson executed in Oklahoma [The Oklahoman]
- Victims’ loved ones speak out after Raymond Johnson executed for 2007 murder in Tulsa [Tulsa World]
- Oklahoma executes Tulsa man for 2007 killing of woman, her infant daughter [KOSU]
- Oklahoma executes man who killed former girlfriend, daughter [Tulsa Flyer]
- Protesters gather at Governor’s Mansion as Oklahoma executes Raymond Eugene Johnson (video) [The Oklahoman]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma Death Penalty Tracker
State Government News
House Democratic PAC, consultant Joe Hartman reach Ethics Commission settlement: While the Oklahoma Legislature was charging toward an early adjournment four floors above them, the Ethics Commission reached a settlement Thursday with the Oklahoma House Democratic Party Campaign Committee and its former chairman for campaign finance violations. [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma Democratic fundraising committee settles with ethics board [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma files appeal of settlement rejection in poultry pollution lawsuit: A decades-old lawsuit over poultry pollution in the Illinois River Watershed is still chugging along with a new appeal from the State of Oklahoma. [KOSU]
Legislative Roundup
- Session Watch: Week 15 [Oklahoma Watch]
- Veto override to save the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority fails in Oklahoma Senate [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma Legislature repeals state gas tax trigger [The Journal Record]
- Stitt vetoes bill to expand Oklahoma’s Promise to children of school counselors, librarians, nurses [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU]
- Stitt signs bill to prevent higher utility costs from data centers into law [StateImpact Oklahoma via KOSU]
- Lawmakers set to override Stitt’s veto of bill requiring notification when governor leaves the state [Fox 23]
Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics (podcast): KOSU staff talks with Civic Leader Andy Moore and former Representative Chairman Mark McBride about accusations of political favoritism from Gov. Kevin Stitt, an Edmond educator files a lawsuit against former State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education, and a new poll shows a slight lead in favor of passage of a state question to raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma. They also discuss an endorsement from President Trump for Tulsa pastor Jackson Lahmeyer in the crowded Congressional District 1 Republican primary contest and an online report showing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin considering Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado for the position of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director. [KOSU]
Opinion: A web of influence and exceptions: There was a time when Gov. Kevin Stitt rightfully would have been scorned publicly for his meddling in the Sara Polston case. Perhaps even drummed out of office. Not anymore. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
Federal Government News
Trump taps former career ICE official to lead agency: Long-time federal immigration official David Venturella will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency spearheading President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Tribal leaders discuss data centers, Medicaid, energy funding during Tulsa event: Tribal leaders discussed the possibility of Medicaid being removed from the Oklahoma constitution, federal energy grants and AI data centers at an event in Tulsa on Thursday. [KOSU]
- Cherokee chief repeats call for protecting Medicaid expansion [Tulsa World]
Judge’s order to block Henryetta from ticketing tribal members bucks precedent: A judge has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the city of Henryetta from ticketing tribal members regardless if they are members of the Muscogee Nation. [Tulsa World]
Voting and Election News
Oklahoma GOP race seen as a lock for Trump’s pick draws big spending: Two Republicans running for lieutenant governor each say they have more than $300,000 to spend, but the newest candidate to enter the race — the state’s chief operating officer — is claiming to have almost double that amount. [The Oklahoman]
9 candidates are running for Oklahoma superintendent. Here’s what the job entails: After controversial leadership under Ryan Walters and growing statewide concern over educational outcomes, nine Oklahomans are running for the state’s top education seat. Before voters begin to narrow the field in June, here’s what you need to know about the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. [Tulsa Flyer]
Education News
Were 90% of private school tax voucher recipients already enrolled in private schools and less than 1% financially disadvantaged? Yes: According to a 2026 Oklahoma Tax Commission report, less than 10% of the 39,722 recipients of tax credits issued through the Parental Choice Tax Credit program were previously enrolled in public schools. Three hundred forty-nine recipients were homeless or financially disadvantaged. [Oklahoma Watch]
Health News
Risk low of hantavirus spread, CDC officials say: Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday the risk of a member of the general public contracting hantavirus remains low despite several passengers on a cruise ship becoming infected with the disease. [Oklahoma Voice]
Justice System News
Former Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip goes free on $500k bond: Richard Glossip was released from jail Thursday, May 14, on a $500,000 bond, a major victory for the former death row inmate who has come so close to execution that he has had three last meals. [The Oklahoman]
- Former Oklahoma Death Row Prisoner Freed Before Retrial in a 1997 Killing [The New York Times]
New Oklahoma law lets families request cold case reviews, update forensic methods: Almost 40 years ago, the bodies of Cheryl Genzer and Lisa Pennington were found in a shallow grave after they disappeared from the Oklahoma State Fair. Today, Oklahoma has a new law aimed at increasing investigative accountability in missing-persons cases. [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma cold case bill seeking to improve review process becomes law [KOSU]
Use of Flock cameras in OKC could reshape policing, but privacy concerns remain: Law enforcement in Oklahoma City has used Flock cameras around the metro over the last four years, though questions about the use of the police technology remain an ongoing concern both locally and nationwide. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- $1.1B Rock Creek Entertainment District breaks ground in Norman [The Journal Record]
- Oversight of $5M investment in north Tulsa could switch hands after council vote [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- Tulsa population stays flat as nearby cities see increase in residents, Census shows [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“If people in (the event) are listening, are interested in economic development in this state, making sure people have a baseline to succeed in their lives … you’ve got to be for protecting Medicaid expansion, because if it is tinkered with, this state will not achieve what it can achieve economically.”
– Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., arguing that protecting Medicaid expansion is not just a healthcare issue, but an economic one. He warned that weakening it would undermine rural healthcare systems and make it harder for Oklahoma families and communities to succeed financially. [KOSU]
Number of the Day
$1 in every $5
Medicaid accounts for nearly 20% of all U.S. health care spending and is one of the largest sources of federal funding flowing into states. Major cuts to the program, including expansion, could leave states facing massive fiscal shortfalls and strain health systems that rely on that funding. [KFF]
Policy Note
Medicaid Financing: The Basics: States are facing substantial Medicaid financing changes and historic reductions in federal funding following the passage of the 2025 reconciliation law, though the timing of the changes and the impacts vary by state. In addition, administrative actions related to financing and more aggressive oversight of potential fraud by health care providers, including withholding federal Medicaid operating funds, contribute to fiscal uncertainty for states. Amid federal policy changes, states are also experiencing a more tenuous fiscal climate due to slowing revenue growth and increasing spending demands. Medicaid is often central to state budget decisions as it is simultaneously a significant spending item as well as the largest source of federal revenues for states. [KFF]
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
