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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.
State Government News
Oklahoma private school tax credit program sees growth. Who benefits?: A growing Oklahoma tax credit program will spend at least $255 million in the coming year to support private school students, including an increasing number of children coming from higher-income homes. [Oklahoma Voice]
17 GOP AGs, including Oklahoma’s, sue California over single-use plastics law: Seventeen Republican attorneys general have sued California over a state law that requires plastic packaging producers to move away from single-use plastics, alleging that the law will raise costs for consumers across the country. [Oklahoma Voice]
Drummond can’t join private State Farm case, Oklahoma Supreme Court rules: The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that Attorney General Gentner Drummond cannot intervene in a private lawsuit against State Farm, forcing a detour in the effort of the state’s top prosecutor to pursue what he describes as “massive fraud” against homeowners. [The Oklahoman]
Lawmakers again ask state Supreme Court to shoot down Oklahoma Natural Gas rate increase: Shortly after winning his reelection campaign last week, a state lawmaker is again asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to halt a rate increase by Oklahoma Natural Gas. [The Lawton Constitution]
Federal Government News
Freight, Bridges, Rail and Transit: How the BUILD America 250 Act Could Reshape Oklahoma: As Congress debates the transportation bill, Oklahoma’s future may depend on more than roads. That increasingly means more than highways. It means rail service. It means access to inland ports. It means bridges, freight corridors, truck routes and the broader supply-chain network that connects Oklahoma manufacturers to national and international markets. [Oklahoma Watch]
Judge blocks Trump administration’s overhauled database of Americans’ personal information: A federal judge on Monday ruled the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it created a centralized database that contains Americans’ private information, which she said has since been used by some states to incorrectly remove U.S. citizens from their voter rolls. [CBS News via News 9]
How one Tulsa couple’s immigration detention cost them everything but hope: After being arrested and detained last August for immigration violations and enduring expensive and time-consuming litigation, a Tulsa couple lost their entire livelihood. [KOSU]
Trump administration in court win allowed to conduct nationwide fast-track deportations: An appeals court Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to use fast-track deportations within the interior of the country and not just at the Southern border, a key pillar in the president’s mass deportation campaign. [Oklahoma Voice]
Legal protections for nearly 350,000 Haitians at risk as US Supreme Court nears ruling: Even with a valid driver’s license, Maryse Balthazar knows she lacks protection from what she dreads most: deportation back to Haiti. Balthazar is one of nearly 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. [Medill News Service via Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Osage Nation, Oklahoma State University announce uniform patch agreement: Oklahoma State University announced it has inked a deal to feature an Osage Nation jersey patch on its athletics team uniforms for the upcoming 2026-27 competition season. [KOSU]
Voting and Election News
Where Oklahoma’s Governor candidates stand on education: Republican candidates Mike Mazzei and Gentner Drummond, along with Democratic candidate Cyndi Munson, outline competing plans to improve schools, boost literacy and address funding. [News on 6]
Opinion: SQ 832 revealed troubling level of indifference on both sides: SQ 832 exposed something deeper than disagreement over economics. It revealed a troubling level of indifference. A society cannot claim to value hard work while refusing to consider whether hard-working people can live on what they earn. [Sandip J. Chauhan / The Oklahoman]
Education News
Tulsa Higher Education Consortium talks Oklahoma’s Promise (video): Dr. Laura Latta explains how ‘Oklahoma’s Promise’ is aimed at making college more affordable. [News on 6]
Health News
Miscarriage management remains muddled 4 years after Dobbs: Last year, states including Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee enacted laws designed to provide additional clarity on medical exceptions to their abortion bans, but confusion persists in those states and others. Stories of denied miscarriage care continue to emerge, including in a brand-new lawsuit in Texas, and several deaths have been attributed in part to abortion restrictions, including in Georgia and Texas. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma ACA insurer Mending to end health plans after this year: One of seven carriers offering Affordable Care Act Marketplace health insurance in Oklahoma will cease offering coverage next year. A health policy analyst says the move comes amid a broader trend of insurer exits as several federal policy changes fuel declining enrollment. [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU]
Mercy opens $52M digestive health institute in Oklahoma City: Digestive healthcare in Oklahoma took a major step forward Monday with the grand opening of Mercy’s Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute. [The Journal Record]
Opinion: New Oklahoma law supports those living with ALS, caregivers: In 2025, the Oklahoma Legislature passed House Bill 1278, creating the Barbara Weber Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Grant Program. Earlier this year, we followed that effort by passing House Bill 4029, appropriating $1 million to provide meaningful support for individuals and families battling ALS in our state. [Rep. Chad Caldwell / The Oklahoman]
Justice System News
Former death row inmate Richard Glossip gets date for third murder trial: Former death row inmate Richard Glossip is set to go on trial again in September. Glossip is accused of having his boss, Barry Van Treese, an Oklahoma City motel owner, killed in 1997 to keep from being fired for embezzlement. [The Oklahoman]
- New trial date set for former death row prisoner Richard Glossip [News 9]
- Denied: Richard Glossip’s request for new preliminary hearing denied [Fox 25]
Three Oklahomans charged in healthcare fraud-related cases totaling nearly $30 million: United States Attorney Robert J. Troester announced criminal charges against two defendants and a separate civil case in the Western District of Oklahoma on healthcare fraud-related charges. [KOSU]
Oklahoma County DA will pursue death penalty in killing of 85-year-old woman: In a court filing Monday, June 22, assistant district attorneys cited “aggravating circumstances” in the case against Cordell Wilson as their justification to pursue capital punishment. [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma County DA Behenna seeks death penalty for second time in office [KGOU]
Oklahoma County to weigh another new jail tax despite doubts: Voters could get to decide on a sales tax to complete the new Oklahoma County jail if the Board of County Commissioners approves a proposal on its agenda for Wednesday, June 24 — but it doesn’t seem likely. [The Oklahoman]
Six now in custody from investigation of mass shooting at Edmond’s Arcadia Lake: A second man has been accused of being an accessory to murder in the mass shooting at Arcadia Lake after Edmond police reviewed his chat messages on Instagram. [The Oklahoman]
Brent Swadley loses part of finger in Oklahoma County jail incident, per report: Newly released Oklahoma County jail calls detail how Brent Swadley, owner of a string of popular Oklahoma barbecue restaurants, says he lost part of his finger after it became stuck in a cell door during an early morning incident. [The Oklahoman]
- Brent Swadley rushed to ER after jail incident, attorney says [KFOR]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Oklahoma shuts off poor families’ power more often than anywhere else: Having your electricity disconnected is more common in Oklahoma than any other state. When new federal data came out this year, the first time Congress ever required transparency into the once-hidden question of how often power companies shut off their customers for failure to pay, it revealed that the state far outpaces any other in electricity disconnections. In 2024, Oklahoma’s electric companies, which have 1.8 million customers, disconnected households 572,480 times. [Washington Post]
Tulsa’s Rapid Exit from Shelters strategy gaining momentum: It didn’t take Michael Bowles long to start crying. A small man with a wizened face and salt-and-pepper beard, the 69-year-old was talking about how the Rapid Exit from Shelters strategy — a part of the city’s Safe Move Tulsa homeless response initiative — helped him secure an apartment after living among the homeless on the levee in Sand Springs for a year. [Tulsa World]
OKC’s rental affordability debate neglects day-to-day market realities: In Oklahoma City, most conversations about housing tend to remain political. There’s talk of zoning, affordable housing programs and development incentives. While these are important issues, they often overlook how housing actually plays out in the day-to-day decisions of small landlords and property managers. [NonDoc]
Economy & Business News
Oklahoma City builds momentum as sports and entertainment destination: From the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship-level gameplay to the NCAA Softball Women’s College World Series with the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, Oklahoma City is primed to become a premier destination for sports and entertainment, according to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. [The Journal Record]
Quantum Space to go public, build satellite plant in Tulsa: Quantum Space, a space defense and orbital mobility company led by former Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine, is set to become a publicly traded company this year, with plans to build a large-scale satellite manufacturing plant in Tulsa. [The Journal Record]
Oklahoma continues to prepare for New World screwworm threat: Oklahoma and federal officials are ramping up efforts to combat the spread of the New World screwworm, following confirmed cases in neighboring states. [The Oklahoman]
Community News
To help wildlife habitats, Oklahoma experts burn fields: It’s been estimated Oklahoma has about 140,000 wild turkeys and their population decline has been a concern. But landowners are looking at prescribed burns to boost turkey habitat. [KOSU]
OU paleontologists discover 450-million-year-old soft tissue fossil: Before the first dinosaur, before plants or animals ever moved onto dry land, ancient relatives of starfish called crinoids thrived among Earth’s earliest coral reefs more than 450 million years ago. Now, University of Oklahoma paleontologists have made a discovery that offers an almost unprecedented look at these early ocean creatures: preserved soft tissue. [The Journal Record]
Oklahoma’s history and location makes it the true crossroads of America: Oklahoma is a place that lacks regional definition. It’s not truly the South or the Southwest. Barely the Midwest or Great Plains. But what Oklahoma lacks in geographic identity, it makes up for by connecting these parts of the country together — first through historic trails, then railroads, and today, by the interstate highway system. [The Oklahoman]
What’s the dirtiest lake in Oklahoma? One is the worst in the US, study says: Two of Oklahoma’s largest lakes are among the dirtiest in the nation, according to a recent study. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- Why JoBeth Hamon is leaving the OKC City Council [The Oklahoman]
- Plans are moving forward to demolish Heritage Park Mall. Three things to know [The Oklahoman]
- Latter-day Saints’ Tulsa temple groundbreaking date announced [The Oklahoman]
- Which part of Tulsa has the most access to parks? See where your neighborhood ranks. [Tulsa Flyer]
- Broken Arrow Superintendent Chuck Perry announces retirement [Tulsa World]
- Lawsuit challenges Norman’s Rock Creek district, seeks injunction to halt public funding [Fox 25]
Quote of the Day
“When people decline to use the ballot box, they leave others to decide their future.”
—Sandip J. Chauhan, a Yukon resident, writing in an op-ed about the recent failure of SQ 832 to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage — an election where only 1 in 4 registered voters cast a ballot. [The Oklahoman]
Number of the Day
7
The number of states that hold on-cycle local elections, aligning them with national election dates and ballots. While Oklahoma law allows cities to choose, none of its major cities (Norman, Oklahoma City, Broken Arrow, Tulsa, and Edmond) currently do so, meaning local races are often decided in lower-turnout elections. [Sightline Institute]
Policy Note
A Move Toward Fewer Elections, With More on the Ballots: States are increasingly shifting toward consolidating local, special, and municipal elections with higher-level state or federal contests, aiming to reduce election frequency and boost turnout. This approach is supported by evidence showing that consolidating election dates can raise participation by a notable margin while also cutting costs and easing administrative burdens. The trend underscores a growing consensus that synchronized election scheduling enhances democratic engagement and operational efficiency. [NCSL]
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