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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.
Oklahoma News
Legal roundup: Mothers’ marijuana rights stand, Freedmen case stayed, PPE settlement pending: As always, numerous consequential court cases bear watching in Oklahoma, and this week saw an appellate court ruling on mothers’ medical marijuana rights, a tribal supreme court stay of proceedings in a Freedman citizenship case and a controversial community development in Edmond losing its final appeal. [NonDoc]
State Government News
Judge bans enforcement of Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Act: A judge acted on Friday to permanently ban enforcement of a controversial law that prohibits the state from doing business with financial institutions thought to be hostile to the oil and gas industry. [Tulsa World]
- Judge permanently blocks Oklahoma law favoring oil and gas investments [Fox 25]
- Attorney General’s Office set to appeal injunction against state’s anti-ESG law [State AG’s Office / News Release]
- U.S. Treasury warns that anti-woke banking laws are a national security risk [Associated Press]
Drummond joins amicus brief challenging SEC cryptocurrency regulation: Oklahoma Attorney General Drummond is pushing back against federal regulation on cryptocurrencies. [Journal Record]
States strike out on their own on AI, privacy regulation: Oklahoma launched an effort to regulate artificial intelligence in 2019, passing legislation that requires eye patients to be assessed and treated by an optometrist rather than by software systems alone. [Oklahoma Voice]
Capitol Insider: State Senate Republicans select next leader: Since the defeat of Senator Greg McCortney in the Republican primary, the State Senate has been without a successor to outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat. But the Republican caucus moved to select a Pro Tem designate last Monday, and they chose Senator Lonnie Paxton of Tuttle. [KGOU]
Opinion: Oklahoma state parks are falling apart, and legislative funding is delaying inevitable failures: Oklahoma lawmakers had the perfect opportunity to hit a homerun by giving the green light to a comprehensive plan designed to fix our ailing state parks. Instead, they whiffed, and gave everyone who utilizes the parks the big fat “L.” [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
D.C. Digest: Cole predicts “robust use of executive power” in a second Trump term: Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole, during an interview on PBS, tried to tamp down concerns that a second term for former President Donald Trump could endanger representative democracy. [Tulsa World]
Voting and Election News
Political notebook: Report says Vance to visit Oklahoma this week: Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance will be in Oklahoma this week, the Washington Examiner reported. Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin told the Examiner that Vance will appear at a Friday fundraiser. No other details, including location, were supplied. [Tulsa World]
Health News
Attempts to further restrict abortion fail to cross the finish line in Oklahoma: Despite a near-total ban on abortion, Oklahoma’s state Legislature saw dozens of bills attempting to impose more restrictions. But none crossed the finish line to become law this session. [Oklahoma Voice]
Criminal Justice News
Commissioners take over juvenile center following allegations, noncompliance: Tulsa County commissioners have voted to take over administrative duties for the county’s Family Center for Juvenile Justice. Their unanimous decision after a meeting in executive session follows extensive abuse allegations and a civil rights lawsuit from 30 detainees. The state Office of Juvenile Affairs also placed the center on probation for the second time in as many years following a survey of the center that began in May. [Public Radio Tulsa]
- Tulsa County reluctantly takes control at juvenile detention center during OJA probation [Tulsa World]
A second chance: How Oklahoma prison programs help inmates return to life after their release: In 2015, the program called “Re-Entry Investment Student Education” or R.I.S.E., got its nonprofit status. The doors opened at Mabel Bassett two years later in 2017 with about 20 students out of 200 to 250 applications. Today, there are 28 students enrolled at the prison and 11 enrolled in the diversion school in Oklahoma City, including the school’s first male student. [The Oklahoman]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
AG Opinion Opens Funding for Eviction Prevention: Oklahoma cities might be one step closer to reducing the number of people evicted in the state after Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on July 12 issued an opinion regarding constitutional uses of taxpayer money. [Oklahoma Watch]
Tulsa’s right to counsel pilot program faces uncertain future: A pilot program that provides those facing eviction the right to legal representation, is pushing back against the statistics. [KTUL]
New program helps homeless youths attend Tulsa-area colleges: One of the first to benefit from a new program launched by the Tulsa Area Higher Education Consortium, Miguel Ramon recently moved into a place of his own and is on track to begin college this fall toward his goal of becoming a professional horticulturalist. [Tulsa World]
Economy & Business News
Inflation and low wages put the squeeze on Oklahomans. Here’s how some people are coping: Like a lot of others across the country, workers are finding ways to cope with inflation and a humming economy with wages that haven’t caught up. One study says Oklahoma is beset with low-wage workers. [The Oklahoman]
Education News
2024 Teacher of the Year encourages young teachers: When Rachel Keith walks into school every day, her students are not the only ones she will be teaching. The 2024 Teacher of the Year is not only passionate about the potential of Oklahoma’s young people, but she also has a heart for young teachers in the most critical stage of their careers. [Journal Record]
Some OKC metro school districts spurn Ryan Walters’ Bible directive, others hesitant: Around the Oklahoma City metro area, public school districts have had mixed responses for how best to comply with a recent directive from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters purportedly requiring schools to place Bibles in classrooms and teach from the religious text. [NonDoc]
Polk: Lessons learned from previous superintendent will help her avoid high turnover rate in OKCPS job: New Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Jamie Polk said lessons learned from working for, and watching, her predecessor will be important if she is to avoid the high turnover rate that’s plagued that position for the past four decades. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: We live in a world full of diversity. DEI lets individuals learn from one another: We live in a world full of diversity; therefore, DEI allows each individual to learn from one another. Higher education DEI ensures all students experience a welcoming and supportive environment. Many may be under the impression that DEI is specific to certain races. DEI also includes individuals with disabilities, veterans and women. It is not specific to any particular race or gender. [Shawna Talamasey / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: I believe forcing public schools to teach from the Bible is wrong: The words and teachings of the Bible are central to my life, and to how we raised our children. That said, as a father, legislator and pastor, I believe forcing public schools to teach from the Bible is wrong. [Sen. George Young / The Oklahoman]
Community News
Search for Tulsa Race Massacre burials resumes Monday, reinvigorated after first victim ID’d:
Archaeologists resume work in Oaklawn Cemetery on Monday, believing they have located the site where at least 18 Black victims of Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre were buried in unmarked or no-longer-marked graves. [Tulsa World]
Tulsa woman’s quest to make Black history accessible gets National Geographic recognition: A Black history class at Tulsa’s Memorial High School 30 years ago changed the way Kristi Williams thought of herself. Now Williams is getting national recognition for trying to convey that same feeling to her community. [Tulsa World]
Local Headlines
- INCOG announces public meetings to kick off update to Tulsa regional bike, pedestrian master plan [Tulsa World]
- Oklahoma awarded $124 million federal grant to replace Lake Texoma bridge [The Oklahoman]
- Broken Arrow amphitheater gets infrastructure boost from state [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum endorses five City Council candidates, including four incumbents [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“People tend to lose everything they own, including their jobs, and their cars, in addition to becoming homeless (when they get evicted). It also exacerbates the problem we’re having with chronic absenteeism.”
-Eric Hallett, the Coordinator of Housing Advocacy for Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, speaking about the rippling impacts of evictions. [KTUL]
Number of the Day
31%
Percentage of Oklahoma workers earning less than $17 an hour, which is the nation’s second-highest rate behind only Mississippi. Oklahoma has a higher percentage of workers earning less than $17 per hour compared to the national average in every demographic category of race, age, gender, and family composition. [Oxfam] | [Oklahoma’s Scorecard]
Policy Note
The Crisis of Low Wages: Who earns less than $17 an hour in the U.S. in 2024?: According to new data from Oxfam, there are more than 39 million low wage workers in the United States, defined here as any worker earning less than $17 an hour. This translates to 23 percent of the US workforce, or nearly one in four workers in the US. This new research includes a full demographic picture of low wage workers including race, gender, intersecting race and gender, age, parental status, and tipped wage worker status. Our findings demonstrate that women and communities of color, especially Black and Latin or Hispanic workers, are most impacted by low wages and stagnating minimum wage policies. [Oxfam] | [Oklahoma’s Scorecard] | [Interactive Map]
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