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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
What next year’s big Medicaid changes could mean for Oklahomans: Significant changes to Medicaid are set to take effect next year, altering how millions of Americans––including nearly 1 in 4 Oklahomans––access and maintain their health coverage. [Oklahoma City Free Press]
- Oklahomans brace for work requirements for SoonerCare [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma to implement new work requirements for SoonerCare members in 2027 [KOCO]
- From OK Policy: H.R. 1’s hidden costs: What the federal megabill really means for Oklahoma
SNAP cuts could lead to kids losing free school breakfast and lunch: More than 1 million American children have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, following a recent federal law. Now, as schools gear up for a new term, a portion of those children could be at risk of losing free meals. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma law aims to shield ratepayers from data center power costs: Oklahoma lawmakers passed the Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026 with assurance to the public that residential utility customers wouldn’t be forced to subsidize electric infrastructure required to power the facilities. [The Oklahoman]
State Government News
AG’s Inola aluminum smelter lawsuit sent back to an Oklahoma district court: A federal judge on Thursday granted Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s request to have a lawsuit seeking to halt construction of a $4 billion aluminum smelter in Inola be heard at the state level. [Oklahoma Voice]
What Oklahoma state lawmakers will study ahead of 2027 session: Each fall, state lawmakers hold interim studies on a variety of issues from artificial intelligence to property taxes. The studies offer insight into what lawmakers are focused on leading up to the 2027 legislative session, which will begin Feb. 1, 2027. [The Oklahoman]
- Lawmaker calling for study into marijuana testing [KFOR]
- From OK Policy: Interim Study—What’s That?
105 Oklahoma lawmakers score 100% on NFIB voting record: The National Federation of Independent Business said 105 Oklahoma lawmakers earned 100% voting records on small business issues during the 60th Oklahoma Legislature. [The Journal Record]
Opinion, Capitol Insider: State pension funds invest small amount in Oklahoma companies: Oklahoma’s pension funds are currently investing more than $50 billion, that’s billion with a B, in stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments to provide funding for retirement benefits. Those benefits are for state employees, firefighters, law enforcement, teachers and judges. But a recent report to the Oklahoma State Pension Commission shows that very little of that money is being invested with Oklahoma firms. [KGOU]
Opinion: How does the Oklahoma House decide who’s in trouble? Your guess is as good as any.: It sure feels like Oklahoma leaders are in the business of cherrypicking which officials they want to make an example of these days. Because I don’t know how else to explain why House Republicans are suddenly so hellbent on citing a mysteriously elusive “precedent” as a reason to call an investigatory committee to hold state Rep. Danny Williams accountable. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
US Supreme Court again urged to permit Trump vote-by-mail restrictions: The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a lower court and allow it to enforce a U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting. [Oklahoma Voice]
Stitt writes letter to Trump welcoming Jewish families to Oklahoma: Gov. Kevin Stitt has written a letter to President Donald Trump offering refuge to Jewish families fleeing antisemetic violence anywhere in the world, but singling out Canada, since the outset of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Oklahoma broadband success requires patience: Federal officials approved Oklahoma’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) plan in April. Over the next few years, roughly $574 million will go toward connecting more than 40,000 homes, farms and community institutions, with projects in all 77 counties. [Jayash Paudel / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Oklahoma’s congressional plants are wilting: It is tempting – and yes, more than a little snarky – to suggest Oklahoma’s current Congressional delegation is the equivalent of a stand of potted plants. It also is unfair to potted plants. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
Tribal Nations News
Hoskin celebrates accomplishments, sets goals in final year as Cherokee chief: Due to term limits, Hoskin will leave office in August 2027, and during his 32-minute State of the Nation address Saturday in Tahlequah at the Cherokee National Holiday, he acknowledged that timetable. [Tulsa World]
Choctaw Nation gains naming rights to new OKC softball fieldhouse: Choctaw Nation and USA Softball have announced a nine-year partnership that will make the tribal nation an Official Partner of USA Softball and the naming rights sponsor of USA Softball’s new indoor training facility in Oklahoma City. [The Journal Record]
Voting and Election News
Election experts see few legal options for Trump to meddle with polling places: President Donald Trump said earlier this year he’d “do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections” this fall, declining to rule out sending the National Guard or federal law enforcement officers to polling locations throughout the country. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Get out the vote – Really: Unfortunately, when it comes to putting the idea of voting into practice, other priorities can understandably get in the way: challenging schedules for work and childcare, transportation to the polls, and, of course, the mental gymnastics required to plan ahead to make time to vote – especially if there are long lines. [Marnie Taylor / The Journal Record]
Education News
Frustrated districts, ‘blindsided’ lawmakers: Inside the ending of an Oklahoma school supper program: Two weeks into the school year, the Oklahoma State Department of Education shocked districts statewide when it announced it would discontinue the extended-day third meal option on Oct. 1, when the next federal fiscal year begins. The agency cited a lack of compliance with federal rules as the reason the program, known as Expanded Learning Time, must come to an end. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma reading law rollout to cross multiple state agencies, administrations: While schools prepare teachers and students for the “third-grade gate” that will take effect in the 2027-28 academic year, state officials have taken steps toward choosing another important piece of the law, a universal reading screener. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tulsa Public Schools enrollment data shows wide divide between its fullest and emptiest schools: In six weeks, Tulsa Public Schools administrators must present a plan for improving its financial health to the board — and the public. Ahead of the October deadline, the Tulsa Flyer dug into enrollment levels across district schools. [Tulsa Flyer]
Health News
‘Literally a lifesaver’: South Western Oklahoma Development Authority driving outcomes through rural mobility program: With critical access hospitals at risk of closure and recent funding cuts to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, transportation remains one of the many barriers rural Oklahomans face when trying to access healthcare. [NonDoc]
New mental health program aims to address most severe cases: Tulsa’s latest initiative to help individuals with mental illnesses might just be its most ambitious. It’s certainly one of the most needed: teams dedicated to providing comprehensive and ongoing mental health treatment to those with the most complicated and severe diagnoses but the least access to care. [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma County teen pregnancy prevention in flux following Trump administration’s overhaul: For more than a decade, a group of nonprofit providers has worked together to reduce Oklahoma County’s teen pregnancy rate — which was once almost twice as high as the U.S. average. This summer, the federal government terminated a nearly $2 million annual grant funding their work. [KOSU]
Justice System News
Judge revokes bond for man charged in connection to two deaths in Sand Springs building explosion: Tulsa County Special Judge Kasey Baldwin revoked the $2 million bail set for Ryan Bassham. He is charged with two felony counts of first-degree murder in commission of a crime related to an explosion at a Sand Springs THC extraction business. [Public Radio Tulsa]
- Bond revoked for man held in deadly Sand Springs building explosion [Tulsa World]
Restaurateur Brent Swadley loses again in bid to go free on appeal bond: Restaurateur Brent Swadley is staying locked up for now. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday, Sept. 4, refused to order his trial judge to release him on bond while he appeals his fraud conviction. [The Oklahoman]
Critics question pace of OKC police reform efforts: Changing how OKC police officers respond to people in crisis is among the many responsibilities of the city’s Public Safety Partnership, a collaboration between city agencies, community organizations, and the city council. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma families say new law could help solve cold case killings: Senate Bill 1636 will allow families and advocates to request a review of cold case disappearances and homicides. Both the Oklahoma Senate and House unanimously passed the bill, and Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it. It will become law in November. [The Oklahoman]
Inside and outside Oklahoma execution chamber, Tulsans stand on different sides of death penalty debate: Sheriff Vic Regalado and Father Bryan Brooks, pastor at the Church of Saint Benedict, are two men of influence in Tulsa County. They live different lives — one enveloped in faith, the other elected to lead a law enforcement agency of more than 600. Both were brought together by the death penalty. [Tulsa Flyer]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Three days after finding a home, an OKC man lost it to fire: Brian Kenney was living in a tent before Key to Home, a consortium of housing advocacy services, housed him and more than 50 other residents. Then his new apartment complex unexpectedly burned down. [The Journal Record]
Economy & Business News
Oklahoma counties lag nation in wages as employment falls: Employment declined in two of Oklahoma‘s three largest counties over the year ending in March, while weekly wages in all three remained below the national average, according to a new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. [The Journal Record]
U.S.-Canada trade war threatens Oklahoma’s $1.65B export market: An escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada threatens to disrupt Oklahoma’s largest international export market and a primary source of foreign business investment, with potential fallout hitting local industries, consumer prices and even municipal budgets. [The Oklahoman]
Labor unions are growing, but where depends on state politics: Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States, though the increase remains sharply divided by the politics of individual states. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Oklahoma doesn’t have an innovation problem; it has an awareness problem: We look at Silicon Valley or Austin and wonder why they pull in the money, talent and headlines we don’t. Fair enough. But the question assumes the building isn’t already happening here, and it is. [Tai Nehisi / Tulsa World]
Opinion: Oklahoma workers have skills to lead its energy transition: As the energy economy evolves, Oklahoma has an opportunity to build on expertise while creating new opportunities in renewable energy, transmission, energy storage and other emerging technologies. [Susan Atkinson / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Working people in Oklahoma need a champion. Who will it be?: The American economy, many studies have shown, has become more polarized, with the very wealthy capturing a much larger share of the nation’s income and wealth, while even those in the traditional middle-class are finding it harder and harder to find stable employment, rising wages, benefits and a realistic path to homeownership and retirement. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]
Community News
Exhibit highlighting Vietnamese-American heritage comes to Oklahoma History Center: In collaboration with the Vietnamese American Heritage Community of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma History Center Museum is set to host “Our Journeys,” a multimedia traveling exhibition created by the Vietnamese Boat People. [KOSU]
What does the OKC Mexican Consulate do? A look inside services for immigrants: The door, and many “windows,” are open for health, finance and education services at the Mexican Consulate in Oklahoma City. [The Oklahoman]
25 years after 9/11, Tulsa-area veterans reflect on why they enlisted: An estimated 181,510 Americans enlisted in active-duty military service, and 72,908 joined the enlisted reserves during the year after Sept. 11, 2001, according to the United Service Organizations. [Tulsa World]
- 7 victims of Sept. 11 attacks were from Oklahoma [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa-area students to restore 9/11 memorial fire truck, the Spirit of Oklahoma [Tulsa World]
Local Headlines
- Muskogee public safety complex draws property lawsuit as past debts loom [NonDoc]
- OKC Asian District’s ‘We Have Arrived’ art installation damaged in fire [KOSU]
- Oklahoma City to bring in water from Canton Lake [KOSU]
- Edmond massage parlor ordinance aimed at fighting prostitution stalled [The Oklahoman]
Quote of the Day
“Administrative burden is already a significant challenge for people with disabilities and their families. Requiring someone to continually prove and re-prove their disability and eligibility for services can be physically, mentally, and financially exhausting.”
— Abbie Stewart, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Arc of Oklahoma, speaking about new reporting requirements for programs like Medicaid and SNAP that create an administrative maze designed to reduce participation in these programs, and ultimately strip away care, food, and stability from eligible people. [Oklahoma City Free Press]
Number of the Day
142,850
The number of adults on SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, who are aged, blind, or disabled. While most will likely be exempt from new work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks and uncertainty about what documentation will be required to prove an exemption could make it harder to maintain coverage. [Oklahoma Health Care Authority]
Policy Note
Medicaid in Oklahoma: Understanding how SoonerCare works, who it’s for, and how it’s funded: Medicaid is a pillar of Oklahoma’s health care infrastructure: nearly one in four Oklahomans has health insurance through SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program. In this primer, we explore the basics of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, including who is eligible, and how it operates, how it is funded and how providers are reimbursed through its managed care program, SoonerSelect. [Healthy Minds Policy Initiative]
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