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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
Policy Matters: Lawmakers study solutions that can reverse high poverty rate: The Oklahoma Senate last week studied ways in which the state can lower its poverty rate, which increased to the nation’s sixth highest last year. Oklahoma lawmakers have a history of pushing across-the-board tax cuts that favor the wealthy. If they want to be more effective, lawmakers should enact targeted tax credits. Such focused efforts help the working poor. They supplement low earnings, assist with the cost of raising children, and help cover childcare costs. Together, they help parents and caregivers stay in the workforce and thrive. [Shiloh Kantz / Journal Record]
Oklahoma News
AG ‘weaponized a grand jury’ in COVID spending case, Gov. Stitt says: Gov. Kevin Stitt is alleging the state’s multicounty grand jury was weaponized for political reasons, echoing complaints former President Donald Trump has made in his 2024 campaign. [The Oklahoman]
State Government News
Oklahoma lawmakers humor inflated data, a sheriff’s ‘feelings’ during undocumented workers study: Lawmakers in Oklahoma’s House States Powers Committee looked into how much money illegal immigration costs the state annually. They relied on inflated numbers from a partisan report and the testimony of state and local law enforcement officials, which took a conspiratorial turn. [KOSU]
Opinion: Legislative interim studies show in-the-trenches bipartisan work: Sometimes it appears that little worthwhile is happening at the State Capitol because the attention seems to focus on hot button, culture-war issues promoted to gain political leverage by one group against another. But if you have the time and interest to look for it, you’ll find good work being done by many of our legislators. [Steve Lewis / Tulsa World]
Federal Government News
Tinker Air Force Base responds to criticism over National Coming Out Day event: Tinker officials told KGOU the event was organized by the Tinker Pride Council, which is a private, non-federal volunteer organization. They also said no official funds were expended for the activity. [KGOU]
Oklahoma AG requests Supreme Court review appeal of federal family planning funding again: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court decision that said Oklahoma isn’t entitled to federal family planning money it lost last year. Drummond continues to fight against one of the grant’s requirements to provide counseling to pregnant people on all options, including abortion. [KGOU]
Tribal Nations News
Muscogee Nation’s fight over sacred site continues against Alabama tribal nation: A federal court revived a case over a sacred site in Alabama involving the Muscogee Nation and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, an Alabama tribe with a connected ancestry. [KOSU]
Five Tribes support retention of three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices: The Inter-Tribal Council voted unanimously to support the retention of Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices Noma D. Gurich, Yvonne Kauger and James E. Edmondson. A resolution approved by the Tribal leaders noted the three justices — who are the only three state Supreme Court justices up for retention on the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot — have demonstrated a commitment and diligence in following Oklahoma law, as well as their understanding of tribal sovereignty. [Tahlequah Daily Press]
- From OK Policy: Judges on the 2024 ballot in Oklahoma: What you need to know
Conference celebrates Nixon’s self-determination policy: Tribal leaders on Wednesday reflected on the impact of Richard Nixon’s policies on American Indian life. The First Americans Museum and the Richard Nixon Foundation hosted a policy conference in the sunlit atrium Wednesday titled Tribal Self-Determination Revisited. [The Journal Record]
- Chickasaw Nation and Richard Nixon Foundation co-host Free Conference at First Americans Museum [Fox 23]
- Oklahoma tribal leaders hold conversations about self-rule [KOCO]
CN creates task force to study emerging technologies, improve tribe’s cybersecurity: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner are creating a task force to study emerging technologies and strengthen the tribe’s cybersecurity. [Cherokee Phoenix]
‘Tribal Justice: The Struggle for Black Rights on Native Land’: Principal Chief Hoskin Jr. discusses the fix he wants to attach to the Major Crimes Act that would allow Freedmen citizens to have their cases heard in tribal and federal courts like regular CN citizens. Tribal leaders have been meeting with Department of Interior officials and members of Congress to make amendments to what CN leaders call the “outdated” Major Crimes Act so that Freedmen citizens have equal legal protections in the wake of the historic McGirt decision of 2020. [Cherokee Phoenix]
Voting and Election News
Tulsa mayoral candidate Karen Keith campaign using late Jim Inhofe’s image without permission, his daughter says: With less than three weeks to go before the election, Democratic candidate for mayor Karen Keith finds herself embroiled in a controversy involving the daughter of a state Republican Party icon. Molly Rapert, daughter of the late Jim Inhofe, posted Tuesday on Facebook that Keith had used a picture of herself with the former U.S. senator in a campaign mailer without Inhofe’s permission. [Tulsa World]
Tulsa City Council candidate Eddie Huff explains his posts about Jewish people, anti-gay law: On his podcast and in appearances on other online broadcasts, a different image emerges of Tulsa City Council candidate Eddie Huff. His affable personality and big smile have a way of softening the blow of his sometimes controversial and inaccurate words. His written words land harder. [Tulsa World]
Opinion: Oklahoma’s voter turnout is low. We shouldn’t take privilege for granted: Analysis of the 2020 presidential election revealed that Oklahoma ranked last among states in turnout of the voting-eligible population. This is especially pronounced among young voters, ages 18-29, who face unique hurdles. Oklahoma’s college campuses are full of first-time voters from across the country, often grappling with basic but important questions. [Melissa Abdo / The Oklahoman]
- From Together Oklahoma: Voting in Oklahoma: Everything you need to know
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma’s 2024 general election resources and info
Opinion: Unified primary would end political polarization, toxicity in Oklahoma politics: We want to draw attention to how our system of choosing elected officials is contributing to extremism and distraction from commonsense solutions supported by most Oklahomans. The gulf between the priorities of our elected officials and everyday Oklahomans can be laid squarely at the feet of our closed primary system. [Tom Ladner and Ken Cox / Tulsa World]
Opinion, former AG Mike Hunter: Vote for judges to defend integrity of Oklahoma’s judiciary: Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being poured into a coordinated smear campaign against three respected Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices: Yvonne Kauger, James Edmondson and Noma Gurich. These attacks, funded by dark money groups with hidden agendas, aim to manipulate voters into opposing their retention on Nov. 5. [Mike Hunter / Tulsa World]
Education News
Oklahoma higher ed workers navigate gaps in paid parental leave: lawmakers say it’s time to fix that: A growing list of Oklahoma colleges and universities are offering their workers paid parental leave. But it’s still a minority. The momentum comes after Oklahoma mandated maternity leave for state employees and teachers. [KGOU]
Health News
A new COVID-19 variant is circulating. Here’s what to know about the strain, symptoms: While COVID-19 cases are on a downtrend in Oklahoma, virus season is upon us — and this summer saw the highest spike in percent positive COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma since the summer of 2022. As has been the pattern over the last few years, a new COVID-19 variant has emerged. [The Oklahoman]
Expect employers to get more picky about health care: A health care spending surge looms in the new year, a nonprofit found in a recent survey that large employers expect the cost to treat patients will jump nearly 8% next year before they make coverage changes to address it. That’s the highest growth rate in a decade. [Journal Record]
Oklahoma City publishes map of lead service lines: Across the country, water utilities have been on the hunt for lead in pipes that connect homes and other buildings to water mains. And now, you can see what they found your pipes are made of. [KOSU]
- Biden Administration Funds Lead Pipe Replacement in Oklahoma [The Black Wall Street Times]
Open enrollment begins Nov. 1 for Health Insurance Marketplace in Oklahoma: The Health Insurance Marketplace in Oklahoma begins open enrollment Nov. 1 and Oklahomans must enroll by Dec. 15 to be covered beginning Jan. 1. The marketplace, which was implemented in Oklahoma as part of the Affordable Care Act, allows individuals and families to shop for medical insurance plans. [Oklahoma Voice]
Listeria recall grows to 12 million pounds of meat and poultry, some of it sent to US schools: A nationwide recall of meat and poultry products potentially contaminated with listeria bacteria has expanded to nearly 12 million pounds. It also includes ready-to-eat meals sent to schools, restaurants and grocery stores. The recall includes foods sold at Costco, Trader Joes, Target, Walmart, Kroger and other stores. The meat used in those products was processed at a Durant, Oklahoma, plant operated by BrucePac. [The Lawton Constitution]
Criminal Justice News
Volunteers canvassing Northeast OKC to build bonds after shooting: Days after a deadly OKC shooting that gained national news, local volunteers and grassroots organizers will go door-to-door providing residents with information on community services in northeast Oklahoma City. Instead of selling a product or political candidate, OKC’s Foundation for Liberating Minds (FLM) will seek to build community bonds as they share valuable resources with local residents. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Advocates say gun violence on the rise in Oklahoma City this year: Recent shootings across Oklahoma City have advocates saying gun violence is on the rise, but it doesn’t have to be this way. As numbers climb, advocates from LiveFree OKC said they’re trying to expand resources. [KOCO]
Report: Hundreds of Oklahoma current murder convicts may deserve new trial: While the nation’s high court is trying to decide whether Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip will get a new trial due to key evidence not revealed during his murder-for-hire trial — a new report claims Glossip may not be alone in this evidence-lacking problem. [2News Oklahoma]
We Thought the Supreme Court’s Death Penalty Cases Couldn’t Get Worse. We Thought Wrong: Richard Glossip has been on death row for over 25 years. He has maintained his innocence in a murder-for-hire conviction that he first received in 1998. He has lived through nine execution dates and eaten three last meals, and he claims that his death penalty trial was tainted by massive and egregious procedural error. Oddly enough, the state of Oklahoma agrees with him, and yet that state’s Supreme Court wants to execute him anyhow. [Slate]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
What’s behind the widening gender wage gap in the US?: In 2023, the gender wage gap between men and women working full-time widened year-over-year for the first time in 20 years, according to an annual report from the U.S. Census Bureau. [AP/ICT]
Economy & Business News
SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available to Oklahoma Small Businesses: Small non-farm businesses in 34 Oklahoma counties, including Comanche, Cotton and Stephens, and neighboring counties in Kansas and Texas are now eligible to apply for low interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. [The Lawton Constitution]
- Small business disaster loan program runs out of money [AP/Journal Record]
What does equine industry mean to Oklahoma? Billions in impact, experts say: Experts say Oklahoma’s equine industry brings billions of dollars into the state’s economy each year and that will only grow with the opening of the 216,164-square-foot OG&E Coliseum next year at the OKC Fairgrounds. [The Journal Record]
The company that owns the Oklahoma National Stockyards, largest in the US, is up for sale: The company that owns the Oklahoma National Stockyards, the largest in the United States, is up for sale after being led by four generations of the same family. The company owns 102 acres west of Exchange Avenue and south of the Oklahoma River. [The Oklahoman]
Community News
People lived, worked, played downtown, so why did it all end?: The last time downtown Oklahoma City was home to any significant housing in the central business district was when it was in a steep decline that ended with an Oklahoma City Council declaring “downtown is dead, and we helped kill it.” [The Oklahoman]
- Downtown OKC is undergoing a major transformation. These are the businesses and residents behind it [The Oklahoman]
Quote of the Day
“I didn’t say that I have evidence. I said it’s my feelings based on the places that I’ve been, the things that I’ve seen.”
– Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said when asked by Tulsa Rep. John Waldron about his testimony in an interim study in the Oklahoma’s House States Powers Committee that undocumented workers are plotting a terrorist attack across the country. [KOSU]
Number of the Day
18.6%
Immigrants account for 18.6% of the nation’s labor force, while representing 14.3% of the U.S. population. Immigrants also account for 21.3% of business owners in the U.S. [Immigration Research Initiative]
Policy Note
Latest data show that recent immigrant population growth is not unprecedented and below historical peaks: Although recent headlines claim that immigration is historically high or even “unprecedented,” new U.S. Census Bureau data show that immigration flows were relatively high but not unprecedented between 2022 and 2023, and were below the historical peaks in the late 1990s. These flows of new immigrants will benefit both immigrants and U.S.-born workers, as shown by many examples of credible economic research—though these benefits could significantly expand and help more workers if immigration policies were reformed to ensure that immigrants are granted full rights as workers in the U.S. economy. [Economic Policy Institute]
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