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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
OK Policy’s work honored with national awards, lifetime achievement award for Angela Monson: The Oklahoma Policy Institute received five national awards for its work during the past year, and longtime Legislative and Outreach Director Angela Monson was honored with a lifetime achievement award during a Dec. 3 ceremony. OK Policy received five Graphies awards in the eight award categories in the competition: Best Outreach or Campaign Plan, Event; Best Donor Solicitation; Best Data Visualization; Best Short Written Product; Best Special Project or Innovation. [OK Policy]
Oklahoma News
AG Intervenes in State Farm Lawsuit: On Dec. 4, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called on a rare statutory maneuver to intervene in Hursh v. State Farm, the most public-facing of upwards of 200 individual State Farm cases alleging a scheme to cheat policyholders on claims of roof damage resulting from wind and hail. [Oklahoma Watch]
State Government News
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner refuses to recuse, says OG&E attempting to silence him: A member of a governing board said Thursday he won’t recuse himself after a utility company complained he was biased against them. Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, or OG&E, requested that Hiett recuse himself from a case that would allow the company to expand its power generation sites because of “unacceptable bias” against the utility. [Oklahoma Voice]
- ‘I won’t apologize’: Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner refuses recusal in utility case [The Oklahoman]
- Todd Hiett refuses to recuse himself in OG&E case [KFOR]
- Hiett refuses OG&E request to recuse himself from power generation projects vote [The Journal Record]
Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: Property tax elimination, tribal hunting and fishing, Oklahoma’s new AI chief and more (podcast): The panel talks about a state question to eliminate property taxes in the state, concerns from homelessness advocates over new guidelines from the Trump Administration and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation hiring its own attorney rather than using the Attorney General over a lawsuit on tribal hunting and fishing. They also discuss the hopes of Oklahoma Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections and the State of Oklahoma naming its first ever artificial intelligence officer. [KOSU]
Federal Government News
Afghan immigrants worry about Trump administration’s immigration shift: Many Afghans in Oklahoma have heightened concerns grew out of the current focus on Afghan immigrants in the wake of the Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. [The Oklahoman]
- Federal appeals court extends National Guard presence in D.C. [Oklahoma Voice]
U.S. work authorizations for legal immigrants slashed from 5 years to 18 months: The Trump administration Thursday announced new restrictions for immigrants, reducing the work authorization periods from five years to 18 months, the latest crackdown on legal immigration. [Oklahoma Voice]
Retiring US Sen. Durbin makes last push for long-stalled immigration bill: U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a longtime champion of creating legal status for immigrants brought into the country as children who will retire next year, re-introduced his trademark immigration bill for the last time Thursday. [Oklahoma Voice]
Health subsidies would continue for 3 years under Dem bill to be voted on in US Senate: U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced the chamber will vote next week to extend enhanced tax credits for three years for people who purchase their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, though the plan seems unlikely to get the bipartisan support needed to advance. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: The cost of care could crush 300,000 Oklahomans: Oklahomans already are the nation’s least healthy. Imagine the consequences if Congress fails to preserve Affordable Care Act subsidies. Ninety-four percent of Sooners who rely on the federal exchange for their health insurance also rely on the premium tax credits to be able to afford it, according to OK Policy. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
Tribal Nations News
New report finds Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by gun violence: Indigenous people in the US are killed by guns more than nearly any other segment of the population. They rank second behind the Black community, according to a newly published Violence Policy Center report. [KOSU]
Voting and Election News
Stitt sets special election to fill OKC seat in Oklahoma House: Oklahoma City voters will decide who will replace former Democratic Rep. Forrest Bennett within the next year, but not in time for the 2026 legislative session. [The Oklahoman]
TPS, BA, Tulsa Tech seats draw challengers: Drawing two candidates each, five Tulsa County board of education seats will forego a primary election and will appear on the April 7 general election ballot, including two with Tulsa Public Schools. [Tulsa World]
As 2 OKCPS board members plan to leave office, 3 candidates run for their seats: Two Oklahoma City Board of Education members won’t seek reelection next year, clearing the way for one unopposed candidate and two other contenders running to succeed them. [Oklahoma Voice]
Education News
OU grad students seek apology, protection for instructor in essay debate: Graduate student representatives at the University of Oklahoma approved a resolution calling on the institution’s administration to apologize to the instructor who gave Samantha Fulnecky a failing grade on her controversial essay and provide additional protections for graduate teaching assistants during investigations. [The Oklahoman]
- OU Graduate Student Senate condemns university, defends graduate student instructor put on leave [OU Daily]
- Explainer: Next steps for Samantha Fulnecky’s religious discrimination, academic appeals in university review process [OU Daily]
- Opinion: OU essay controversy reveals failure to teach the teachers [John Kainer / The Oklahoman]
- Opinion: OU alum criticizes OU’s response to Bible-based essay grade, calls for regents’ action [Shauna A. Izadi / OU Daily]
6 schools earn Oklahoma Blue Ribbon Award after national honor dropped: The Oklahoma State Department of Education has recognized six public schools with the “Oklahoma Blue Ribbon Award” about three months after the U.S. Department of Education discontinued a similar program. [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma doles out Blue Ribbons after federal education officials suspend national award [KOSU]
Epic Charter School hires new superintendent from OKCPS: For the first time in Epic Charter School’s history, its next superintendent will be a newcomer hired from outside the virtual charter school. [Oklahoma Voice]
Higher education officials issue millions in AI innovation grants: Oklahoma higher education officials allocated $3.4 million in grants to seven colleges and universities to fund artificial intelligence innovation. [Oklahoma Voice]
TCC moves forward with first bachelor’s degree program in school’s 55-year history: The Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education approved the college’s Bachelor of Science in Child Development degree Wednesday. TCC previously only offered two-year associate’s degree programs. [Tulsa Flyer]
Health News
Medicare’s new AI experiment, to be tested in Oklahoma, sparks alarm among doctors, lawmakers: A Medicare pilot program will allow private companies to use artificial intelligence to review older Americans’ requests for certain medical care — and will reward the companies when they deny it. CMS will test AI-powered prior authorizations in six states, including Oklahoma, Texas and Washington. [Oklahoma Voice]
SoonerCare providers say a rule on abortion has paused funding: Several medical providers reached out to News 4 and said they haven’t gotten SoonerCare funding for several months due to an Executive Order from Governor Stitt. [KFOR]
Criminal Justice News
‘Ass whooping’: 10th Circuit sends Grady County Jail suicide back to district court: A federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the estate of Kongchi Justin Thao is headed back to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to determine whether his suicide at the Grady County Jail was attributable to a lack of training on behalf of detention officers. [NonDoc]
‘I’m nailed to the wall’: Former Lindsay bank President Danny Seibel indicted for conspiracy, fraud: Just more than a year after the failure and sudden closure of the First National Bank of Lindsay left the community reeling, a federal grand jury indicted former President and CEO Danny Seibel on several fraud charges Wednesday. [NonDoc]
In wake of Jesse Butler case, another Stillwater 18-year-old charged with rape, abuse: An 18-year-old Stillwater man has been arrested and charged with rape and domestic abuse, just weeks after widespread backlash to a similar case rocked the college community. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma organizations join national campaign to abolish the death penalty: A nationwide coalition of organizations advocating for the end of capital punishment announced its launch on Wednesday. [KGOU]
Opinion, Oklahoma County Commissioner: Commissioner explains why the OK County jail price has risen so much: I recently read the article in The Oklahoman discussing the updated cost projections for the new Oklahoma County jail, and I want to take this opportunity to provide a fuller explanation of how we reached the figures being discussed. As this project continues to move forward, it’s important to me that residents understand the context, the reasoning and the sequence of decisions that brought us to this point.[Myles Davidson / The Oklahoman]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Nonprofit developer taps last of OKC affordable housing fund for 38-unit project: The City Council this week allocated the final $100,000 from a $10 million pot of money set aside to help developers provide affordable housing in the city. The money will go to We Are Society, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, toward construction of an $8 million 38-unit affordable housing complex at Kentucky Avenue and NW Fourth Street. [The Journal Record]
Economy & Business News
Outlook bright next year for Tulsa, state, economist tells chamber: An economist expects Tulsa to see the number of jobs go up next year, as well as an increase in average income and the number of people relocating to the state. [Tulsa World]
- Growth is the name of the game for Tulsa’s job market, outpacing OKC [Tulsa Flyer]
Quote of the Day
“I think we all agree that we want a safe process and we just would like to say that is inherent in the program as it exists. If there is a challenge, it doesn’t make it safer to dismantle all of those things. Actually, what we need is a continued safe program where we all feel confident coming together.”
-Kim Bandy, co-founder and executive director of the Spero Project, an Oklahoma City-based resettlement agency, speaking about the extensive vetting process for refugees and immigration. The Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. has sparked concerns that the US will completely stop its refugee programs. [The Oklahoman]
Number of the Day
6,000
The estimated number of unauthorized immigrant children enrolled in Oklahoma public schools in 2019. That’s about 0.85% of the state’s 703,650 students that year. [Migration Policy Institute]
Policy Note
What harsh immigration policies mean for students, families, and schools: Harsh immigration policies are undermining access to public education by creating fear and uncertainty among immigrant families — leading some to withdraw children from school and compromising students’ sense of safety and belonging. Policies restricting enrollment, cutting funding for English learners, or requiring disclosure of immigration status have eroded schools’ roles as inclusive community hubs and forced districts into crisis response instead of learning environments. [Brookings Institute]
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