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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
Lower-wage workers report skipping meals, taking out loans for food and rent: The Federal Reserve‘s quarter-point cut to its benchmark interest rate Wednesday should make it slightly cheaper to borrow money for a new car or business expansion, but it doesn’t provide relief to the millions of U.S. workers struggling to stay financially afloat. [The Journal Record]
State Government News
Department of Corrections Refuses to Release Body Camera Footage: The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has spent millions on body cameras with the stated goal of increasing transparency, but is refusing to release recordings to the public. [Oklahoma Watch]
Oklahoma utility regulators decline to reconsider OG&E’s latest case: Two consumer groups asked the Corporation Commission to reopen a case they say will lead to high utility rates for customers. [KOSU]
Oklahoma insurance commissioner unveils policy proposals to address rising homeowners rates: After months of talk of skyrocketing homeowners insurance rates, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready announced the policy proposals he and a lawmaker intend to pursue when the 2026 legislative session begins in February. [The Journal Record]
Proponents refile petition to end some Oklahoma homeowners’ property taxes: Supporters of an effort to gradually eliminate property taxes have withdrawn and refiled their initiative petition. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: National Guard troops, Corporation Commission recusal refused, campaign finance website and more (podcast): The panelists talk about Gov. Stitt approving the deployment of 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. and Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett refusing to recuse himself from an OG&E case. They also discusses Stitt setting a special election to fill the seat of an OKC Democrat to coincide with next year’s election dates and a delay by the Ethics Commission to launch a website to monitor campaign finances. [KOSU]
Opinion: Looking for work? Meet leader behind Oklahoma’s job connection system: Much of the remaining unemployment is attributable to a skills mismatch, which means jobs are available, but people don’t necessarily have the skills to fill those jobs. The state official most directly responsible for finding ways to resolve this mismatch is Trae Rahill, CEO of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) and its “job board” on the web at EmployOklahoma.gov. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: When ideology meets property taxes in Oklahoma: For some lawmakers, property taxes are Exhibit A that big government is somehow treading on them. No apparent recognition that property taxes pay for the roads and bridges we travel. The schools our children attend. The emergency services that come to our rescue when involved in a traffic accident, when shots are fired, when a loved one suffers a heart attack or when the house is ablaze. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
- From OK Policy’s Shiloh Kantz: Property tax revenue builds the foundation for our communities
Federal Government News
US Senate hits stalemate on solution to spiraling health insurance costs: The U.S. Senate in long-anticipated votes failed to advance legislation Thursday that would have addressed the rising cost of health insurance, leaving lawmakers deadlocked on how to curb a surge in premiums expected next year. [The Oklahoman]
- Edmond woman shares harsh reality of failed ACA vote, ending subsidies [KFOR]
Rare US House bipartisan vote advances bill rejecting Trump federal-worker bargaining ban: The U.S. House agreed Wednesday to consider a bill that would void President Donald Trump’s executive order that strips collective bargaining rights for roughly 1 million federal workers. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Does Rep. Stephanie Bice endorse recent Trump actions? She’s not saying: It won’t do Democrats much good to keep highlighting what they consider to be Trump’s misdeeds unless they push Republican members of Congress — all of whom will be up for reelection next year — to defend Trump’s actions. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]
Voting and Election News
Two Republican candidates head to runoff in House special election: A special Republican primary election for House District 35 will head to a runoff after no candidate earned a majority of the votes. Dillon Travis and Mike Waters will face off in the special runoff election on Jan. 13. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma Democrat, Libertarian parties miss deadline to open primaries: Independent voters will not be able to cast their ballots in any of Oklahoma’s upcoming political primaries. Both Democrats and Libertarians missed a deadline to send the Oklahoma State Election Board notice that their parties would allow independents to vote in their primaries. Republicans have historically had closed primaries. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma independents can still vote on minimum wage hike during June primary: Supporters of increasing the minimum wage said Thursday that independents can still vote on the issue when it appears on the June primary ballot. [Oklahoma Voice]
- From OK Policy: SQ 832: Minimum Wage Increase | Information and Resources
Education News
‘Little to no direct benefit to students’: Western Heights audit notes legal fees, superintendent fight: More than four years after the State Board of Education and a community petition requested an audit of Western Heights Public Schools, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released findings Thursday that detailed the district’s decision to defend a embattled former superintendent and board chairman during a dispute with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. [NonDoc]
- Audit of Western Heights schools finds millions wasted on legal fees, superintendent costs [Oklahoma Voice]
- Audit of Western Heights School District shows ‘problematic’ findings [The Oklahoman]
- Audit of Western Heights schools details “problematic” spending under former leadership [KOSU]
Students, professors, and alumni call out OU in Fulnecky fallout: Students, professors, and alumni are calling out the University of Oklahoma this week after a student claimed religious discrimination with her essay. [KFOR]
MacKenzie Scott gives $16M to 2 private trade colleges in Tulsa: Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s three-week gift-giving spree to Oklahoma colleges and universities now has touched two private trade colleges, becoming the 10th and 11th higher-education institutions this year to receive a gift from Scott. [The Oklahoman]
- MacKenzie Scott donates millions to two Oklahoma trade schools, Connors State College [Tulsa World]
- 11 Oklahoma colleges, universities get multimillion-dollar gifts from billionaire MacKenzie Scott [KOSU]
- Two Tulsa technical colleges on receiving end of $16M gift from MacKenzie Scott [Tulsa Flyer]
Opinion: A retention program can help OK schools, but not by itself: For years, most Oklahoma elementary schools have embraced “social promotion,” passing students to the next grade whether or not they’ve mastered the material. Many Oklahomans assume that retaining a student — “holding them back” — does more harm than good. But there are good reasons to support a statewide retention policy, if it is designed well. [Adam Tyner / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Reading gaps need early solutions, not late consequences: Teachers have always known which students will struggle long before any third-grade test. In pre-K and kindergarten, we can clearly identify who is not developmentally or academically ready for elementary school. Yet Oklahoma continues to act as if reading failure suddenly appears in third grade when, in reality, the roots were visible three years earlier. [Niah Spriggs / The Oklahoman]
Health News
Tulsa County unlocks $870K for local addiction recovery programs: The Tulsa Board of County Commissioners signed off on spending close to a million dollars on addiction support programs. At the Dec. 8 meeting, commissioners approved $870,000 worth of funding for Tulsa-based addiction recovery programs. [Tulsa Flyer]
Criminal Justice News
BLMOKC leader T. Sheri Dickerson indicted for $3.15 million alleged fraud: A federal grand jury has indicted The Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, co-founder of Black Lives Matter OKC, for allegedly diverting $3.15 million from the organization toward her own personal use. [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma City Black Lives Matter leader indicted on embezzlement, money laundering charges [KOSU]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
As 2025 concludes, Tulsa Housing Authority still without audits for 2021-2024: Members of the Tulsa Housing Authority Board declined to comment today on the agency’s multi-year audit backlog after their final scheduled meeting of 2025. The 20-minute meeting provided no substantive update on THA’s longstanding audit backlog, which nearly derailed tax credit applications for a key north Tulsa housing development last month. [NonDoc]
- Tulsa Housing Authority’s mandatory audits are 4 years past due. Its president won’t talk about it. [Tulsa Flyer]
Changemakers: This is how Tulsa students would solve homelessness and food insecurity: More than 300 students across Tulsa and Union Public Schools spent a semester identifying problems in their communities and trying to make meaningful change with the Changemakers program. [Tulsa Flyer]
- Oklahoma homeless youth handbook now available online [Public Radio Tulsa]
Economy & Business News
The Wildcatter and Trump: An Unusual Duo Reshapes U.S. Energy: Not long ago, it seemed as if Mr. Hamm and his allies in the oil industry were losing. They were deeply out of favor in Washington — and on Wall Street — shunned for contributing to climate change and failing to deliver the returns investors wanted. But with Mr. Trump back in power, Mr. Hamm is, too. [New York Times]
Community News
Historic hub of NAACP Youth Council is set to reopen after restoration: Civil rights pioneer Clara Luper and a local youth council often met in her home to plan their strategy, but a stand-alone gathering space was eventually acquired for such sessions. That structure became known as the Freedom Center and it has been recently restored through an extensive effort. A ribbon cutting for the newly refurbished center is set for Friday morning. [The Oklahoman]
Shannon Warren remembered as role model who brought people together: The idea of regularly gathering people from different faith backgrounds together for afternoons of dialogue and fellowship might have seemed daunting to some, but Shannon Warren saw the value of such assemblies and refused to be intimidated. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- OTA condemns final parcel for first phase of Norman turnpike as construction set to begin next month [KFOR]
- Long-awaited Black Wall Street Square development to kick off construction Friday in north Tulsa [The Oklahoma Eagle via Tulsa Flyer]
- Work begins on The Hilltop, 106-unit affordable housing complex in north Tulsa [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“What I had to pay was $280 this year per month, and then when I did the calculations in the application, it said that for my continued policy, it would be over $1,200.”
-Alicia Jarman, a mental health care provider in Oklahoma, said skyrocketing premiums have forced her into the difficult decision of getting rid of her health insurance. [KFOR]
Number of the Day
~50%
Nearly half of Americans said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation difficult to afford, according to a recent poll. More than a quarter of respondents, 27 percent, said they have skipped a medical check-up because of costs within the last two years, and 23 percent said they have skipped a prescription dose for the same reason. [Politico]
Policy Note
The missing piece in the affordability debate: Today’s affordability debate focuses almost entirely on prices, as if the only way to make life affordable is to make things cheaper. But that approach misses the bigger picture. Affordability depends on both prices and wages. The roots of today’s affordability crisis actually lie not in recent price spikes, but in the long-term suppression of workers’ pay. [Economic Policy Institute]
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