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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today you should know that the head of the House budget panel for DHS said state workers who deal with Oklahomans with developmental disabilities and abused and neglected children should receive pay hikes. The agency is seeking a larger than anticipated increase in state funds to accelerate recommended changes in the child welfare system. Rep. Cockroft filed a bill that would eliminate state funding for the Oklahoma Arts Council within four years.
A new OK Policy issue brief lays out reforms to bring Oklahoma’s tax system into the 21st Century. Former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor announced she will run for the office again. Experts told a state commission that improving school safety will require attention to both the physical security and the mental well-being of students. At a town hall meeting, Rep. James Lankford blamed gun violence on “welfare moms.”
A new Oklahoma County Community Health Network is seeking to maximize resources for the OKC metro’s 19 free clinics and two federally qualified health centers to provide health care for the low-income uninsured. OK Policy analyst Kate Richey writes in the OK Gazette on why the Medicaid expansion is affordable and vital.
Proposed legislation would define it as rape for church employees or volunteers to have sex with church members under the age of 20. The proposal is unconstitutional because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot make intimate sexual conduct between consenting adults illegal.
The Number of the Day is how many federal civilian employees are in Oklahoma. In today’s Policy Note, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains why replacing state income taxes with bigger sales taxes doesn’t make sense.
In The News
Budget chair eyes pay hikes for DHS workers
State workers who deal daily with Oklahomans with developmental disabilities and abused and neglected children should be targeted for merit-based pay hikes, the head of a House budget panel said on Tuesday. Following a joint House and Senate budget committee hearing, Rep. Jason Nelson said pay increases for workers in the child welfare, developmental disabilities and family support divisions of the Department of Human Services will be among his top priorities for the largest state agency, which had a budget of more than $600 million last year.
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
More funding sought for Oklahoma’s child welfare plan
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services is seeking a larger than anticipated increase in state funds to accelerate recommended changes in a five-year plan to improve child welfare operations. Ed Lake, director of the state’s largest agency, told a legislative budget subcommittee Tuesday the agency is seeking about $11 million more than the $60 million expected to be appropriated in the first two years of the Pinnacle Plan. Lake said DHS would like a $46 million increase instead of the projected $30 million hike to implement the plan for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
HB 1895 would cut Arts Council funding
A bill filed by an Oklahoma state representative would eliminate state funding for the Oklahoma Arts Council within four years. Filed Friday, HB 1895 would cut money appropriated to the Council by at least 25 percent every year until 2017. Representative Josh Cockroft authored the bill. The sophomore representative estimates the measure would save Oklahoma around $4 million. Cockroft cited an article published last March by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a state think tank, as the basis for the legislation.
Action Items for Oklahoma: Creating a 21st Century tax system
A new issue brief released today is the first of a seven part series by OK Policy to propose public policy action items for Oklahoma. These recommendations are aimed at improving the shared prosperity of all Oklahomans while maintaining a fiscally responsible state budget. The first installment discusses reforms for Oklahoma to create a 21st Century revenue system for a 21st century economy. To prosper in coming decades, Oklahoma needs a well-educated workforce, functioning infrastructure, healthy families, and secure communities. Reaching these goals requires a tax system capable of generating enough revenue to fund the core public services on which our prosperity depends.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Kathy Taylor to seek second shot as Tulsa mayor
Tulsa’s mayoral race went from tepid to tantalizing Tuesday with the announcement that former Mayor Kathy Taylor plans to try to reclaim the office she held from 2006 to 2009. Taylor, 57, chose not to run for re-election after serving one term, citing the need to focus on the operations of the city during the Great Recession instead of on campaigning. Taylor, a Democrat, is the second announced candidate for mayor. Former City Councilor Bill Christiansen announced his candidacy last year. Mayor Dewey Bartlett said Tuesday that he is not yet ready to announce whether he will run for re-election. However, like Taylor and Christiansen, he has filed the initial paperwork required of candidates.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma commission hears from school security experts
Improving school safety will require attention to both the physical security and mental well-being of students, a panel of experts told a state commission Tuesday. The Oklahoma Commission on School Security met for the first time and spent the entire meeting listening to experts in the fields of school security, education, mental health and law enforcement. The next meeting is set for Feb. 5. The group will not discuss funding or gun control because both issues are being addressed by other bodies both federally and locally, said Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, who leads the commission.
Rep. James Lankford blames gun violence on ‘welfare moms’
Rep. James Lankford (R-OK), the fifth-ranking House Republican, laid the blame for gun violence at the feet of an unusual suspect: the children of “welfare moms” who commit fraud. In a meeting with constituents earlier this month in Oklahoma City, a woman asked the GOP congressman what he was doing to combat all the children who were committing gun violence because they were high on psychotropic drugs. Lankford replied that he “agree[s] with that” and then went on to blame Social Security disability fraud for the rash of gun violence around the country. “Quite frankly some of the overmedication of kids are because welfare moms want to get additional benefits,” Lankford said.
Community health initiative seeks to improve care for low-income, uninsured people in OKC
Amid the nation’s health care debate, a new initiative is being launched locally to help provide care to low-income, uninsured people. The Oklahoma County Community Health Network seeks to maximize resources for the metro’s 19 free clinics and two federally qualified health centers. The network is the result of recommendations from the 22-member Commission to Transform the Health Care Safety Net in Oklahoma County, which worked for a year studying available resources, unmet needs and the lack of coordination of care for the uninsured.
Read more from the Oklahoma Gazette.
Medicaid expansion is affordable, and vital
For nearly 50 years, Medicaid has provided basic medical care to the poorest and most vulnerable Oklahomans. While Medicaid is the state’s primary safety net health care provider, many of the state’s poor are not currently eligible. The vast majority (93 percent) of those covered now under SoonerCare/Medicaid are children, seniors, disabled adults and pregnant women. Under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, the federal government will pay the lion’s share of the cost for Oklahoma to extend SoonerCare coverage to most uninsured low-income adults. This would provide coverage to about 150,000 residents living near the poverty level.
Read more from the Oklahoma Gazette.
Oklahoma lawmaker proposes bill that could redefine rape
The definition of rape in Oklahoma could be changing if some lawmakers get their way. Proposed legislation would make it illegal for church employees or volunteers to have sex with church members under the age of 20. Senator Griffin says her work as a child advocate with victims of sexual assault prompted her to push for this expanded legislation. State Rep. Hoskin has been trying to get a similar bill passed through the house for the past three years. His legislation deals specifically with those in a “ministerial role.”
Quote of the Day
The lack of a pay raise for the last six years is really hurting the ability of the agency to hire and retain the kind of people we need to do these really difficult jobs.
–Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, calling for pay increases for workers in the child welfare, developmental disabilities, and family support divisions of the Department of Human Services
Number of the Day
38,000
Number of federal civilian employees in Oklahoma, the 8th highest share of federal employment of civilians among the states in 2009
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Why Replacing State Income Taxes with Bigger Sales Taxes Doesn’t Make Sense
In an alarming trend, governors in Louisiana, Nebraska, and North Carolina have proposed eliminating their state’s personal and corporate income taxes and raising the sales tax to offset the lost revenue. Proponents claim that eliminating income taxes and expanding the sales tax would make tax systems simpler, fairer, and more business-friendly, with no net revenue loss. In reality, they would tilt state taxes against middle- and lower-income households and likely undercut the state’s ability to maintain public services. Specifically, they would: Raise taxes on the middle class.
Read more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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