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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 Oklahoma could be on the hook for as much as $400 million because of a court ruling earlier this year that said a capital-gains tax deduction for Oklahoma-based companies is unconstitutional. Gov. Mary Fallin and Oklahoma Treasurer Ken Miller are working behind the scenes to consolidate the administrations of the state’s largest pension systems, and some are questioning why the proposal is being drafted in secret. The OK Policy Blog writes that an overhaul of the state pension system unveiled at the last minute without careful vetting by legislators and the public is unlikely to yield good policy.
A report by the National Institute for Early Education Research finds that state funding for pre-K programs fell by more than a half a billion dollars in 2011-2012, and Oklahoma’s per pupil funding for pre-K still remains significantly below 2010 levels. See a fact sheet from the report on Oklahoma pre-K here. School testing came to a halt statewide early Monday because the CTB/McGraw-Hill testing company servers crashed. The okeducationtruths blog contrasts the testing corporation’s failures with the State Department of Education’s insistence that school districts proceed with data collection deadlines.
The Tulsa World reports that the Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry took disciplinary action against 68 licensed dentists in the state during the past 13 years. Gov. Fallin plans to begin work on a push for a statewide vote on an anti-smoking initiative once the Legislative session ends. The Tulsa World pointed out that while state leaders are hatching a tax-cut plan, the families of more than 7,000 Oklahomans with developmental disabilities are straining to take care of their loved ones while stuck on a waiting list for state services. Click here to contact lawmakers and speak out on the tax cut plan.
The Number of the Day is Oklahoma’s rank nationally for the percentage of seniors living with a disability. In today’s Policy Note, Mother Jones maps out which states have cut treatment for the mentally ill the most in recent years.
In The News
Court ruling could cost Oklahoma $400 million
A lawmaker said Monday the state could be on the hook for as much as $400 million because of a court ruling earlier this year that said a capital-gains tax deduction for Oklahoma-based companies is unconstitutional. But a state finance spokesman said any adverse effects from the ruling should not affect the 2014 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1. “I find it disturbing that the leadership hasn’t bothered to inform the members of the House of Representatives other than apparently a select few on the leadership team about this $400 million problem,” said Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. “In my 11 years here I’ve seen them have massive heartburn over a $5 million or $10 million or $15 million problem and we’re talking $400 million.”
Pension consolidation plan being developed behind closed doors
Gov. Mary Fallin and Oklahoma Treasurer Ken Miller are working behind the scenes to consolidate the administrations of the state’s largest pension systems, rankling some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who question why the proposal is being drafted in secret. While Fallin and Miller both have publicly discussed the idea, the details of the proposal have yet to be unveiled even though legislators must adjourn by the end of May. “I haven’t seen any language on that. As to what the plan is, I don’t know for sure,” said Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton. “When you’re dealing with that kind of money, you need to be open about it.”
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
On pension overhaul, beware May surprises
The last weeks of Oklahoma’s legislative session often bring surprises as issues emerge seemingly from nowhere onto legislators’ desks. This year, one May surprise that should have legislators and the public deeply concerned is a a major but poorly-understood overhaul of public pensions. Oklahoma has seven public pension systems – covering teachers, public employees, firefighters, police, law enforcement, judges, and wildlife – which together cover some 145,000 active and 75,000 retired workers.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Pre-K funding drops nationwide in 2011-2012, Oklahoma’s preschools also affected by budget cuts
State funding for pre-K programs fell by more than a half a billion dollars in 2011-2012, according to a new study released Monday. The National Institute for Early Education Research reports the dip is the most significant financial decline in a decade and the largest one-year drop ever. Oklahoma’s children didn’t escape the trend. With more 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in Oklahoma preschools than ever before, state spending was stunted for a second year in a row with an expenditure of $3,652 per child. In 2010, Oklahoma spent $4,759 per preschool student.
See also: Oklahoma Pre-K fact sheet from the National Institute for Early Education Research
Server crashes end school testing across Oklahoma
School testing came to a halt statewide early Monday because the CTB/McGraw-Hill testing company servers in New Jersey crashed around 9 a.m., state education officials said. In the last week of Oklahoma’s April testing window, the outage has raised rescheduling concerns among school officials across the state. School districts were advised to cancel online testing because of the server crash, although some students in a few schools somehow were able to complete tests. The outage affected Oklahoma Core Curriculum tests for grades three to eight and end-of-instruction tests for students up to grade 12, officials said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: You Must Be Kidding Me from okeducationtruths
Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry took action against 68 dentists during past 18 years
The Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry took disciplinary action against 68 licensed dentists in the state during the past 13 years, including 16 dentists whose licenses were revoked or surrendered, a Tulsa World investigation has found. The state agency responsible for disciplining dentists took at least 98 actions against dentists during that time for violations of the state dental act and other laws including substance abuse, improper prescribing practices and allowing assistants to perform work for which they were not licensed.
Battles rage of tobacco measures in Okla.
Battles over the regulation of tobacco products have played out throughout this year’s legislative session, but the real fight could come after lawmakers adjourn. Gov. Mary Fallin, who announced earlier this session that she wants to push for a statewide vote on an anti-smoking initiative in 2014, plans to begin working in earnest on the details once the session ends, a spokesman said Monday. Despite the governor’s announcement in February, few details have emerged on exactly what the measure will look like. Fallin has said the proposal could range from giving cities more authority to put bans in place to a statewide ban on smoking in public places.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Funding for disability services lags
While state leaders are straining their arms patting themselves on the back for hatching a tax-cut plan, the families of more than 7,000 Oklahomans with developmental disabilities are straining in every way imaginable to take care of their loved ones. Those 7,000 families are on a waiting list hoping to receive some state assistance to help care for the individuals who are disabled. Some of them have been on that waiting list for nearly a decade, according to a recent Oklahoma Watch report. The Legislature did dribble a little bit more funding – $1 million – into disability services recently, but because the numbers needing such services continue to grow, the net reduction in the list was only 11 people.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
If this is so high on the priority list, why wasn’t it introduced at the start of the session to have time to go through the committee process and have debate from both sides so you have an opportunity to give an in-depth analysis of what they’re proposing. To me, it’s a push to garner control of the $20 billion in assets of all these pension systems and put those in the control of cherry-picked appointees. This important of an issue deserves more than a cloak-and-dagger, back-door, drop-it-in approach.
–Herb Bradshaw, executive director of the Oklahoma State Firefighters’ Association, on a plan to overhaul Oklahoma’s state pension system that is being developed behind closed doors.
Number of the Day
3rd
Oklahoma’s rank nationally for the percentage of seniors (>65 years) living with a disability, 43 percent of the state’s seniors, 2010
Source: AARP
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
MAP: Which states have cut treatment for the mentally ill the most?
Between 2009 and 2012, states cut a total of $4.35 billion in public mental-health spending from their budgets. According to a report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, significant cuts to general fund appropriations for state mental health agencies have translated into a severe shortage of services, including housing, community-based treatment and access to psychiatric medications. “Increasingly, emergency rooms, homeless shelters and jails are struggling with the effects of people falling through the cracks,” the report says, “due to lack of needed mental health services and supports.” The map below shows how states’ spending changed on mental health services between 2009 and 2012.
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