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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.
A reserve deputy who fatally shot a man during an undercover gun sting was charged with second-degree manslaughter Monday afternoon. The deputy, a 73-year-old insurance agent, had bought at least five automobiles and surveillance equipment for the undercover unit to which he was assigned and was the chairman of Tulsa Sheriff Stanley Glanz’s reelection campaign. The Associated Press reported that the use of volunteer reserve police officers and sheriff’s deputies is common across the country amid tight budgets.
The board that oversees juvenile corrections in Oklahoma is reevaluating its policy to allow pepper spray to be used on incarcerated youth. The Oklahoma House of Representatives has placed a legal advertisement signaling that they may transfer the unfinished American Indian Cultural Center property back to the city of Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City could hire legal help at $325 per hour to defend a plan to demolish downtown’s historic Union Bus Station from a lawsuit by city councilman Ed Shadid.
Oklahoma Watch shared comments from a recent interview by state Rep. David Dank, who passed away on Friday. An email from Secretary of State Chris Benge asked every member of the State Legislature to designate up to seven successors in case of an emergency. Faced with a massive budget hole after deep income tax cuts, Kansas Republicans are looking at increasing several other taxes. The OK Policy Blog discusses new research showing how predatory lenders tend to set up shop near the working poor — and cluster around neighborhoods of military families. Payday loan stores reap millions in profits from a product designed to force borrowers into repeat loans at extremely high interest rates.
Oklahoma schools are scrambling to get ready for testing season, which takes every computer most schools can find to handle the demand. McClatchy reported that some teachers in Oklahoma continue to use practices that are part of Common Core standards because they are useful in the classroom. On the OK Policy Blog, Steve Lewis discussed why Governor Fallin put her former opponent Jari Askins in charge of improving the child welfare system. Oklahoma has become the second state to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure that critics describe as dismembering a fetus.
The Legislature approved a bill that prohibits health insurers from holding proton radiation cancer therapy to a higher standard of clinical effectiveness than other radiation treatments. An experimental coating applied to a 78-year-old LeFlore County bridge may have contributed to premature structural damage that forced the bridge’s closure. A burst of moisture over the weekend and Monday is the first step in alleviating effects of drought throughout the state, weather experts said. Almost 100 years after took the lives of 40 mental patients at Norman’s Griffin Memorial Hospital, a memorial services was held for the victims.
The Number of the Day is 2.07 – the average number of personal exemptions claimed on Oklahoma tax returns in 2013, 10th highest in the U.S. In today’s Policy Note, economist Noah Smith explain why mass imprisonment imposes a huge burden on the U.S. economy.
In The News
District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler charges reserve deputy with second-degree manslaughter
A reserve deputy who fatally shot a man during an undercover gun sting was charged with second-degree manslaughter Monday afternoon, according to a press release from the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office. Earlier Monday, Sheriff Stanley Glanz described Reserve Deputy Robert Charles “Bob” Bates as a longtime friend who made “an error.” According to the Sheriff’s Office, Bates had intended to use a Taser on Eric Courtney Harris but instead pulled his gun and fired one shot.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tulsa County reserve deputy bought cars, equipment for undercover unit
A Tulsa County reserve deputy who has been charged in a fatal shooting bought at least five automobiles and surveillance equipment for the undercover unit to which he was assigned, records show. The incident was also not the first time Robert Bates has been involved in a use of force during an arrest while serving as a reserve deputy. Bates owns an insurance company and served as chairman of the Re-elect Sheriff (Stanley) Glanz Committee in 2012.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Amid tight budgets, use of police reserve officers is common
By the thousands, volunteers across the United States sign up to assist their local law enforcement agencies as reserve police officers and sheriff’s deputies. Most perform routine duties in unpaid anonymity. A few become known as heroes or rogues. Among that vast contingent of reservists was Robert Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive, who was charged Monday with manslaughter in the death of a man shot as he lay on the ground in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Use of pepper spray in Oklahoma’s juvenile jails criticized; staff say it’s necessary for safety’s sake
The board that oversees juvenile corrections in Oklahoma is reevaluating its policy to allow pepper spray to be used on incarcerated youth. Juvenile security officers are allowed to use pepper spray in any situation when force is allowed, such as an attempted escape, fighting or to protect staff and youth who are at risk of being harmed.
Oklahoma House of Representatives keeps its options open on Oklahoma City’s American Indian Cultural Center
The Oklahoma House of Representatives has placed a legal advertisement, signaling possible legislation related to the long-stalled project to complete an American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma City. House Speaker Jeff Hickman said Monday the advertisement was placed because one of the options being considered would be to transfer the cultural center property back to the city of Oklahoma City. Hickman said no specific proposal to finish the project has emerged, but the ad was needed to keep lawmakers’ options open.
Oklahoma City could hire outside attorney in Councilman Ed Shadid lawsuit
Oklahoma City could hire legal help at $325 per hour to defend the plan to demolish downtown’s historic Union Bus Station. The city attorney has recommended an attorney from McAfee & Taft be retained to represent the Board of Adjustment in a lawsuit filed by Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid challenging the plan. A developer plans to demolish nine or 10 buildings in, and adjacent to, the 400 block of W Sheridan Avenue to make way for an office complex.
Rep. David Dank, in His Own Words
About a week before he died Friday, state Rep. David Dank sat down with Oklahoma Watch, speaking on several issues. Dank was candid and direct. He said his biggest fight had been over tax incentives. Dank said he wanted to leave the Legislature with the knowledge that he’d reduced the number of unnecessary tax breaks and redirected the money into programs “that genuinely helped people.”
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Note to Lawmakers: Name Your Successor
An email, sent by Secretary of State Chris Benge to every member of the Oklahoma Legislature, had lawmakers and attorneys scurrying to find an Oklahoma Constitution expert Monday morning. Benge’s email, sent on Friday, April 10, asked each of the state’s 149 lawmakers to designate up to seven successors in case of an emergency. Benge cited a particular, and virtually unknown, state statute as the reason for the email.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Fixing Kansas budget problems could undo no-tax promises
The path for digging Kansas out of a deep budget mess could end up paved with broken promises. Conservative Republicans came to power vowing a leaner state government, one that would cut taxes and leave a smaller footprint. Cut taxes they did. But a massive budget hole followed, one that may now require higher taxes to balance a still-growing state budget.
Read more from the Kansas City Star.
New research: Oklahoma’s predatory lenders target vulnerable populations, military installations
Credit is necessary for financial stability in today’s economy. Consumers need access to credit in order to lease a car or establish a residency. A lack of credit creates barriers to securing a job, home, or car. Further, routine expenses vary month to month, and on occasion, even a prudent budgeter might need credit if their paycheck does not meet their current obligations.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
See also: Paying a poverty tax: The high cost of being poor in Oklahoma from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma Schools Prepare For ‘Testing Season’
Most of Oklahoma’s public schools started state testing this week, but a few schools are still getting ready. Parents and teachers are working to get the children ready while the schools are making sure they have the computers and test monitors ready. It’s a huge effort that lasts the next two and a half weeks, taking every computer most schools can find to handle the demand.
Oklahoma gave Common Core an ‘F,’ but its teachers still give it an ‘A’
Common Core may no longer be law in Oklahoma, but it has not disappeared from the classrooms. Heather Sparks, Oklahoma’s 2009 Teacher of the Year, teaches eighth-grade math. In her classroom at Taft Junior High School, students gather at round tables to mold chunks of play dough into spheres, cubes, cylinders, pyramids and cones.
Why Governor Fallin put her former opponent in charge of improving the child welfare system
It was a good move on the part of Governor Fallin to put her former opponent, former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins, in charge of improving the Oklahoma child welfare system and implementing the Pinnacle Plan at the Department of Human Services.
Oklahoma governor signs measure banning abortion procedure
Oklahoma has become the second state to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure that critics describe as dismembering a fetus. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed the legislation Monday after it was overwhelmingly approved by the House and Senate.
Oklahoma Senate gives final passage to proton therapy bill
Legislation that prohibits health insurers from holding proton radiation cancer therapy to a higher standard of clinical effectiveness than other radiation treatments received final approval in the Oklahoma Senate on Monday. The Senate voted 36-9 for the House-passed measure following assurances from the bill’s author that the measure is not an insurance mandate, sending it to Gov. Mary Fallin for her signature.
Experimental coating linked to bridge closure
An experimental coating applied to a 78-year-old LeFlore County bridge may have contributed to premature structural damage that forced the bridge’s closure, a state bridge engineer told The Oklahoman. State Transportation Department officials declared an emergency March 27 and ordered the closure of the State Highway 83 bridge over the Kansas City Southern rail line after discovering severe corrosion damage to the ends of interior beams.
Recent rainfall is first step in alleviating effects of drought in Oklahoma
A burst of moisture over the weekend and Monday is the first step in alleviating effects of drought throughout the state, weather experts said. “This burst of moisture will probably do wonders for our agriculture folks,” state climatologist Gary McManus said Monday. The western part of the state — the driest and worst hit area of drought — received totals from about one-half inch to more than 4 inches of rainfall.
Almost 100 years later, a funeral is held for mental health hospital fire victims in Norman, Oklahoma.
It was the funeral that William Altgeld, Chester Austin, Henry Breedlove and John Creston never got. A remembrance that Walter Eckles, Robert Fanning and Pete Gvasdanogitch never received. These men were among the 40 patients of a state psychiatric hospital who were victims of one of the deadliest fires in Oklahoma history.
Quote of the Day
“We do not believe it is reasonable for a 73-year-old insurance executive to be involved in a dangerous undercover sting operation. We do not believe it is reasonable for Bob Bates to be carrying a gun that was not issued by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. We do not believe it is reasonable — or responsible — for Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office to accept gifts from a wealthy citizen who wants to be a ‘pay to play’ cop.”
-Statement from the family of Eric Harris, who was killed when a Tulsa Sheriff’s Office donor serving as a ‘reserve deputy’ shot him in the back after pulling a gun instead of a Taser (Source)
Number of the Day
2.07
Average number of personal exemptions claimed on Oklahoma tax returns in 2013, 10th highest in the U.S.
Source: TRAC.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Fewer Prisoners, a Better Economy
Imprisonment imposes a huge burden on the U.S. economy. First, it can cost more than $30,000 to keep a person in prison for a year. Next, there is the forgone income that prisoner would have earned had he or she been outside and working. Some of that gets made up in the form of forced prisoner labor, but even if we put aside the moral problem of using prisoners as slaves, it must be the case that this labor is being used suboptimally. But the biggest cost may be the impact on the prisoner’s lifetime earning capacity. It’s extremely hard to get a good job after you get out of prison.
Read more from Bloomberg View.
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