OKPOLICY.ORG
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. Click here to subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
Gov. Mary Fallin’s office won’t say if the state has a plan to help thousands of Oklahomans who might be priced out of health insurance if their subsidies are struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. NewsOK reported that several top Oklahoma Republicans who are embracing Insure Oklahoma as their alternative to the Affordable Care Act had voted against the program when it was first created. Gov. Fallin and several of her cabinet officials have left for an 11-day economic development tour in France, Germany, and Italy.
Gov. Mary Fallin has vetoed SB 410, an expansion of who can be charged under the Youthful Offender Act, which she said would have caused Oklahoma to imprison more youth than ever before. NewsOK examined how Oklahomans suffering a mental health crisis often end up handcuffed in the back of a police car without having ever committed a crime. On the OK Policy Blog, Steve Lewis discussed why legislators have made it harder on themselves to provide teacher pay raises.
Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said he will try again next year to get the Legislature to have a budget-only session every other year. Extensive interior repairs and refurbishment of the state Capitol, which had been planned to begin next year, will start next month. The Oklahoma Ethics Commission voted to investigate state Sen. Rick Brinkley for possible ethics violations involving his campaign funds. Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. has energized the first part of a 2.5-megawatt solar power pilot project that will power about 500 homes.
The Number of the Day is 2.00% – the percentage increase in housing units in Oklahoma from 2010 (1,666,093) to 2014 (1,699,438). In today’s Policy Note, CityLab examines the merits and failures of place-based initiatives, which focus on revitalizing particular low-income areas without challenging the forces that created the economic inequality and widespread poverty in the first place.
In The News
Does state have plans if thousands lose insurance subsidies?
Gov. Mary Fallin’s office won’t say if the state has a plan to help thousands of Oklahomans who might be priced out of health insurance if their subsidies are struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. However, an independent consulting firm is predicting Fallin would come under “immense” political pressure by Oklahomans unable to keep their insurance.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Some Oklahoma Republican officials defend health care program they once opposed
It is a health insurance program heavily subsidized by the government that allows individuals to buy coverage they couldn’t otherwise afford. Obamacare? Nope. The program is called Insure Oklahoma, and some state Republican officials — particularly Gov. Mary Fallin — have embraced it in the past few years and pushed the Obama administration to keep it alive. A few years ago, however, some of the same Republicans defending it now voted against the program.
Gov. Mary Fallin will lead Oklahoma group at Paris Air Show
Gov. Mary Fallin will lead a delegation to the Paris Air Show and then will continue her economic development mission with stops in Germany and Italy. She left Friday and returns June 23. Oklahoma’s delegation will include Secretary of Commerce and Tourism Deby Snodgrass and Secretary of Science and Technology Stephen McKeever, said Alex Weintz, a spokesman for the governor.
Fallin vetoes changes to youthful offender law
Gov. Mary Fallin has vetoed SB 410, a measure that allows juveniles charged as an accessory in a crime to be handled through the youthful offender system. If they act out or commit crimes during their period of supervision, the state has a path to sentence them as an adult and send them to prison. In her veto message Friday, Fallin said the bill would dramatically increase the offenses punishable under the Youthful Offender Act and have the likely effect of imprisoning more youth than ever before.
Mental health transport crisis: Back of police car may not be best solution, experts say
Enid Police Chief Brian O’Rourke looked over at the dispatcher screen and noticed an officer being sent on a mental health call. These calls are common, almost daily. An officer responds to a call about a resident suffering from a mental illness or substance use disorder who is in crisis, and then the officer likely drives more than 100 miles across Oklahoma to take that resident to a treatment facility.
Fear of sound bite motivates bad budget decisions (Capitol Updates)
Some legislative leaders are already saying they hope to find the money for teacher raises next session. But they missed an opportunity this year to make that less difficult. By allowing a tax cut to go into effect they lost $50 million this year and $147 million next year for the revenue base. One has to wonder why legislators who obviously are sincere in their desire to better fund our schools would make it harder on themselves to do so.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma lawmaker will push again for policy-only session every other year
One problem of the Oklahoma Legislature: Too much legislating. That’s the assessment of Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, who favors limiting consideration of policy bills to every other year, while continuing to focus on the state budget yearly. His Senate Joint Resolution 30, which would bring the issue to a statewide vote, cleared the Senate in the recently concluded session, but failed to get a hearing in the House.
Early start for Capitol work
Extensive interior repairs and refurbishment of the state Capitol, which had been planned to begin next year, will start next month, project leaders said Thursday. First on the list: Oklahoma Senate and House staff space on the first and third floors. Specific architectural drawings and costs for that work are not available, said John Estus, a spokesman for the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
State Ethics Commission to investigate Sen. Rick Brinkley
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Friday voted to investigate state Sen. Rick Brinkley for possible ethics violations involving his campaign funds. Brinkley, R-Owasso, could be required to pay a civil penalty of up to $50,000 if found in violation of the ethics rule governing use of campaign contributions. The rule prohibits a candidate from converting contributions to any personal use.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. embarks on 2.5-megawatt solar pilot project
Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. has seen the light. The utility last month energized the first part of a 2.5-megawatt solar pilot project near its Mustang generating plant that will pull enough energy from the sun to power about 500 homes. Oklahoman OG&E also put out a request for information on 50 megawatts of solar generation to test the market for pricing on a larger scale.
Quote of the Day
My standard rhetorical question is — would it be OK if somebody in a diabetic coma or some sort of medical crisis always had to be transported across the state? And would we be OK with … laying them down in the back of a sheriff’s vehicle while we transport them?
-Mental Health Association Oklahoma Executive Director Mike Brose, speaking how Oklahomans suffering a mental health crisis often end up handcuffed in the back of a police car without having ever committed a crime (Source).
Number of the Day
2.00%
Percent increase in the number of housing units in Oklahoma from 2010 (1,666,093) to 2014 (1,699,438).
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The Failures and Merits of Place-Based Initiatives
Is it time to kick programs like Promise Zones and Choice Neighborhoods to the curb? Are these place-based initiatives, which funnel streams of resources to neighborhoods of concentrated poverty and racial segregation, futile in the face of rapidly expanding wealth gaps? Yes and yes, says Occidental College urban studies scholar Peter Dreier.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
