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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 Pardon and Parole Board is putting early and special consideration paroles on hold until legal questions over possible Open Meetings violations are resolved. Oklahoma’s unemployment rate rose again in August, reaching 5.1 percent. The deal-closing fund in Tulsa County’s Vision2 proposal could end up with more than three times as much money as official estimates show.
A computer error has caused thousands of Oklahomans to lose their health insurance coverage from SoonerCare. Oklahoma is among the top five states in use and cost of prescription painkillers. A nationally-known sex education program is being implemented to reduce teen pregnancy at Union Public Schools. Wayne Greene discussed the huge cuts to core services in Kansas resulting from income tax cuts.
The daughter of revered civil rights leader Clara Luper said a proposed constitutional amendment to ban affirmative action programs in the state would set back her mother’s work of remedying inequalities. The OK Policy Blog recently debunked myths surrounding affirmative action in Oklahoma. The Norman Transcript examined State Question 765 to reform the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. OK Policy previously discussed how due to ambiguities in the legislation and ballot language, it appear SQ 765 could abolish DHS. Find more on all of the state questions at our 2012 State Questions page.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of college students in Oklahoma who graduated with student loan debt in 2010. In today’s Policy Note, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shares state tax policy tools that can help move people out of poverty.
In The News
Early, special parole dockets put on hold
A statewide moratorium on certain types of clemency has caused confusion in recent weeks, though it affects a relatively small portion of Oklahoma’s inmates. In the wake of disputes over whether the Pardon and Parole Board wrongly considered certain inmates for commutations or early paroles, Gov. Mary Fallin asked the board to place a moratorium on any early or special consideration dockets until all legal questions were resolved. In August, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater accused the board of “deceptive” practices when placing inmates on a list for early parole consideration without proper advance notice under Oklahoma’s Open Meetings Act. He named 50 inmates whose parole hearings he said were invalid because the board did not give enough public notice.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Despite bump in Oklahoma unemployment rate, jobs report ‘still a positive sign,’ analyst says
Oklahoma’s unemployment rate rose again in August, reaching 5.1 percent, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. Last month’s rate was up from 4.9 percent in July and 4.7 percent in June. The rate was 6.3 percent in August 2011. Even with the bump-up, economists say the monthly report was positive because the state saw gains in both its labor force and jobs. “It’s really not a bad report,” said Lynn Gray, the OESC’s chief economist. Oklahoma’s gain of 10,400 nonfarm jobs – growth of 0.7 percent – from July to August was tied for the largest percentage increase in the nation, according to the BLS. Hawaii and Missouri also posted 0.7 percent gains.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Vision2’s closing fund could triple, City Council analysis shows
The deal-closing fund in the Nov. 6 Vision2 proposal could end up with more than three times as much money as official estimates show, a City Council analysis indicates. As put forward by the Vision2 campaign, the fund is projected to amount to $54.942 million over the 13-year course of the sales tax. The fund is designed to pay for incentives for potential employers and has been the target of much of the public criticism of the Vision2 package. The estimate is based on no growth in sales-tax collections – no inflation and no increase in economic activity – over the run of the tax, but the council analysis shows that Tulsa County sales-tax collections have grown an average of 2.44 percent a year during the past 12 years. Based on that rate of growth, the City Council analysis projects that the closing fund would raise $172.867 million over the course of the tax. City Councilor Blake Ewing said that with the way Proposition 1 on the Vision2 ballot is worded, no more than $122 million could be spent on building and infrastructure projects at the Tulsa airport industrial complex and no more than $132 million could be spent on equipment there. But there is no cap on the closing fund.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Thousands lose SoonerCare following computer glitch
A computer error has caused thousands of Oklahomans to lose their health insurance coverage from the state. Oklahoma Health Care Authority officials said Friday a computer glitch prevented the agency from verifying income of families who applied online for SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program. The computer error was not discovered for more than a year. As a result of correcting the error, thousands of children and adults have been dropped from SoonerCare. In June 2012, the OHCA sent out 12,000 letters notifying clients they were not eligible and their benefits were terminated. About 4,000 were able to get their benefits reinstated. Of the 8,000 who were dropped, more than 4,900 were children, and the rest were adults, ages 19 to 63.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
Oklahoma in top five states in prescription pain drug use, cost
A recent study by a large pharmacy benefit management organization showed Oklahoma among the top five states in use and cost of prescription painkillers. Oklahomans used enough prescription narcotics to provide one prescription for each member covered by the benefit manager, Express Scripts. The state ranks second to Alabama in highest use. The average cost per member per year was almost $60, according to the study, which does not include medications billed to Medicare, Medicaid or worker’s compensation. That was highest in the nation.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Union program helps students make better choices, prevent pregnancies
When asked to describe the Carrera program, Union seventh-graders don’t mention sex education. They talk about their new savings accounts started with $50. They mention field trips to the University of Tulsa and space center. They recount the specifics of what makes a bully and steps they use to get along with family and friends. But the prevention program also includes a sex education component, which bucks the trend in Oklahoma schools. The class is an effort to help educate students in a state with teen birth rates that have historically been among the top in the nation, according to the National Vital Statistics and Centers for Disease Control. Oklahoma stands at No. 5 in births among those 15-19 and No. 2 among 18-to-19-year-olds.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tax cuts, Medicaid, and a complicated decision for Fallin
I wonder if Gov. Mary Fallin is keeping an eye on the neighbors. When she called for dramatically rolling back the state’s income tax rates this year, she was. Texas has no income tax, and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback had proposed cutting that state’s top income tax rate from 6.45 percent to 4.9 percent, she pointed out. Her promise: Critical government services – schools, road, public safety – would still get enough money. An odd series of events resulted in no cut at all. Brownback was more successful, and it turns out his tax cut is going to cost the Kansas state budget $2.5 billion in revenue over five years, according to the Kansas City Star. Now Brownback’s administration has told state agencies to anticipate a 10 percent budget cut next year. The state’s per-pupil school funding is down, and 54 school districts are suing the state, alleging it is failing to cover basic costs of education.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Amendment to end affirmative action draws protest
The daughter of revered civil rights leader Clara Luper told a crowd at Langston University that a proposed constitutional amendment to ban affirmative action programs in the state would set back her mother’s work of remedying inequalities. “It’s hard to win a race when you start out behind. It’s hard to have equal pay as a woman,” Marilyn Luper Hildreth said. Oklahoma voters will decide in November whether to prohibit the use of affirmative action in state government hiring practices, contracting and education. Oklahoma law currently does not allow for quotas when hiring or awarding contracts. And the state’s public universities don’t use race as a factor during the admissions process. However, the Office of Equal Opportunity Workforce Diversity, a part of the Office of Personnel Management, tracks diversity in state government and requires each state agency to submit affirmative action plans. An analysis of 33,405 employees in 115 reporting state agencies found that overall Oklahoma hires minorities at a slightly lower rate than the private sector, but hires women at a higher rate.
See also: 7 Things You (Probably) Don’t Know About Affirmative Action from the OK Policy Blog
SQ 765 will reform child welfare
State Question 765, if approved by voters, will allow for radical reform of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. A class action lawsuit styled as D.G. vs. Yarbrough was filed in February 2008 on behalf of nine children by attorneys hired by nonprofit Children’s Rights Inc. That lawsuit brought DHS deficiencies into the headlines over the course of the next four years. Investigations into DHS Child Protective Services resulting from that lawsuit sent shockwaves through the state. Oklahoma legislators and Gov. Mary Fallin rose to the challenge, bringing to the vote of the people a ballot question that, if approved, will allow the state to radically restructure the Department of Human Services. Linda Terrell, former director of Norman-based Center for Children and Families Inc. and current executive director for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, said this is a change that’s time has come.
Read more from the Norman Transcript.
Quote of the Day
It’s a regular thing and it’s going to happen one day, so why not talk about it?
–13-year-old Tyler Oates, who is taking a sex education program at Union Public Schools. Union is one of the only Oklahoma schools offering sex education, even though the program has been shown to be effective at reducing teen pregnancy.
Number of the Day
56 percent
Percentage of college students in Oklahoma who graduated with student loan debt in 2010, compared to 58 percent nationally.
Source: Institute for College Access and Success
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
State Tax Codes As Poverty Fighting Tools
New Census Bureau data released this month show that the national poverty rate is 15 percent, essentially unchanged since 2010. This means that in 2011, 46.2 million, or about 1 in 6 Americans, lived in poverty. Vermont is the only state to experience a decrease in the share of residents living poverty. All other states either saw an increase in the poverty rate (17 states) or held steady. Astonishingly, state tax policies in virtually every state are making this problem worse rather than better. When all the taxes imposed by state and local governments are taken into account, almost every state imposes higher effective tax rates on low-income families than on upper- income taxpayers. Despite this unlevel playing field state tax systems already create for their poorest residents, many state policymakers have recently proposed (and in some cases enacted) tax increases on the poor as a way to either close budget gaps or finance tax cuts for their wealthiest residents. There is a better approach, just as state and local tax policies can push individuals and families further into poverty, there are tax policy tools available that can help them move out of poverty.
Read more from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
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