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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.
The Los Angeles Times examined how reaction to a fraternity’s racist video is reshaping the culture at the University of Oklahoma. A lawyer for the fraternity chapter banished from the University of Oklahoma is seeking “some other resolution to this matter” and, failing that, may take the university to court. Member’s of Oklahoma’s business community said a reputation for racism and offensive bills filed in the Legislature is making it harder to attract business to the state. A federal appeals court has given new life to a Holocaust survivor’s claim that the University of Oklahoma is unjustly harboring a painting that the Nazis stole from her father during World War II.
Governor Fallin’s office released more than 5,000 pages of interview transcripts and other records related to the botched execution of Clayton Lockett. The release is the first public records request provided by the Governor’s office in 11 months, despite a backlog of requests from members of the media and other Oklahomans. A year after the Tulsa World examined hopes for improvement at a high-poverty elementary school, the school is still struggling with many inexperienced new hires and mid-year teacher resignations.
The Tahlequah Daily Press wrote that Oklahoma legislators’ failure to delay another income tax cut in the midst of a huge budget hole is creating a “train wreck.” The Oklahoman editorial board pointed out that one proposal in the Legislature could delay the second round of Oklahoma’s scheduled income tax cuts by instead diverting the money to education. A Kansas legislative committee has broached the idea of reversing part of a big break for business owners to help close a budget shortfall that arose after lawmakers aggressively cut personal income taxes.
The president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association said Oklahoma must work to get more residents health insurance and improve statewide health outcomes in order to achieve the goal of reducing health-care spending. A lawsuit filed Thursday asks the state Supreme Court to find that the State Pension Commission violated the Oklahoma Constitution because two of its seven members are legislators. After almost three years of litigation, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have received the nearly $6.5 million in trust funds frozen since 2012.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma inmates in prison for nonviolent offenses. In today’s Policy Note, the New Yorker surveys several recent books on income inequality in the United States, which has grown wider than in any other democracy in the developed world.
In The News
Furor over Oklahoma fraternity’s racist song may lead to lasting changes
Years ago, a University of Oklahoma fraternity held a series of “Mekong Delta parties,” replete with camouflage, fake machine guns, sandbags and stretchers. Vietnam veterans objected. Later, drunken fraternity members streaked across campus and urinated on a tepee and shouted racial epithets during Native American Week. A Native American student fasted for a week in protest. In each instance, the fraternities said they would take steps to ensure nothing of the sort would happen again. They said they were sorry. University officials punished the perpetrators and urged the campus to move past the ugliness. For years, that was how things worked at OU.
Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Barred Fraternity’s Lawyer Seeks to Alter Punishment
The fraternity chapter banished from the University of Oklahoma and evicted from its house after members were caught on video singing a racist song is seeking “some other resolution to this matter” and, failing that, may take the university to court, the group’s lawyer said Friday. Stephen L. Jones, a lawyer hired by the local Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter did not say whether the fraternity would seek reinstatement, but called for talks with the university to modify its response to the video.
Read more from The New York Times.
Oklahoma boosters advise bad perceptions of Oklahoma are bad for business
Like many Oklahomans, people in the economic development business cringed after blurry cellphone video of the University of Oklahoma fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s racist chant went viral and made national headlines last week. Photo – David Blatt, Oklahoma Policy Institute executive director. When trying to lure new businesses to the area, negative media attention and bad perceptions about the state can be hard to overcome, said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.
NY Court Revives Suit Over Nazi Stolen Art at Oklahoma Univ.
A federal appeals court has given new life to a Holocaust survivor’s claim that the University of Oklahoma is unjustly harboring a Camille Pissarro painting that the Nazis stole from her father during World War II. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan has directed a lower-court judge to consider whether the lawsuit she threw out should be transferred to Oklahoma, saying she has authority to do so.
Records reveal lack of protocol in Clayton Lockett’s Oklahoma execution
Those in charge of carrying out the execution of Clayton Lockett on April 29, 2014, knew it wasn’t going well, documents released Friday to the Tulsa World show. A paramedic and doctor were rapidly trying to find a vein on Clayton Lockett and start an IV to deliver his lethal injection. On that evening, inside the death chamber at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, officials were feeling the pressure with another execution scheduled to start in less than two hours.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Fallin’s Office Didn’t Release Records Sought in Past 11 Months
Until Friday, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s office had not released records requested in the previous 11 months by members of the news media and other groups, according to her office’s catalog of Open Records Act requests. However, in the wake of Oklahoma Watch inquiries this week, Fallin’s office said it would begin releasing numerous documents soon.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
One year later: Hawthorne Elementary still struggling with teacher retention
Estella Bitson thought things would be much different by now. Now in her fourth year as principal at one of the city’s most at-risk schools, Bitson says she is beginning to accept that Hawthorne Elementary School’s reality is one of relentless challenge. Just like every other year since Bitson arrived, inexperienced new hires coupled with mid-year teacher resignations have continued to plague her faculty and poke holes in her school’s climate of academic focus and strict rules for student behavior.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Failure to delay tax cut will take state budget down tubes
Oklahoma’s state budget is been headed toward what has increasingly been described as a “train wreck,” and no one at the statehouse seems to care. Earlier this week, Republicans shot down, 28-72 along party lines, an attempt to delay the tax cuts until the budget stabilizes. There’s no other message to be taken from this, other than the fact that 95 percent of our elected officials don’t give a hoot about common Oklahomans.
Read more from the Tahlequah Daily Press.
Delay of further Oklahoma tax cut now pushed by both parties
Democrats recently attempted to delay a tax cut, but were rebuffed by their Republican colleagues in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. GOP members quickly issued a news release touting the vote as proof that Republicans are fully committed to reducing Oklahomans’ tax burdens. Despite that rhetoric, there’s reason for skepticism. Republican lawmakers have already considered legislation this session to delay another scheduled tax cut, potentially for years.
Kansas senators consider bill to reverse part of big tax cut
A Kansas legislative committee has broached the idea of reversing part of a big break for business owners and farmers to help close a budget shortfall that arose after lawmakers aggressively cut personal income taxes to help stimulate the state’s economy. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee had a hearing Thursday on a bill that would revive the state’s tax on passive business income, including income from rental property.
Read more from the Kansas City Star.
Oklahoma Hospital Association president says health-care industry must be transformed
Oklahoma must work to get more residents health insurance and improve statewide health outcomes in order to achieve the goal of reducing health-care spending, the president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association said Friday. Craig Jones was speaking at a Tulsa Regional Chamber forum on transforming health care. Jones spoke of a move from an emphasis on volume to one of value, and from fee-for-service payments to payment for quality outcomes, calling such changes a paradigm shift in health care.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Lawsuit: State Pension Board Law Violates Constitution
A lawsuit filed Thursday asks the state Supreme Court to find that the State Pension Commission violated the Oklahoma Constitution because two of its seven members are legislators. Oklahoma City Attorney Jerry Fent’s lawsuit said the pension commission is an executive branch entity. He said state Senator Rick Brinkley’s membership on the commission violated the separation of power because Brinkley is a member of the legislative branch.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes receive $6.5 million in frozen funds
After almost three years of litigation, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have received the nearly $6.5 million in trust funds frozen since 2012, the tribes said Wednesday. The Cheyenne and Arapaho stayed afloat by borrowing from their tax commission, furloughing 58 employees and slashing salaries for hundreds more while the money was inaccessible, Cheyenne and Arapaho Lt. Gov. Cornell Sankey said.
Quote of the Day
“Someone in Oklahoma City ought to have the sense God gave a goat, and understand the state government cannot continue to function with this type of shortfall.”
-The Tahlequah Daily Press, in an op-ed criticizing the Legislature for allowing another income tax cut to go forward while the state has a $611 million budget hole (Source)
Number of the Day
51.8%
Percentage of inmates in prison for nonviolent offenses as of December 31, 2014.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Richer and Poorer: Accounting for inequality
Income inequality is greater in the United States than in any other democracy in the developed world. The growth of inequality isn’t inevitable. But, insofar as Americans have been unable to adopt measures to reduce it, the numbers might seem to suggest that the problem doesn’t lie with how Americans treat one another’s kids, as lousy as that is. It lies with Congress.
Read more from The New Yorker.
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