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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.
An upcoming US Supreme Court case could threaten health insurance for nearly 100,000 Oklahomans who bought insurance on the federal exchange. In NewsOK, Ruth Marcus explained why the court challenge distorts the meaning of the law and endangers states’ rights. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt wrote an op-ed defending the court challenge. An ongoing legal fight between OU Medical Center and Oklahoma County over who should pay for jail inmates’ emergency medical care is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court. A Tulsa County Undersheriff accused Mayor Dewey Bartlett of “malicious and unethical” behavior for questioning whether the Sheriff’s Office could be trusted to provide accurate financial information for a jail audit.
A bill that would require doctors to check a patient database before writing prescriptions for highly addictive drugs could be strengthened, but key legislators think the measure probably will sail through unchanged. The Oklahoma Board of Education has decided students can continue to sell unhealthy snacks at school fundraisers, granting schools the ability to set local exemptions to the federal Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The chief financial officer for Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. and OK Policy board member Don Millican argued in the Tulsa World that Oklahoma should ban smoking in public places.
Critics challenged Oklahoma Gas & Electric’s petition to charge $1 billion more from its customers, which would raise utility rates by as much as 20 percent by the end of 2019. Public Radio Tulsa examined battles in other state over a ‘Right to Farm’ proposal that could appear on Oklahoma’s ballot in 2016. More than 150 Oklahoma Muslims came to the Capitol Friday for the first Oklahoma Muslim Day. About 50 interfaith supporters helped escort the Muslims past 20 protesters chanting anti-Islamic slogans. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department has released a 75-page guide and website highlighting the state’s black history and culture.
Tulsa and Oklahoma City Chambers of Commerce leaders said embarrassing bills by the Oklahoma Legislature that have made the national news are hurting efforts to recruit business to the state. In the Tulsa World, Wayne Greene wrote that Oklahoma’s State Constitution is out of date in many ways, but a proposed constitutional convention dominated by state legislators could be even worse. The okeducationtruths blog shared arguments for replacing Oklahoma’s End of Instruction tests with the ACT.
A new study shows Oklahoma City is part of a new national trend where a half century of job growth in sprawling suburbia is coming to an end while employment is surging downtown. Chesapeake Energy Corp. shares plunged 10% Wednesday as the company told investors that it would scale back its rig operations to 2004 levels. Because of falling oil prices, SandRidge Energy is cutting the number of its drilling rigs from 32 to 7. The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma students beginning college in 2012 who stayed in state, the 8th highest in the nation. In today’s Policy Note, the Washington Post examines why most companies are rewarding shareholders instead of investing in the real economy.
In The News
Health insurance for 100,000 Oklahomans hinges on Supreme Court case
President Barack Obama and members of Congress discussed and debated the Affordable Care Act for several months before it became law in 2010. But somehow there is still a huge question about the mechanics that the U.S. Supreme Court now has to answer. Can people get federal tax subsidies to buy health insurance, no matter what state they live in? In the past few months, nearly 100,000 Oklahomans who bought insurance on the federal exchange have qualified for subsidies to make that coverage more affordable.
See also: In Affordable Care Act case, context is key from NewsOK; Scott Pruitt: Rule of law at heart of Obamacare challenge from NewsOK
Oklahoma County, hospital fight over inmates’ medical bills
An ongoing legal fight between OU Medical Center and Oklahoma County over who should pay for jail inmates’ emergency medical care is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court. The hospital is seeking roughly $3 million from the county to cover the unpaid medicals bills, marking the third time in the past 10 years it has asked the courts to assist in resolving a dispute with Oklahoma County. An Oklahoma County district judge ruled in December that while the Oklahoma County sheriff’s office has a “constitutional duty” to provide medical care to all county jail inmates, there is no complementary duty to force it to pay for that medical care.
Tulsa County undersheriff accuse Mayor Dewey Bartlett of ‘malicious slander’
Little was decided at Friday’s Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority meeting, but a lot was said — much of it incendiary. Undersheriff Tim Albin accused Mayor Dewey Bartlett and City Attorney David O’Meilia of “malicious and unethical” behavior when they questioned whether the Sheriff’s Office could be trusted to provide accurate financial information for a jail audit. Last month, Bartlett and O’Meilia cited an ongoing lawsuit that includes a deposition from a former jail worker accusing Albin and Sheriff Stanley Glanz of hiding documents and moving inmates prior to a 2007 health-care audit of the jail.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma prescription drug monitoring bill unlikely to be strengthened
A bill that would require doctors to check a patient database before writing prescriptions for highly addictive drugs could be strengthened, but key legislators think the measure probably will sail through unchanged. House Bill 1948 By Rep. Doug Cox is intended to help reduce drug addiction and overdose deaths by ensuring people don’t get multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors. The initial database check would be required with the first prescription for three classes of drugs. Subsequent checks would need to be made at least once every 180 days. It’s that six-month period that has some health officials concerned.
Oklahoma education board OKs sugary snack sales in schools
Students can continue to sell unhealthy snacks at school fundraisers, the Oklahoma Board of Education has decided. Board members on Thursday granted schools the ability to set local exemptions to the federal Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that limits the sale of foods high in sugar or salt at schools. The Oklahoman reports the board previously agreed to allow each district 30 fundraiser exemptions per school site per semester for a period of 14 days each. Board members said the regulation rollback lets local communities decide their health needs.
Don Millican: Where rights end
“The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” Though there is debate as to who first uttered that succinct and well-principled quote, it has become integral to our thinking today on individual rights. I have the right to smoke, but I don’t have the right to damage your health or life in the process. Decades of studies have shown conclusively that my exhaled cigarette smoke will threaten your health and, in response, laws and rules are being adopted around the country to eliminate smoking in public places.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
OG&E’s proposed rate increase under fire
Oklahoma Gas & Electric wants an estimated $1 billion more from its customers. But $400 million of that shouldn’t even be in play before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, several groups contend. Trade associations warn the increase could cause small businesses and large industrial customers to lose money, stunting economic development. The company estimated the costs would raise utility rates by as much as 20 percent by the end of 2019.
Read more from The Journal Record.
Oklahoma ‘right to farm’ legislation about more than agricultural practices
Oklahoma voters have at least a year before seeing ads for and against state questions on the ballot in November 2016. But you might want to get used to hearing this phrase now: right-to-farm. It’s a divisive national issue that’s made its way to the Sooner State, one that puts agriculture at odds with environmentalists and animal rights advocates. In Missouri, it was a fight between two sides that loathe each other. The right-to-farm amendment narrowly passed there in 2014, and not until after a recount.
Read more from Public Radio Tulsa.
Proposal for easier ballot access would strengthen elections
Jeff Hickman, speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, is a Republican, no doubt about it. But in offering House Bill 2181, Hickman is acting against his party’s interest, and in the interest of fair elections for everyone. The bill would greatly reduce the required number of signatures for a political party to receive official recognition, meaning the party would have the right to have its candidates listed automatically on the state ballot.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Dozens gather at Capitol for first Oklahoma Muslim day
Imad Enchassi crossed the cold Oklahoma state Capitol parking lot Friday morning nearly in tears. Enchassi, a senior imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, along with more than 150 Oklahoma Muslims, were gathering to meet with lawmakers, discuss issues surrounding their Islamic faith and to pray inside the cavernous rotunda beneath the Capitol dome. What stopped Enchassi, 50, and made him fight back tears was the sight of about 50 members of the Interfaith Alliance — Christians, Jews and Buddhists — standing in solidarity to welcome them inside.
Oklahoma’s black history, culture showcased in new guide
The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department has released a 75-page guide highlighting the state’s black history and culture. The brochure, “Long Road to Liberty: Oklahoma’s African American History and Culture,” explains the influence black history had in shaping the culture of Oklahoma dating back before statehood. The state agency has also launched the Long Road to Liberty page on its website that showcases black history in Oklahoma and other cultural heritage attractions.
See the ‘Long Road to Liberty’ website here.
Embarrassing legislation? It depends on who you ask
Debate continues among legislative leaders and others over some of the proposed bills bringing attention to the state Capitol. House Minority Leader Scott Inman said the current legislative session has been exceptionally embarrassing for the state. Inman said a number of bills that have been filed and passed out of committees have made the national news and put Oklahoma in a negative light.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Wayne Greene: Oklahoma’s Constitution is a leaky old rust bucket, but we should keep it
Oklahoma voters could have an intriguing proposition put before them soon: Should we start over on the state Constitution? House Joint Resolution 1020 asks voters to call a 112-delegate constitutional convention to convene July 10, 2017, at the state Capitol. Rules set out in HJR 1020 would keep the delegates largely bipartisan and carefully divided between the eastern and western sides of the state. Delegates would include legislators, judges, executive branch employees and members of the public selected at random from those applying to serve.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
okeducationtruths: Why I support replacing End of Instruction tests with the ACT
On Twitter and in this blog, I have often expressed support for the idea of eliminating the seven End-of-Instruction tests (EOIs) that our state requires and replacing them with the ACT. I have probably never explicitly spelled out my reasoning, though. While there is probably more momentum throughout Oklahoma for this idea now than there ever has been, I still know many educators, parents, and policy-makers who are not convinced. Fortunately, our new state superintendent is on board with the idea.
Read more from okeducationtruths.
Study shows jobs are moving downtown in Oklahoma City and other metro areas
A new study shows Oklahoma City is part of a new national trend where a half century of job growth in sprawling suburbia is coming to an end while employment is surging downtown. The study by City Observatory in Portland, Ore., also reports that Oklahoma City’s central city employment base represents 17.2 percent of the metro-wide workforce. And while urban core employment in Oklahoma City failed to match job growth in the suburbs from 2002 to 2007, the opposite was true for 2007 to 2011.
Chesapeake Energy cuts rig operations after disappointing earnings
Chesapeake Energy Corp. shares plunged 10% Wednesday as the U.S. shale driller missed earnings expectations and told investors that it would scale back its rig operations to 2004 levels. Chesapeake is the latest energy company to cut back in light of falling crude-oil and natural gas prices. The company will reduce capital expenditures by 37% this year to between $4 billion and $4.5 billion. It will also drop the number of rigs drilling for new oil and gas finds by about 38% to between 35 and 45 rigs.
Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
Sandridge Energy to significantly cut drilling activity in Kansas, Oklahoma
Because of falling oil prices, SandRidge Energy is cutting the number of its drilling rigs to seven by mid-year from the 32 it had on Jan. 1, according to the company’s quarterly financial results press release on Thursday. The Oklahoma City-based company said that it expects to cut its capital expenditures by more than half in 2015. It estimated it would spend $400 million drilling in Woods, Alfalfa and Grant counties in Oklahoma, and Sumner, Harper, Barber and Comanche counties in Kansas, plus another $30 million drilling outside that area.
Read more from The Wichita Eagle.
Quote of the Day
“We will not mince words. [If the subsidies are struck down, it will be] a disaster for millions of lower- and middle-income Americans. The ACA’s subsidies have made it possible for more than 9 million men, women, and children to have health care coverage — some for the first time in years; some, no doubt, for the first time in their lives. [If the subsidies are struck down,] the ranks of the uninsured will swell again, with all that portends in the way of untreated illness and overwhelming debt.”
-The American Hospital Association, in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court for the King v. Burwell case challenging subsidies that have been used by nearly 100,000 Oklahomans to purchase health insurance on healthcare.gov. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Wednesday. (Source)
Number of the Day
88%
Percentage of Oklahoma students beginning college in 2012 who stayed in state, the 8th highest in the nation.
Source: College Board
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Why companies are rewarding shareholders instead of investing in the real economy
If you’ve noticed the steep upward trajectory of the stock market over the past few years, looked around and wondered why cash doesn’t appear to be raining down upon your friends and neighbors, you’d be justified in wondering: What’s going on here? If corporate America is doing so well, shouldn’t we feel like things are getting better, too? In the past several years, profits have been increasingly paid back out to shareholders, rather than invested in hiring more people and paying them better.
Read more from the Washington Post.
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Where Governor Fallin’s latest corrections reform commission will go, too?
http://tbo.com/list/news-opinion-commentary/paula-dockery-privatizing-prisons-could-be-scotts-end-game-20150226/