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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 House Democrats called on Republicans to abandon tax-cut efforts and put the money into raises for corrections employees and state troopers. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett spoke about how the city has prospered after voters approved a series of tax-funded public works projects. David Blatt writes in the Journal Record that there are signs the revenue growth prediction for next year may be too optimistic.
On the OK Policy Blog, we discuss how a bill to move all Soonercare recipients into managed care would return Oklahoma to a model that was already tried and failed in the 1990s. The bribery trial for former legislators Randy Terrill and Debbe Leftwich has been scheduled to begin October 21st.
A joint session of the Legislature was held to honor Oklahoma veterans and active and reserve service members. The chairman of the Oklahoma Veterans Council apologized to veterans who live in the state’s seven veterans centers for failing to protect them. OK Policy previously explained why accepting federal dollars to extend Medicaid would help Oklahoma veterans.
The Number of the Day is how many Oklahoma children are living in working families earning below the poverty level. In today’s Policy Note, Atlantic Cities shows that the rise of charter schools is causing enrollment in private schools to fall.
In The News
House Dems push public safety funding instead of tax cuts
House Democrats on Wednesday called on Republicans to abandon tax-cut efforts and put the money into raises for corrections employees and state troopers. Gov. Mary Fallin has proposed reducing the state income tax to 5 percent from 5.25 percent a year, which House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City, noted would cost $120 million and give the average Oklahoman $39 per year. Meanwhile, staffing numbers for corrections employees and state troopers are very low because of low pay, he said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett talks about city’s turnaround
An economy-wrecking bank failure, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history and being tagged as one of the nation’s fattest communities all helped make Oklahoma City the success it is today, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said Wednesday. The city has prospered after voters approved a series of tax-funded public works projects – including reconstruction of the city’s downtown core, improvements to public schools and amenities to make the community more livable – but Cornett said those successful campaigns stemmed from trouble.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Prosperity Policy: Proceed with caution
With just more than two months remaining in the 2013 session, legislative leaders will soon turn to constructing next year’s budget. Last week’s announcement of disappointing revenue collections means the task may be more challenging and the perils greater than anticipated. February collections to the general revenue fund were 10 percent below last year and 7 percent less than the certified estimate. For the eight months of the fiscal year to date, revenues are running below last year, although they remain slightly above the estimate. Since Oklahoma’s economy continues to grow at a healthy rate, what accounts for our sluggish tax collections?
Read more from the Journal Record.
Lessons unlearned?
Last week, the House passed HB 1552 by Rep. Mark McCullough, R-Sapulpa. Inspired by Florida’s Medicaid managed care program, the bill would move the entire statewide Medicaid population, including seniors and persons with disabilities who are receiving long-term care, into managed care plans. If implemented, Oklahoma would be among a small handful of states attempting to serve its entire population through managed care plans. The result of this bill would be a complete overhaul of SoonerCare. Yet we already tried this idea in Oklahoma on a much smaller scale, and it didn’t work.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma ex-legislators’ bribery trial set for Oct. 21
The bribery trial for two former legislators has been scheduled for October but their defense attorneys want a judge to dismiss the case before then. Former state Rep. Randy Terrill, 43, of Moore, is charged with offering a bribe to a candidate to withdraw. Former state Sen. Debbe Leftwich, 61, of Oklahoma City, is charged with soliciting and/or accepting a bribe to withdraw. Terrill’s attorney already has filed two legal motions asking the trial judge for a dismissal. He argues, for instance, that prosecutors have no evidence whatsoever that Terrill ever offered or gave anything to Leftwich for any reason.
Oklahoma veterans, service members honored at joint legislative session
A joint session of the Oklahoma Legislature was held Wednesday to honor Oklahoma veterans and active and reserve service members. “On behalf of the Senate and my colleagues, I want to tell you that I take great pride in the fact that this state has been home to so many willing to give so much in the name of God and country,” Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said. Bingman noted that this week marks the anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, which has resulted in a new generation of heroes.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Chairman of Oklahoma Veterans Council apologizes to veterans
The chairman of the Oklahoma Veterans Council apologized Wednesday to the 1,400 veterans who live in the state’s seven veterans centers for failing to protect them by not checking on their welfare. An 85-year-old veteran, Jay Minter, was scalded in a whirlpool last year at the Claremore Veterans Center and later died. The center was found to be understaffed and had problems such as disorganized mealtimes and dangerously crowded hallways. Other problems include the Ardmore Veterans Center failing to protect five residents from sexual abuse by an employee in 2010 and keeping the employee at work, despite a recommendation that he be fired, and multiple residents at the Norman Veterans Center developing pressure sores. Relief devices for the sores were not provided, and staff could not identify residents at risk.
See also: Extending Medicaid would help Oklahoma veterans from Oklahoma Policy Institute
Quote of the Day
We’re building a city where your kid and grandkid are going to choose to live.
–Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, describing what he says to suburban residents who are against tax-funded projects and don’t like downtown Oklahoma City
Number of the Day
121,840
The number of Oklahoma children living in working families earning below the poverty level, 15.3 percent of the state’s kids
Source: The Working Poor Families Project
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The end of private schools?
The number of students enrolled in private schools has dropped precipitously in the last decade, from 5.3 million children in 2002 to 4.7 million in 2012. In 2005, 10.7 percent of children were in private school; that number fell to 10 percent in 2010. The knee-jerk reaction to this news is to blame the recession. But according to new research from Stephanie Ewert of the U.S. Census Bureau, the real reason for this shift isn’t belt-tightening (in fact, Ewert found that short-term economic highs and lows have very little impact on private school enrollment), but rather the rise of charters, especially in major cities. Ewert found a significant negative correlation between enrollment trends in charter schools and private schools. In other words, as a city’s charter school network expands, enrollment in private schools decline.
Read more from Atlantic Cities.
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