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In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
Oklahoma News
With Senate out, House starts override of one tribal compact veto, extends special session: In a short floor session today, Oklahoma House members voted to override Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of a bill extending state-tribal motor vehicle compacts and to extend their special legislative session through July 31. [NonDoc]
- Oklahoma House overrides Stitts tribal tags veto as OKPOP hopes fade [Tulsa World]
- It could take weeks to override Gov. Stitt’s vetoes of tribal compact extensions. Here’s why. [The Oklahoman]
State Government News
Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed new medical marijuana regulations. What was included in the bill?: Gov. Kevin Stitt has vetoed a medical marijuana regulation bill that would have added restrictions on who can get patient cards and how much THC can be in a single serving. The bill also included several other provisions meant to curtail illegal operations and, according to its author, move Oklahoma toward a true medical program. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma attorney general seeks poultry suit mediation: Oklahoma’s lawsuit against major poultry producers could go to federal mediation if the state’s attorney general gets his wish. [Tulsa World]
Federal Government News
Supreme Court Upholds Federal Provision Barring Racial Gerrymandering: In a 5-4 ruling issued late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Alabama illegally packed Black voters into a single congressional district following the 2020 Census and must redraw its maps to create a second minority-majority district. [Oklahoma Watch]
Tribal Nations News
The Indian Child Welfare Act has been in place for nearly 45 years. Why is it being questioned now?: The U. S. Supreme Court will decide on a pivotal case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act in the coming weeks. The case is called Haaland v. Brackeen and centers on a Texas couple who successfully adopted a Navajo child but are now arguing before the court that the 45-year-old law is unconstitutional because it prevents non-Native families from adopting Native children. [KOSU]
In close runoff, Comanche Nation citizens unseat two incumbents: Comanche Nation citizens elected a new tribal attorney and a new Business Committee representative in a runoff election Saturday that saw some of the tribe’s slimmest electoral margins in more than four years, according to unofficial results released Sunday. [NonDoc]
Voting and Election News
Oklahoma special elections preview: voters in 14 counties head to polls: Voters in 14 Oklahoma counties will head to the polls today for special elections. In Cleveland County, Norman voters will decide whether to raise their water rates. If the proposition passes, most customers bills’ would increase by about $5 a month. The city would use the money to fund water line improvements. Norman is the only large city in Oklahoma that requires a city-wide vote to raise water rates. [KOSU]
Trump lashes out at Kevin Stitt for endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Donald J. Trump lashed out at Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday for endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, implying that Stitt had been desperate for his endorsement and won reelection because of it. [The Oklahoman]
- Stitt defends DeSantis endorsement after criticism from Trump [KGOU]
Health News
Column: Summer can present mental health challenges for teens: Besides the well-known summer slide — a loss of academic skills gained during the year ― many young people need the structure of school, daily nutrition and caring adults to thrive. [Teena Belcik Guest Column / The Oklahoman]
Criminal Justice News
Tulsa Police Defy Department Policy By Hiding Internal Investigation: Tulsa police officers heckled a great-grandmother in the throes of a bipolar episode and then tackled her in October 2021. Public outrage over video of the incident prompted the department to launch an investigation into its officers nearly six months after the arrest. [Oklahoma Watch]
Economy & Business News
Local companies received funds from Oklahoma Department of Commerce: Pope Distributing and Wako LLC recently received funds from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in an effort to diversify the economy and promote product development, according to Enid Regional Development Alliance. [Enid News & Eagle]
Poll may shape Oklahoma’s workforce, business policies: While a clear majority of Oklahoma business leaders polled recently expressed optimism that the state is headed in the right direction, many also expressed concerns about the quality of the state’s workforce and their ability to recruit and retain people with skills needed to fill jobs. [Journal Record]
Education News
After state board approves first taxpayer-funded Catholic school, Hindus seek same: As Oklahoma pushes ahead with plans for the first ever taxpayer-funded Catholic public charter school, some say other religions should be included. [KGOU]
- Religious charter schools: Non-Christian groups explore ways to apply [The Oklahoman]
- Column: Taxpayer-funded Catholic school could be unconstitutional [Joe Hight / Journal Record]
New president named to lead University of Science & Art of Oklahoma: A new president has been named to lead the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha. Kayla Hale was selected to serve as the 13th president of the liberal arts college. Beginning Aug. 1, she will succeed John Feaver, who earlier this year announced plans for retirement after serving as USAO’s president for the past two decades. [Journal Record]
Former adviser sues OU, department chair for ‘pervasive’ sexual harassment: A former academic adviser at the University of Oklahoma is suing the school and her former department chair, saying she had to resign from her job because of relentless sexual harassment. [The Oklahoman]
General News
- Illinois becomes first state to outlaw book bans [The Black Wall Street Times]
Oklahoma Local News
- Tulsa will pay you to live there. And you’ll love it. [Vox]
Quote of the Day
“I think fundamentally, what we have seen over the last several years is that there is a concerted effort on the part of a conservative group that is looking to unwind federal Indian law from the standpoint of this political classification that I’ve talked about and have matters of Indian law and Indian tribes treated as a racial classification. And really that’s the real danger associated with this case.”
– William Norman, an attorney who represents tribal nations and tribal organizations throughout the country, talking about the motives behind the Haaland v. Brackeen case before the U.S. Supreme Court and the impending ruling on the future of the Indian Child Welfare Act. [KOSU]
- From OK Policy: Tribal-state coordination to prioritize Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare is one way to improve child well-being
Number of the Day
85.4
In 2018, Oklahoma landlords filed an average of 85.4 evictions per day. [Eviction Lab]
Policy Note
When it’s cheap to file an eviction case, tenants pay the price: We find that the cost of filing an eviction case has a clear and powerful effect on how often landlords turn to the courts. Specifically, increasing the filing fee by $100 reduces the eviction filing rate by 2.25 percentage points. For context, the eviction filing rate in the median neighborhood in our sample is 3.3%. That $100 increase to the filing fee would more than halve its number of eviction cases. It would also drive down the eviction judgment rate by 0.64 percentage points, directly helping to keep tenants in their homes. [Eviction Lab]
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