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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 a judge blocked a measure that would have forced women to show identification when buying emergency contraceptives and required girls under 17 to have a prescription for the medication. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit seeking to have a monument displaying the Ten Commandments removed from the state Capitol grounds.
A Boy Scout Troop at the Oklahoma City Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church is accepting a national decision to allow gay Scouts. Oklahoma is launching a $3.8 million pilot program to reduce state employee health costs by offering cash incentives to adhere to evidence-based care and health behaviors.
The OK Policy Blog discussed how the number of state employees in Oklahoma remains well below the levels of the decade before the Great Recession. NewsOK writes that Oklahoma revenue growth needs to accelerate to avoid a shortfall this fiscal year. An Oklahoma City street newspaper is helping give a voice to the city’s homeless population.
The Number of the Day is the number of prescription drug overdose deaths in 2012. In today’s Policy Note, the Economic Policy Institute discusses how 50 years after the March on Washington for civil rights and economic justice, the economic gaps between whites and people of color remain as large as ever.
In The News
Judge blocks Oklahoma contraception law
A judge blocked a measure Monday that would have forced women to show identification when buying “morning after” emergency contraceptives and required girls under 17 to have a prescription for the medication. The law was scheduled to take effect Thursday. The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights is seeking to overturn the law, saying it is unconstitutional and discriminates against women.
ACLU sues to have Ten Commandments monument removed from state Capitol
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma on Monday filed suit seeking to have a monument displaying the Ten Commandments removed from the state Capitol grounds. Plaintiffs in the suit are Bruce Prescott of Norman, James Huff of Oklahoma County, Donald Chabot of Oklahoma City and Cheryl Franklin of Enid. The Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission is named as the defendant in the suit filed in Oklahoma County District Court. The monument was paid for with $10,000 donated by Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, and his family, and $10,000 raised privately.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma City Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church chooses to accept gay Boy Scouts
With the decision to allow gay Scouts into the organization being approved in late May, many chapters of the Boy Scouts of America have struggled to keep their charters with churches who are against homosexuality. But at the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church in Oklahoma City, things continue as normal.
State to test program to reduce employee health costs
A $3.8 million pilot program is to start on Jan. 1 to see whether it can lower health care costs for 15,000 Oklahoma state employees and their families. The program by MedEncentive was authorized in the 2011 legislative session and will be open to some workers taking part in the HealthChoice program. The Internet-based wellness product by MedEncentive gives patients information about their health and tests them on it. Patients using MedEncentive get a portion of their co-payments waived. Physicians, who are rated by patients based on their adherence to recommended care, are paid an extra $15 per office visit.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
State’s workforce stabilizes but remains well below pre-downturn levels
After three straight years of steep drops, the total number of state government employees edged up in FY 2013. However, the number of state workers staffing correctional facilities, inspecting restaurant and nursing homes, serving victims of abuse and neglect, and performing other public functions remains far below pre-downturn peaks and even below levels of twelve years ago. Compared to 2001, the state workforce is 1,534 employees smaller, even as the state’s population has grown by some 330,000 people.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
NewsOK: Oklahoma revenue growth may need to accelerate to avoid shortfalls
The state Office of Management and Enterprise Services reports Oklahoma’s general revenue fund collections in July were 5.3 percent higher than collections in July 2012. That’s a good start for the state fiscal year, which launched in July. But that healthy growth may have to accelerate to avoid shortfalls. A report by the National Conference of State Legislatures identifies Oklahoma as one of only three states forecasting revenue increases greater than 5 percent in fiscal year 2014. The NCSL report notes Oklahoma is forecasting 5.6 percent growth. Thus, 5.3 percent growth won’t get the job done.
Street newspaper gives voice to Oklahoma City’s homeless
At first blush, it’d be easy to mistake Merl Childs for a panhandler. He’s skinny in a way that comes from long-term hunger, not from fad diets and recreational running. He stands alone in the heat outside OU Medical Center, sweat coursing down his face, arms and legs. He’s not begging anymore. He’s out here, boiling in the sun, because it’s his job. For the past several weeks, Childs has been an independent contractor for Oklahoma City’s newest publication, The Curbside Chronicle, a magazine-style “street newspaper” that combines general-interest features with stories about and by homeless people.
Quote of the Day
When you see someone you don’t agree with, people’s instinct is to turn them away. In reality you are better doing the opposite. You should look at them and say, ‘let’s talk.’
-Christopher Wood, leader of a Boy Scout Troop at the Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church in Oklahoma City. The church is accepting a decision to allow gay Scouts into the organization. (Source: http://bit.ly/17GW35a)
Number of the Day
578
The number of prescription drug overdose deaths in 2012, down from 807 in 2011
Source: Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics via Altus Times
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The Unfinished March
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Millions of Americans know that speech well enough to paraphrase its concluding passages. But there were nine other speeches that day, calling not just for legal rights, but for jobs and a living wage. On this 50th anniversary year of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it is critical to revisit this forgotten history of the march.
Read more from Economic Policy Institute.
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