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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. Click here to subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
Today In The News
Judge strikes down Oklahoma law restricting abortion drugs: District Judge Patricia Parrish found that a rule requiring doctors to follow label instructions when prescribing abortion-inducing drugs is unconstitutional because it doesn’t apply to other kinds of medication [Associated Press].
Judge halts new regulations on Osage County oil production: Groups representing the Osage Nation and oil producers operating in Osage County sued the federal government in early July, claiming new rules about to take effect would lead to decreased production and royalties and effectively kill the oil industry in the county [Tulsa World].
Petitioners seek to stop Cherokee hunting-fishing compact with Oklahoma: If they can collect 1,000 signatures, a group of Cherokee Nation citizens could delay a hunting and fishing compact recently signed with the state of Oklahoma. Claiming their sovereignty has been sold out, the group is circulating a petition asking for a full up-or-down vote on the compact [Tulsa World].
New savings initiatives will boost financial security for Oklahoma’s Native Americans: The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) announced a pair of exciting new initiatives for Native American families in Oklahoma. Supported by a $200,000 grant from the Michigan-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation, both initiatives aim to support savings as a way to promote family financial security and opportunity [OK Policy].
10 years of OKC police discipline: In the past decade, the Oklahoma City Police Department has fired, demoted, suspended or accepted the resignations of at least 63 officers for everything from drinking and drug use to consorting with prostitutes to excessive use of force. At a time when police conduct and discipline is coming under review nationwide, The Oklahoman examined discipline meted out to members of the Oklahoma City Police Department in recent years [NewsOK].
Lankford aims to strip federal funds from tribes that cultivate or sell marijuana: Sen. James Lankford proposed Thursday that Indian tribes cultivating or selling marijuana on their lands be stripped of federal funds. The Obama administration has recently given tribes flexibility in how they want to approach enforcement of marijuana laws on their reservations. Oklahoma has some of the largest Indian tribes in the nation, but it does not have reservations [NewsOK].
Oklahoma City sales tax falls short of budget: Oklahoma City’s sales tax collections are up over this time last year but still short of budget projections. Combined with last month’s shortfall, sales tax is running about $846,000 behind what was expected for the first two months of the fiscal year [NewsOK].
Governor Fallin sets special election to replace Sen. Rick Brinkley: Gov. Mary Fallin called a Nov. 10 special primary election and a Jan. 12 general election to replace state Sen. Rick Brinkley. Brinkley, R-Owasso, is under criminal investigation and faces a civil suit over accusations of embezzling from his former employer, and he submitted a letter of resignation from the Senate that takes effect Dec. 31 [Tulsa World].
Quote of the Day
Attention a teacher devotes to acclimating a new student takes away from instruction time for everyone. In classrooms where the population is in constant flux, this impacts the learning of all students. Yet we expect educators to produce good test results amidst what one master teacher once described to me as ‘a river of children.’
-Tulsa Attorney Mark Barcus, writing the Oklahoma needs better strategies for helping children who frequently switch schools due to unstable families or economic situations (Source).
Number of the Day
4,600,000
Estimated number of cattle and calves in Oklahoma, outnumbering people in the state by about 700,000.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Americans report improved health, better healthcare: Two years after health insurance became available under the Affordable Care Act, a study of more than 500,000 Americans found improvements in insurance coverage, access to primary care and prescription medicine, affordable healthcare and overall health. In a second analysis of low-income adults, the researchers found that expanding Medicaid under the law is linked to drops in the number of uninsured adults, fewer people without doctors and fewer people reporting difficulty in getting medicine [Reuters].
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