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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.
NewsOK reported on how Oklahoma legislators are continuing their resistance to smart on crime reforms. The chairs of the Legislature’s budget writing committees said court-ordered reforms of Oklahoma’s child welfare system will be funded for the 2016 fiscal year despite a budget hole of $611 million. The directors of ten different state health agencies would be fired effective Jan. 1, and the governor would have the authority to appoint their successors under a bill narrowly passed by a Senate committee on Monday. The bill’s author Sen. Nathan Dahm said he won’t push for the bill to become law this year.
On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed the Legislature’s proposal to get better oversight over the state’s numerous business tax breaks. A bill that would reduce the amount of tax subsidies paid to wind producers in Oklahoma has been unanimously approved by the state House. KGOU shared the audio from a panel at OK Policy’s State Budget Summit that gave an economic check-up of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City Public Schools is hosting a series of community conversations on the future of the district at eight sites starting Monday. Tulsa voters will today decide the fate of a $415 million school bond package. The okeducationtruths blog continued a series making a case for replacing Oklahoma’s End of Instruction high school tests with the ACT.
Faced with a huge budget hole after income tax cuts, Kansas is considering hiking property taxes on farmland by $200 million statewide. NewsOK explained how every American who has health insurance through their employer receives a federal tax subsidy for that insurance. An Oklahoma City man is dead after being pepper sprayed and repeatedly tased by police. The Number of the Day is the year in which Oklahoma’s population is projected to be majority non-white. In today’s Policy Note, Slate explains how unaccountable, overzealous prosecutors have played a big role in the rise of mass incarceration.
In The News
Oklahoma lawmakers struggle with how to be smart on crime
One of the last cases Rep. Scott Biggs prosecuted as an assistant district attorney involved a man who brutally raped and impregnated his own daughter. Crimes like these help explain the lawmaker’s opposition to any legislation that could shorten time behind bars for some of Oklahoma’s worst criminals. Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, whose district includes state prison facilities, is backing legislation opposed by Biggs, R-Chickasha, that seeks to reduce Oklahoma’s high and expensive incarceration rate.
Key lawmakers say child welfare reforms will be funded
Despite a budget hole of $611 million, a court-ordered reform of Oklahoma’s child welfare system will be funded for the 2016 fiscal year, the chairmen of the Legislature’s budget writing committees said Monday. State Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, said the Department of Human Services’ Pinnacle Plan would be funded for the next fiscal year. “It’s not up for debate,” Jolley, chairman of the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, said. “The Pinnacle Plan will be funded.”
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Bill would give Oklahoma governor sweeping new powers to appoint heads of state agencies
The directors of ten different state entities would be fired effective Jan. 1, and the governor would have the authority to appoint their successors under a bill narrowly passed by a Senate committee on Monday. The Senate General Government Committee voted 5-4 for the bill by its chairman, Sen. Nathan Dahm, who said he selected the ten agencies because the executive director of each one has access to a state prescription drug database.
Read more from the Associated Press.
See also: Bill to fire 10 agency heads won’t be heard, author says from The Journal Record
Proposal aims to get a grip on Oklahoma’s business tax breaks
Oklahoma’s more than 70 business incentives are one of the primary ways the state attempts to create jobs and encourage businesses to locate and expand in Oklahoma. These tax credits, tax exemptions, and cash rebates also have a significant cost. Each year they reduce the revenue that could otherwise be used for public services by hundreds of millions of dollars. Policymakers have struggled to determine which incentives are working, which are not, and how the state can make sure it’s getting a strong return on taxpayer dollars.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma House clears bill to scale back wind tax credits
A bill that would reduce the amount of tax subsidies paid to wind producers in Oklahoma has been unanimously approved by the House of Representatives. The House voted 89-0 on Monday for the bill by Bartlesville Republican Rep. Earl Sears. It now heads to the full Senate for consideration. Sears said the bill in its current form would reduce by about 70 percent the amount of tax credits wind producers receive, although he acknowledged discussions with the industry are ongoing on the final amount.
Panel On Oklahoma’s Economy: A Growing State With A Declining Workforce
Unresolved issues tied to education, incarceration and mental health services will hamstring Oklahoma’s ability to remain among the nation’s top 5 fastest growing economies, a panel of government officials and economists concluded during the Oklahoma Policy Institute’s 2nd Annual State Budget Summit. On January 29, OPI Director of Policy Gene Perry led the panel through “An Economic Check-Up” of the state’s current economic conditions and fiscal policies.
Listen to the panel discussion from KGOU.
OKC school district will host series of community conversations starting Monday night
For the next four days, Oklahoma City Public Schools is taking “The Great Conversation” to the public for input and discussion. The district is hosting “community conversations” at eight sites starting Monday at Douglass Mid-High and U.S. Grant High schools. The meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. and are scheduled to last two hours. In November, the district launched “The Great Conversation,” a process for developing a road map with clear expectations for student achievement and strategies for reaching those expectations along with the tools for evaluating success.
$415 million in bond proposals on ballot for Tulsa Public Schools
Tulsa voters on Tuesday will decide the fate of a $415 million school bond package to complete a 20-year plan for facilities updates and to help Tulsa Public Schools continue to catch up to suburban school districts in the way of modern technology. The TPS Citizens Bond Development Committee created the four-part package, which includes $239.74 million for building construction and repairs, $19.8 million for school libraries, $17.025 million for transportation needs and $138.435 million for textbooks and other classroom learning materials.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Why I support replacing the EOIs with the ACT (part II)
Soon after I posted Part I, Claudia Swisher asked about high stakes and cut scores – especially for students who aren’t going to college. This is a critical issue to address, and probably the one that drove the stake through the heart of the Common Core last year. In my perfect world, we would have no test tied to graduation. That being said, I live in this world. The Oklahoma Legislature is going to demand something to replace the EOIs as a graduation test.
Read more from okeducationtruths.
Kansas’ agriculture industry could suffer from more than budget cuts
While the cuts to the Kansas Department of Agriculture budget are no larger than in other state departments, different changes in legislation and taxation are beginning to hurt Kansas farmers. Barry Flinchbaugh, professor in agricultural economics, explains that the tax mix – composed of income tax, sales tax and property tax – is changing with the governors’ new tax policy and what legislation passed two years ago to shift taxes away from income taxes. S-178 is targeting how the state appraises farm land for tax purposes, which could increase property taxes for farmers by $200 million statewide.
Read more from The Kansas State Collegian.
A look at your federal tax subsidy for health insurance
With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear arguments on Wednesday in the case involving federal subsidies for health insurance, it might be a good time to look at the subsidies most people get for health insurance. Many people probably aren’t aware that they receive a major tax subsidy from the federal government related to their health insurance. But they’d sure know if it were ever taken away. That’s because they would suddenly have thousands of dollars in additional income subject to the federal income tax and the payroll taxes.
Oklahoma City man dies after being pepper sprayed, tased by police
An Oklahoma City man is dead after being pepper sprayed and tased by police. Police responded when a family member called 911, saying the alleged suspect was breaking things in his apartment. “He broke all the glass and started fighting the cabinet, literally boxing it,” said family friend Leeann Mize who witnessed the incident. When officers arrived, they found the suspect, Darrell Gatewood, lying on some broken glass on the floor of the apartment.
Quote of the Day
“Many people probably aren’t aware that they receive a major tax subsidy from the federal government related to their health insurance. But they’d sure know if it were ever taken away. That’s because they would suddenly have thousands of dollars in additional income subject to the federal income tax and the payroll taxes.”
-Oklahoman reporter Chris Casteel, pointing out that the federal government provides a tax subsidy for all Americans who get insurance through their employer (Source)
Number of the Day
2046
Year in which Oklahoma’s population is projected to be majority non-white.
Source: Center for American Progress
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
How to stop overzealous prosecutors
When a local prosecutor sends a convicted felon to prison, the cost of keeping him locked up—an average of $31,286 per year—is paid for entirely by the state, not the county where the prosecutor holds office. The problem with this setup, some argue, is that prosecutors end up enjoying a “correctional free lunch,” meaning they can be extremely aggressive in their charging decisions without having to worry about how much it will cost the local taxpayers who elected them.
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