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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 nearly 20,000 civilian workers at Oklahoma military bases are set to be furloughed this week in the first of 11 forced days off that will cut their salaries by 20 percent through September. The Oklahoma Tax Commission is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that could cost Oklahoma as much as $450 million to refund taxes to out-of-state corporations. Tulsa city councillor Blake Ewing is calling for discussions on how to increase the city’s sales tax revenue.
The Tulsa World reports on a study showing that black offenders are 2.8 times more likely than white offenders to be arrested for possessing marijuana in Oklahoma, even though they use marijuana at similar rates. New federal college cost data shows Oklahoma universities are relatively inexpensive. NewsOK examined the tough choices faced by Oklahoma DHS child welfare workers. The Tulsa World reported on the situation of same-sex couples in Oklahoma following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of DOMA.
The Muskogee Phoenix reported on an OK Policy factsheet showing that accepting federal funds for health would be good for Oklahoma business and workers. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an effort by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to reinstate criminal penalties for people with methamphetamine-related convictions who are caught purchasing cold medicine. Tulsa World Editorial Pages Editor David Averill and Associate Editor Janet Pearson are leaving the paper Friday. On August 7th, Dr. Theda Skocpol will present a public lecture at the University of Tulsa on the politics of climate change.
The Number of the Day is the number of mortgage modifications underway in Oklahoma through the Making Homes Affordable program, which seeks to lower monthly mortgage payments for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. In today’s Policy Note, ProPublica examines how the Environmental Protection Agency appears to be systematically disengaging from any research on the safety of fracking or oil drilling.
In The News
Nearly 20,000 military civilians in Oklahoma begin furloughs this week
Nearly 20,000 civilian workers at Oklahoma military bases are set to be furloughed this week in the first of 11 forced days off that will cut their salaries by 20 percent through September. James MacDonald, a production controller at Tinker’s maintenance center, said the pay cut could mean he can’t make his mortgage payments. And MacDonald said he and other workers are worried that more furloughs will be ordered in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. According to base officials at Tinker, work at the massive aircraft maintenance center will essentially shut down on furlough days, leading to a 20 percent loss in production through September.
Oklahoma Tax Commission asks state high court to overturn ruling that could cost state $450 million
The state stands to lose as much as $450 million if a Court of Civil Appeals ruling on how a capital-gains tax deduction is figured is allowed to stand, the Oklahoma Tax Commission says. Earlier this week, the commission asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to overturn the lower court ruling or prevent the ruling from being applied retroactively. In January, the Court of Civil Appeals ruled 3-0 that a state law was unconstitutional. The law treats capital gains tax deductions of Oklahoma-based companies differently from those of out-of-state companies.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tulsa city councilor seeks ideas to increase sales-tax revenue
With city officials in the middle of talks on how to spend $917.9 million on capital improvement projects, City Councilor Blake Ewing thinks the time is right for a parallel discussion on how the city can increase its primary source of revenue – sales-tax collections. “I definitely think it is responsible to try and find ways to be efficient with what you’ve got,” Ewing said. “And that seems to be something we spend about 99 percent of the time at City Hall doing … and there has been little conversation about how to increase the size of the pie.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Disparity by race reported in Oklahoma marijuana arrests
Black offenders are 2.8 times more likely than white offenders to be arrested for possessing marijuana in Oklahoma, even though they use marijuana at similar rates, according to a study recently released by the American Civil Liberties Union. The number falls below the national average of blacks being 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession, but one Oklahoma county, Kay, is comparable to states with the highest disparity, such as Iowa’s rate of 8.34 and Washington, D.C., at 8.05. In Kay County, which lies along the Oklahoma-Kansas state line, a black offender is eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white offender, the study shows. The number is well above Creek County’s rate of 5.7, the second highest in the state.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma schools fare well in new federal college cost data
When Mayra Castanon decided to go to nursing school, she had her choice of schools with nursing programs. Castanon, 18, is a freshman at Oklahoma State University — Oklahoma City. The university was the most convenient option because it’s close to her home. But there was another factor that helped her make the decision, as well, she said. “It was cheap,” she said. “It was really cheap.” OSU-Oklahoma City offers among the nation’s lowest tuition, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education.
Oklahoma’s child welfare workers often face tough decisions
John Moore and his daughter were going to see the new Superman movie for Father’s Day. But a baby was born at a hospital with drugs in his system. Moore was on call. He had to go be someone else’s hero. Moore is a father to 15-year-old Travonna, but he has second set of children to care for: the kids on his caseload. As a child welfare specialist with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Moore works a thankless job for little pay at an agency that people love to hate.
Same-sex couples face two levels of rights, depending on state of residence
While married to her husband in Oklahoma, Shawna Simpson had all the legal rights and responsibilities that came with the partnership. Now that she is getting divorced and wishes to marry a woman, she’s not sure what options she’ll have in her home state, even after a Supreme Court decision recently struck down provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Effectively, that means the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where such unions are legal. But in Oklahoma, where voters passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions in 2004, gay and lesbian couples must travel to states such as Iowa or California to get married. And when and if they return home, they won’t likely have the same rights as married couples in other states.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Argument made for added Medicaid
Analysts with the Oklahoma Policy Institute contend the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would benefit Oklahoma businesses and uninsured workers. An analysis of the 2011 American Community Survey shows there are 143,150 uninsured low-income workers in Oklahoma. About half of those residents work in sectors where average earnings fall within the range that would make them eligible for expanded Medicaid coverage. Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid coverage would be available to those whose household income is less than 133 percent of the federal poverty rate. A family of four with an annual income of $32,499 would be eligible for expanded Medicaid coverage.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
See also: Accepting federal health care funds is good for business from Oklahoma Policy Institute
U.S. Supreme Court declines case on Oklahoma meth law
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an effort by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to reinstate criminal penalties for people with methamphetamine-related convictions who are caught purchasing cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine. The state methamphetamine registry remains in place and prevents people with meth convictions from purchasing pseudoephedrine-based products on a daily basis, said Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control spokesman Mark Woodward. However, the 2012 Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals case of Angela Wolf blocked state prosecutions of people who are subject to the registry but manage to purchase the medicines.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
World editorial editors David Averill, Janet Pearson to retire
Tulsa World Editorial Pages Editor David Averill and Associate Editor Janet Pearson have written about the large and small of Tulsa for 40 years and then some. On Friday, they will retire. World Publisher Bill Masterson said they have standing invitations to contribute columns as the mood strikes them. Masterson said Averill’s and Pearson’s retirements are “a huge loss for the Tulsa World” but “an opportunity to reinvent ourselves and to bring in new leadership.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Upcoming event: Theda Skocpol to lecture on climate change at TU on August 7th
On Wednesday, August 7th, Dr. Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, will present a public lecture, “Naming the Problem: Extremism and the Fight Against Climate Change” at the University of Tulsa’s Alan Chapman Activity Center. The free public lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be followed by a wine and dessert reception. Based on a recent report that generated considerable attention and controversy, Prof. Skocpol’s lecture will explain how the environmental movement’s strategic decisions contributed to the failure of cap-and-trade legislation during President Obama’s first-term.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Quote of the Day
Even on the days when you’re not quite sure the decisions you make are the best for everybody, or if it’s that gut-wrenching decision where you’re just like ‘Could this be the best decision? Did I do this right?’ … you go home to your own child, and you’re like ‘Every kid deserves to have the safety and stability that I hope I’m providing for my child.’
-Katie Cooper, a child welfare worker with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (Source: http://bit.ly/156LirF)
Number of the Day
4,756
Number of mortgage modifications underway in Oklahoma through the Making Homes Affordable, or ‘HAMP’ program, as of May 2012
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
EPA’s abandoned Wyoming fracking study one retreat of many
When the Environmental Protection Agency abruptly retreated on its multimillion-dollar investigation into water contamination in a central Wyoming natural gas field last month, it shocked environmentalists and energy industry supporters alike. In 2011, the agency had issued a blockbuster draft report saying that the controversial practice of fracking was to blame for the pollution of an aquifer deep below the town of Pavillion, Wy. – the first time such a claim had been based on a scientific analysis. The study drew heated criticism over its methodology and awaited a peer review that promised to settle the dispute. Now the EPA will instead hand the study over to the state of Wyoming, whose research will be funded by EnCana, the very drilling company whose wells may have caused the contamination. Environmentalists say the agency is systematically disengaging from any research that could be perceived as questioning the safety of fracking or oil drilling, even as President Obama lays out a plan to combat climate change that rests heavily on the use of natural gas.
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