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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. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today you should know that debate is erupting over whether Oklahoma should accept an expansion of federal Medicaid funding that would make some 200,000 uninsured Oklahoma adults eligible for health insurance. On OK Policy Blog, we write that turning down the enhanced federal match would be contrary to the state’s interests and lacking in basic compassion and common sense.
Gov. Fallin renewed a call for a bond issue to make repairs to the Capitol building. Tulsa students with DREAM Act Oklahoma are uncovering many fraudulent claims by lawyers advertising help for undocumented immigrants. Chesapeake Energy paid more in compensation to Aubrey McClendon in 2008 alone than it has paid in corporate income taxes over its entire 23-year history.
Oklahoma liquor retailers are gearing up for a public relations campaign to preserve their monopoly now that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has OK’d an initiative petition to let large grocery stores in Oklahoma’s largest counties sell wine. A new state law requires managers of recreational lakes and reservoirs to post signs notifying the public about how to find water-quality test results for blue-green algae and other contaminants.
The Tulsa World writes that the state’s new teacher evaluation policy is an unfunded mandate that will take money out of the classroom. The Enid News and Eagle examined how unlimited corporate spending allowed under the Citizens United Supreme Court decision is affecting races in Oklahoma.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of uninsured adults aged 18 to 35 who were without health coverage in 2011 because they couldn’t afford it, their employer didn’t offer it, or they’d been denied due to a pre-existing condition. In today’s Policy Note, Ezra Klein shows that of the 15 significant tax increases since 1950, the Affordable Care Act comes in 10th for size. Combined tax increases within the ACA are smaller than the tax increase approved by President Ronald Reagan in 1982.
In The News
Supreme Court ruling making Medicaid expansion optional gives Fallin a big decision
Gov. Mary Fallin hasn’t decided whether the state should accept an expansion of federal Medicaid funding that would make some 200,000 uninsured Oklahoma adults eligible for health insurance — but she had no shortage of advice on the topic. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate does not violate the U.S. Constitution, but the high court also found that Congress cannot penalize states that refuse to go along with the law’s plan to expand Medicaid to cover adults at up to 133 percent of the poverty level. That makes the Medicaid expansion — a key part of the law’s mechanism for decreasing the number of uninsured people — essentially optional.
Health care reform’s Medicaid expansion is right for Oklahoma
The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling upholding the bulk of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) struck down one key component of the law: it made the law’s Medicaid expansion optional rather than mandatory by declaring that that the federal government may not withhold all Medicaid funding for states that opt not to expand Medicaid coverage. Oklahoma now can choose not to expand Medicaid to cover more people without insurance living below the poverty line. But such a choice would squander the chance for as many as 180,000 struggling Oklahomans to get health insurance coverage and leave hospitals and other health care providers on the hook for uncompensated medical care. The choice for Oklahoma – and other states – should be simple.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Fallin calls for capitol repairs
State leaders will need to be able to work through differing viewpoints on bond issues during the next legislative session to resolve infrastructure issues with Oklahoma State Capitol repairs, Gov. Mary Fallin said. “We have to take care of our investment as a state and our seat of government where not only do we conduct the state’s most important business, but it’s an image of our state,” Fallin told The Edmond Sun. A proposed $200 million bond issue to make repairs on the state Capitol complex was voted down in May by the House of Representatives. House Speaker Kris Steele said the House will not accept a $200 million proposal to begin repairs on the state Capitol building.
Read more from The Edmond Sun.
Students try to ID bogus immigration attorneys offering to help undocumented youth
Five Tulsa college students split up the numbers to cold call lawyers claiming to help immigrants file for the latest administrative relief. In one afternoon, they found two disbarred attorneys, one “notario” claiming the ability to do legal work, an attorney charging $2,000 for an application that doesn’t yet exist and several more with no idea of President Barack Obama’s recent announcement to shift policy aimed to help undocumented youth. Warnings have been issued about people offering unauthorized immigration services, calling themselves “notarios” or immigration consultants. A notario is considered an attorney in much of Mexico but does not carry the same educational requirements in the U.S. The checks started after members of DREAM Act Oklahoma received calls from attorneys wanting referrals.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Chesapeake 1% tax rate shows cost of drilling subsidy
Chesapeake Energy made $5.5 billion in pretax profits since its founding more than two decades ago. So far, the second-largest U.S. natural-gas producer has paid income taxes on almost none of it. Chesapeake paid $53 million over its 23-year history, or about 1 percent of the cumulative pretax profits during that period, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s less than half of Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon’s compensation, for example, in 2008 alone. The company and other U.S. oil and gas producers can thank a century-old rule that allows them to postpone income taxes in recognition of the inherent risk of drilling wells that may turn out to be dry. The break may be outdated for companies such as Chesapeake, which, thanks to advances in technology, struck oil or gas in 99.6 percent of its wells last year.
Oklahoma liquor retailers preparing for wine fight
Oklahoma liquor retailers are gearing up for a public relations campaign to preserve a vital part of their business now that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has OK’d an initiative petition that seeks voter approval of a plan to let large grocery stores in Oklahoma’s largest counties sell wine. The Retail Liquor Association of Oklahoma, comprised of 80 of the state’s 640 licensed package liquor retailers, opposes the petition submitted by Oklahomans for Modern Laws, J.P. Richard, president of the retail group, said. The petition proposes a new licensing scheme for wine, which currently is sold almost exclusively at licensed liquor stores and accounts for more than half of all liquor sales by some retailers. The stage was set for the upcoming wine fight on Thursday when the Oklahoma Supreme Court, in a narrow 5-4 ruling, allowed supporters of Initiative Petition No. 396 to begin collecting voter signatures to have the measure placed on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
Read more from the Shawnee News-Star.
Agencies make blue-green algae information available
Boaters and swimmers headed to Oklahoma lakes for the Fourth of July should be prepared to see blue and green in addition to the traditional red, white and blue. A new state law requires managers of recreational lakes and reservoirs to post signs at major access points notifying the public about how to find water-quality test results for blue-green algae and other contaminants. The law requires the Oklahoma Tourism Department to publish test results on a new website and the state Health Department to provide materials to health professionals about the potentially toxic microorganism. However, the law – signed by Gov. Mary Fallin on May 24 – prohibits lake managers from issuing advisories for blue-green algae unless tests show a level that poses at least a moderate risk of illness. That level is set by the World Health Organization.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Tulsa World: Local schools take another hit with evaluation mandates
Another week, another assault on local school district budgets by the state of Oklahoma. The Legislature in 2010 passed a law that set up a framework for teacher evaluations. That’s not a bad idea; for too long it was difficult if not impossible to weed out those few teachers who are experienced but ineffective. Now, school districts must pay the cost of training their administrators and principals to conduct the evaluations, which range from $211 to $594 per trainee, depending on the evaluation model chosen. Barresi’s State Department of Education decreed there would be $1.5 million available to be split among districts statewide. That’s more than $200,000 short of the estimated cost, so once again local districts are left holding the bag.
Read more from The Tulsa World.
Court’s ruling on Citizens United widely reverberates
On June 25, the Supreme Court rejected a plea to revisit the Citizens United case allowing labor unions and corporations to spend unlimited amounts on federal elections. Since the landmark Citizens United decision in 2010, nonprofits can make independent expenditures in elections, raising disclosure questions as the ruling reverberates to the state and local level. Why should Oklahomans care? Take the Senate District 41 race, where incumbent Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, faced a fierce primary challenge by the Rev. Paul Blair. A tea party-backed Edmond pastor, Blair made headlines for endorsing John McCain from the pulpit in 2008. The registered political action committee Coalition for Oklahoma’s Future purchased radio and TV ads favoring Jolley’s re-election and targeting Blair, the Oklahoma Gazette reported.
Read more from the Enid News and Eagle.
Quote of the Day
To the extent the world is a different place than it was when the policy was first devised, that’s a powerful reason to revisit the need for this subsidy.
–Edward Kleinbard, a former chief of staff on the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, on a century-old rule that allows oil and gas companies to postpone income taxes. The rule has allowed Chesapeake Energy to pay a cumulative tax rate of less than 1 percent over its 23-year history.
Number of the Day
71 percent
Percentage of uninsured adults aged 18 to 35 who were without health coverage because they couldn’t afford it, their employer didn’t offer it, or they’d been denied due to a pre-existing condition, 2011
Source: Young Invincibles
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
No, ‘Obamacare’ isn’t ‘the largest tax increase in the history of the world’ (in one chart)
Since the Supreme Court decision, Republicans have been calling the Affordable Care Act “the largest tax increase in the history of the world.” Politifact rates this false. Kevin Drum’s got a table of the 15 significant tax increases since 1950, and the Affordable Care Act, which amounts to a tax increase of 0.49 percent of GDP, comes in 10th. So no, the Affordable Care Act isn’t the “biggest tax hike in history.” It’s not even the biggest tax hike in the past 60 years. Or 50 years. Or 30 years. Or 20 years. But it does include a number of tax hikes. The individual mandate, however, isn’t one of the big ones.
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