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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 7.2 percent of Oklahoma workers earned minimum wage or less last year, the third highest rate in the nation. NewsOK reports that emails released after a public records request show that as Governor Fallin made crucial decisions about health care reform in Oklahoma in the past two years, members of her staff routinely relied on advice from conservative political groups bent on destroying Obamacare. Governor Fallin is not budging on claiming executive privilege for the emails she would not release.
In the wake of claims that a Tulsa-area dentist put at least 7,000 people at risk for hepatitis and HIV, the Associated Press reports that limited funding for regulators, a small staff and a state prohibition against surprise inspections restrict the effectiveness of Oklahoma’s Dental Act. Oklahoma Republicans are fighting among themselves over cutting the state’s top personal income tax rate. The latest version of a bill that would overhaul significantly how the state processes on-the-job injury claims is expected to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
The Legislature is seeking to expand restrictions on sex offenders whose crimes don’t involve young children, while Oklahoma offenders say state laws already make it practically impossible to return to productive lives. The Number of the Day is the number of low to moderate income working Oklahomans claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on their federal return. In today’s Policy Note, a Center for American Progress report discusses the rise of prepaid debit cards and why regulations need to evolve in order for cards to better serve the millions of American families who don’t have a bank account.
In The News
7.2 percent of Oklahoma workers earned minimum wage or less last year
Oklahoma had the nation’s third-highest rate of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau reported that 64,000 of the state’s 890,000 hourly paid workers, or 7.2 percent, earned the federal minimum wage or less. Of those, 29,000 people earned exactly the federal minimum wage, while 35,000 earned less. The rate was up from 2011, when 56,000 of the state’s 828,000 hourly paid employees, or 6.8 percent, earned the federal minimum wage or less.
Anti-Obamacare forces drove Gov. Mary Fallin’s health care decisions, emails show
As Gov. Mary Fallin approached crucial decisions about health care reform in Oklahoma in the past two years, members of her staff routinely relied on advice from conservative political groups bent on destroying Obamacare. More than 50,000 pages of emails released by the governor’s office are notable for a lack of debate over the merits of various policy options. Instead, in document after document, the governor’s staff frets over political messaging, responding to reporters and cajoling legislators.
Gov. Mary Fallin won’t budge on executive privilege claim concerning emails
One ramification of the biggest public records release ever from Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s office is that every email from that office now carries a disclaimer that the communication may be viewed by a third party — the public. Other than that, a recent records release to which at least three state employees needed more than 1,600 working hours to respond has done little to impact policymakers’ ability to make decisions and share information. Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, said last week that legal staff has been advised to alter the office’s records policy so that all requests now must be responded to in the order in which they were received. That means a simple request for documents such as a pardon and parole packet will now have to wait until staff complies with requests that take weeks or months.
Oklahoma dental law lacking enforcement clout
Oklahoma’s Dental Act was intended to ensure patient safety, but limited funding for regulators, a small staff and a state prohibition against surprise inspections restrict its effectiveness when there’s trouble. The state Dentistry Board claims a Tulsa-area oral surgeon ran an unsafe practice and, over the past six years, put at least 7,000 people at risk for contracting hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS. Last month, it branded Dr. W. Scott Harrington a “menace to the public health” in a 17-count complaint that could lead to a license revocation. It also urged his patients to submit blood for medical tests, and nearly 2,000 have done so. Harrington operated below the radar because the system depends on dentists and oral surgeons to police themselves — and a law prevents spot checks of their offices.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Income tax cut proposals have Republicans battling themselves
Republicans who clawed for years to get control of Oklahoma’s statehouse are fighting among themselves over cutting the state’s top personal income tax rate. A key part of the battle is over whether a cut should take place next year or should be postponed for another year. House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City, recalling last year’s impasse over cutting the personal income tax, said the disagreement on when a cut to the top personal income tax rate of 5.25 percent would take effect could spell doom for getting tax-cutting legislation passed this year.
Workers’ comp bill works its way through Oklahoma Legislature
The latest version of a bill that would overhaul significantly how the state processes on-the-job injury claims is expected to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The revised version of Senate Bill 1062 maintains the most dramatic components of the initial one — a switch from a court-based to an administrative system, an opt-out option for employers that qualify — but alters some of the amounts workers would be compensated if injured. Its title now stricken, House lawmakers have set the bill up for further amendments and discussions on conference level as they work with the Senate to reconcile the different bills into a single one that would be put before Gov. Mary Fallin for signature.
Legislature considering tougher laws against Oklahoma sex offenders
Oklahoma sex offenders who claim state laws make it practically impossible to return to productive lives are finding little sympathy before a Legislature that cannot stomach their crimes, even if they don’t involve young children. “All I ask is that you not view all of us as monsters,” Regina McKay, a former teacher convicted of second-degree rape involving a 17-year-old male, told a House committee last week, as it considered tougher laws against sex offenders. Oklahoma’s sex offender registry includes those convicted of a broad swath of crimes, not just those against children, but some lawmakers argue the very nature of those crimes makes it imperative to crack down on offenders. McKay testified before legislators as the House considers laws that would keep sex offenders out of state parks and prohibit them from going to schools unescorted if their victim was younger than age 18 — rather than 13, as the current law reads. It passed on a 12-1 vote.
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
Quote of the Day
Look at the number of businesses that actually cross a state line. It’s minuscule. It’s not even a rounding error. It just doesn’t happen that much, and I don’t know why all these political types think it does.
Number of the Day
339,000
Number of low to moderate income working Oklahomans claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on their federal return, roughly 13 percent of filers in 2012
Source: IRS
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The End of Cash: The rise of prepaid cards, their potential, and their pitfalls
March 1, 2013, marked “the end of cash” for the U.S. government. Starting on that date federal payments such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, also known as SSI, veterans’ benefits, and retirement benefits for federal employees were, for the most part, no longer available in check form, and instead were only made available electronically. In other words, beginning in March, most new recipients of federal government payments no longer receive paper checks. This move is expected to save the federal government $1 billion over the next 10 years. … But for the millions of adults in America who do not have bank accounts, including seniors and the poor, this is a much tougher choice.
Read more from the Center for American Progress.
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