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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 Health Commissioner Terry Cline said federal cuts to Oklahoma’s health department, which is heavily dependent on federal money, could devastate the department’s services. Supporters of the arts are speaking out against a bill to eliminate funding for the Oklahoma Arts Council. An analysis by the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management shows that state worker salaries were more than 19 percent below comparable jobs in the private labor market.
The Oklahoma Veterans Affairs Department is seeking more than $250,000 in additional money next year to increase salaries of five administrators. Oklahoma higher education Chancellor Glen Johnson asked lawmakers for a $97.4 million increase in next year’s higher education budget, including $55 million for the state’s performance and college completion goals. OETA is asking for a $2 million increase to help pay for increasing employee benefits, more state legislative coverage, and a statewide satellite distribution.
Oklahoma Policy Institute released a newly update and redesigned 2013 Legislative Primer. Sen. Patrick Anderson said he will continue to fight against the closing of the Northern Oklahoma Resource Center for the developmentally-disabled. About 200 American Indians rallied outside the state Capitol to bring attention to environmental and sovereignty issues.
The Number of the Day is the amount Oklahomans paid in additional interest on auto loans due to dealerships’ rate mark-ups. In today’s Policy Note, Wonkblog shares findings of a study showing that Hispanic immigrants are assimilating just as quickly as earlier groups.
In The News
Oklahoma Health Department braces for federal cuts
Estimated federal cuts to Oklahoma’s health department, which is heavily dependent on federal money, could potentially eliminate services and positions across the state, Health Commissioner Terry Cline warned a legislative panel Monday. Current estimates of cuts range from 8 to 20 percent, he told members of the House of Representatives budget subcommittee on public health and social services. “Cuts at the upper end of this range would be devastating for the department,” Cline said. The department receives about 60 percent of its $368 million operating budget from various federal sources, he said. Overall the state could lose about $137 million through the sequestration process.
Art funding the latest target of Oklahoma budget trimmers
The arts scene in Mangum took a big hit two years ago, when the longtime art teacher finally retired from the public school district. Old West re-enactors perform at the Wild West Days in Mangum. The annual event is one of 500 across the state supported by grant funding from Oklahoma Arts Council. Photo Provided Struggling to find a replacement at the same time state budget allocations were dropping, school administrators came to the same inevitable decision: Year-round art education at Mangum Schools, like the teacher, were relics of the past. Now a $2,500 grant that funds a teacher at the rural Greer County district — a 10-day “artist in residence” program — is threatened. The residency program, though not nearly as effective as in-house instruction, is the district’s last shot at providing to its students what used to be a mainstay of public education, said Barbie Stover, the district’s library and media specialist.
Oklahoma workers push for market, performance pay
The last time Oklahoma Department of Human Services worker Jess Callahan received a pay raise, a gallon of regular gasoline cost about $2.40. That was in 2006 Seven years later, that same gallon of gasoline costs about $3.10, up 25 percent, and it’s one of the reasons Callahan is finding it harder to keep up. “My purchasing power, my ability to live a comfortable life, has gone down,” said Callahan, a social service specialist in Choctaw County who earns about $31,000 a year. “There are a lot of people in state employment who are desperate at this point.”
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
Oklahoma Veterans Affairs Department seeks money to increase administrators pay
The Oklahoma Veterans Affairs Department, which has come under scrutiny amid allegations of mistreatment of residents at some of its seven veterans centers, is seeking more than $250,000 in additional money next year to increase salaries of five administrators. The salary request is part of the agency’s central office reorganization, which includes boosting the salary of the director, John McReynolds, who was hired last month, from $99,750 to $140,000. The increase in salaries, presented Monday to the House of Representatives budget subcommittee on public health and social services, total $254,786.
Oklahoma higher education system requests $97.4 million budget increase
Oklahoma higher education Chancellor Glen Johnson on Monday asked lawmakers for a 10.2 percent increase in next year’s higher education budget. That increase would bring the total higher education appropriation for the 2013-14 fiscal year to $1.05 billion, which is a $97.4 million increase over the current fiscal year. The request was made during a joint legislative budget committee hearing at the state Capitol. The largest share of that increase — $55 million — would go toward the state’s performance and college completion goals. That figure would cover a number of areas, including increased costs colleges and universities have seen due to enrollment increases, Johnson said.
OETA asks for $2 million more in state funding
The new director of Oklahoma’s public television network is asking the Legislature for a more than 50 percent boost in state funding, even as some lawmakers are calling to eliminate state funding for the agency entirely. The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority’s new Executive Director Dan Schiedel discussed his agency’s budget needs Monday before a joint House and Senate budget panel. Oklahoma lawmakers are reviewing individual agency budgets before the legislative session begins next week. Schiedel asked lawmakers for a $2 million increase in its annual budget to help pay for increasing employee benefits, more state legislative coverage, and a statewide satellite distribution.
The 2013 Legislative Primer is your guide to Oklahoma’s lawmaking process
Where do bills come from? How many make it into law? Who makes up Governor Fallin’s cabinet? How does the committee process work, and who leads which committee? As the 2013 Oklahoma Legislative session gets underway, our fully-updated and redesigned Legislative Primer will answer these questions and more. Whether you are a veteran legislator, a complete novice to Oklahoma politics, or anyone in between, the 2013 Legislative Primer will provide you invaluable information in a concise, user-friendly format.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Anderson: NORCE fight not yet over
State Sen. Patrick Anderson is optimistic legislators can resolve issues involving two state-run centers for the developmentally disabled. “We continue to fight, and I’m optimistic we will succeed,” Anderson said. Northern Oklahoma Resource Center of Enid is scheduled to close in 2015, while Southern Oklahoma Resource Center in Pauls Valley is set to close in 2014. People across the state believe the vote to close NORCE and SORC was handled incorrectly by Gov. Mary Fallin, Jackson said, speaking Monday to Enid Rotary Club.
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
American Indians rally at Oklahoma Capitol to call attention to environmental, sovereignty issues
About 200 American Indians sang, danced and chanted Monday outside the state Capitol to bring attention to environmental and sovereignty issues. Many oppose TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, which would move crude oil from Canada and North Dakota to the Gulf Coast. They said they are concerned the project is harming the environment and could decimate tribal lands. “We want people to know that we are aware of these things,” said Rodney Factor, of Seminole and a member of the Seminole Nation. “I understand we need jobs and a lot of people around here are out of work. But what cost are we willing to give up for those things? We can’t drink oil, and we can’t drink money. If our water’s contaminated, then we’re going to be in a bad situation.”
Quote of the Day
Cutting the arts should not be a priority. Businesses don’t move businesses to a state, people do, and the people that are moving these companies like art. They want OETA. They’re not going to move to a place that’s backward in these areas.
–Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City
Number of the Day
$1 billion
Amount Oklahomans paid in additional interest on auto loans due to dealerships’ rate mark-up, the 8th most paid in financing markups to dealerships in the U.S., 2010
Source: Center for Responsible Lending
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Hispanic immigrants are assimilating just as quickly as earlier groups
Proponents of immigration reform tend to spend a lot of time emphasizing the need for immigrants to assimilate into American culture. Immigration reform critics often cite this as a major sticking point for reform. Some, like the late political scientist Samuel Huntington, have argued that the latest wave of Latino immigration is fundamentally unlike waves of European workers. But it just isn’t so. In 2007, the political scientists Jack Citrin, Amy Lerman, Michael Murakami and Kathryn Pearson decided to test Huntington’s theory against the available evidence about Latino assimilation. They found no evidence whatsoever that Mexican and other Latin American immigrants are assimilating more slowly than did previous waves of immigrants.
Read more from the Washington Post.
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