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Oklahoma would stop issuing marriage licenses under legislation passed Tuesday afternoon by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Representative Emily Virgin has proposed an amendment to a bill that would allow businesses in the marriage industry to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. The amendment requires a public posting of the refusal of service to specific members of the community.
As the University of Oklahoma expelled two students for leading a racist song that sparked outrage across the country, the fraternity involved said it would investigate questions over the chant’s use by members at other universities. A black former member of the SAE fraternity at OU wrote an essay on his experience at the fraternity and reaction to the song. OU President David Boren held a press conference to discuss the university’s response to the incident. A group of Oklahoma City black ministers and the NAACP called for an ongoing investigation and dialogue about racial tension at college campuses across the state.
A total of 126,115 Oklahomans signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act in the most recent enrollment period, and more than half were new enrollees who did not have marketplace coverage before November. On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed how ending a nonsensical state income tax deduction for state income taxes could bring in millions of dollars to help close the state’s budget hole. The state’s higher education chancellor told state lawmakers that proposed budget cuts to Oklahoma’s colleges and universities could have devastating consequences for the schools and their students.
NPR shared research on income mobility in Massachusetts and Oklahoma that shows the gap between the affluent and the poor is getting wider each year. The House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would make it a felony crime to perform embryonic stem cell research in Oklahoma. Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman is continuing to push a resolution to make the Legislature consider non-budget policy issues only in odd-numbered years.
The Tulsa World editorial board wrote that a recent incident in the Oklahoma Legislature demonstrates the importance of vigilance to keep government transparent. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that challenges a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma state Capitol. The Number of the Day is the percentage of businesses in Oklahoma owned by immigrants. In today’s Policy Note, a New York Times infographic details how the types of jobs that pay middle-class wages have shifted since 1980.
In The News
Oklahoma House votes to do away with state marriage licenses
Oklahoma would stop issuing marriage licenses under legislation passed Tuesday afternoon by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. House Bill 1125, by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, would instead require those officiating marriage ceremonies to file after-the-fact “certificates of marriage” with court clerks’ offices.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma Rep. proposes pointed amendment to anti-gay bill
Representative Emily Virgin, in consultation with Freedom Oklahoma and the ACLU of Oklahoma, has proposed an amendment to HB 1371 – “The Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act.” This bill would allow businesses operating in the marriage industry to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. Representative Virgin’s amendment would save minority couples from facing the indignity of being refused service by requiring a public posting of the refusal of service to specific members of the community.
As two Oklahoma students are expelled for racist chant, Sigma Alpha Epsilon vows wider inquiry
As the University of Oklahoma expelled two students Tuesday for leading a racist song that sparked outrage across the country, the fraternity involved said it would investigate incidents at other campuses as it faced questions over the chant’s use by members at other universities. Former members of the fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, claimed on social media that the same chant was used at colleges in other states.
Read more from the New York Times.
My racist SAE fraternity brothers broke my heart
There will never be another black SAE. I wish there had been one less. My former fraternity broke my heart this week. A video posted over the weekend allegedly showing members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity’s Oklahoma Kappa chapter chanting a disturbing song has once again evoked the images of deep hatred and cruelty that we too often choose to ignore in our country.
Boren: ‘We’ve sent a message to the rest of the country’
University of Oklahoma President David Boren met with The Oklahoman and other media Tuesday following the Board of Regents meeting in Oklahoma City. Boren talked about further punishment for Sigma Alpha Epsilon members, Barry Switzer’s statement and the future of the SAE house among other topics.
Black preachers praise OU President David Boren’s ‘swift action’ against fraternity, say culture foments racism
A group of Oklahoma City black ministers and the NAACP called Tuesday for an ongoing investigation and dialogue about racial tension and concerns on the University of Oklahoma campus — and other college campuses across the state. “This is a wake-up call for all universities in the state to investigate every instance of racism and disenfranchisement of any student who has to walk the campus of your university,” said the Rev. John A. Reed, president of the Concerned Clergy for Spiritual Renewal and pastor of Fairview Baptist Church.
Latest ACA enrollment numbers show more than half are first-time enrollees
A total of 126,115 Oklahomans signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act in the most recent enrollment period, and more than half were new enrollees who did not have marketplace coverage before November, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationally, nearly 11.7 million people selected health insurance plans during the most recent enrollment period.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
This nonsensical ‘double dipping’ tax break is costing Oklahoma millions
As Oklahoma faces a more than $600 million budget hole, state leaders have consistently said that “all options should be on the table.” With state services already straining from years of repeated cuts and flat funding, a balanced approach to closing the budget gap must include new revenues. One of the fairest and most sensible revenue options involves eliminating one of the most nonsensical quirks of our tax system – the state income tax deduction for state income taxes.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma higher education officials warn of devastating cuts
Proposed budget cuts to Oklahoma’s colleges and universities could have devastating consequences for the schools and their students, the state’s higher education chancellor told state lawmakers Tuesday. Chancellor Glen Johnson led a delegation of officials from Oklahoma’s 25 colleges and universities who appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss the impact of budget cuts state lawmakers say are likely.
The Numbers Add Up To This: Less And Less Opportunity For Poor Kids
From 1960 to 1970, income was moving up for the poor and middle-income earners as well — but since 1970, those incomes more or less have stalled. As a result, the gap between the affluent and the poor is getting wider each year. For example in Massachusetts, where high-tech jobs have flourished, inflation-adjusted incomes for the highest earners have more than doubled since 1960, from $92,000 to $219,000, while incomes of the poorest group have fallen from $24,400 to $18,800. In more rural Oklahoma, the affluent have gained, too — but at a much more subdued rate, below 50 percent. Meanwhile the poorest Oklahomans have held steady — so the gap is growing, but not as dramatically as in more tech-oriented states.
Wide House Passage Of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Ban In Oklahoma Despite Concerns
The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Monday designed to prevent embryonic stem cell research in Oklahoma. The measure by state Rep. Dan Fisher would make it a felony crime to perform embryonic stem cell research. The legislation is opposed by many doctors and business groups, who argue it could impede scientific research. During debate on the House floor, state Rep. Doug Cox, a physician, said it sends a chilling message to the scientific community.
Oklahoma Senate president pro tem pushes a proposal for change
Despite opposition, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman isn’t ready to give up on his attempt to cut back on the thousands of bills considered every year by the Oklahoma Legislature. Measures concerning everything from giving blood tests to captured feral hogs to ending Advanced Placement history get introduced every year, but the majority end up in the legislative dust bin. Bingman’s Senate Joint Resolution 30 would let voters decide if the Legislature should take up budgetary matters every year but consider policy issues only in odd-numbered years.
Let the sun shine on state government
Sunshine is a great disinfectant. What is true for those battling mold is just as true for those battling to protect transparency in government. This week is Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information. A recent incident in the Oklahoma Legislature demonstrates vividly the importance of vigilance on this issue, and the effectiveness of public scrutiny in preventing creeping secrecy in government.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Lawsuit dismissed against Oklahoma Ten Commandments monument
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that challenges a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma state Capitol. U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron handed down an order Tuesday that dismissed the lawsuit filed by a New Jersey-based nonprofit group, American Atheists Inc., and two of its members in January 2014. Cauthron ruled that the group lacked legal standing to file the lawsuit.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
“The institutional culture that allows those students to do that has to be dealt with, but it’s not just institutional culture, it’s systematic culture that has to be dealt with in the state of Oklahoma. We cannot continue to keep our heads in the sand.”
-D. Lavel Crawford, pastor of Avery Chapel AME Church and member of a group of black preachers calling for ongoing investigation and dialogue about racism in colleges and universities across the state (Source)
Number of the Day
7%
Percentage of businesses in Oklahoma owned by immigrants.
Source: Immigration Policy Center.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The changing nature of middle-class jobs
The types of jobs that pay middle-class wages — between $40,000 and $80,000 in 2014 dollars — have shifted since 1980. Fewer of these positions are in male-dominated production occupations, while a greater share are in workplaces more open to women. Registered nurses and other specialty occupations accounted for the largest share of growth in the middle-class wage range.
Read more from the New York Times.
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