OKPOLICY.ORG
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 Oklahoma’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services began a study this week to determine the appropriate level of pay for an estimated 33,000 state workers. More stable oil and gas prices and an improving economy are helping to increase state revenues. David Blatt’s Journal Record column discusses how tax credit reform remains as major unfinished business for lawmakers. OK Policy released poll results showing that nearly 2/3rds of Oklahoma voters strongly oppose tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are costing the state more than $100 million annually.
This Land Press discussed how Oklahoma is one of just 19 states that still allows corporal punishment in schools, and 2.3 percent of Oklahoma students were struck by educators during the 2005-06 school year. Shareholder advisory services are criticizing the Chesapeake Energy’s $40 million severance package for former CEO Aubrey McClendon. The value of insured losses from May’s deadly series of storms is at almost $250 million and is expected to rise.
The Oklahoman editorial board concurred with OK Policy that the most recent legislative session deserved poor marks for putting ideology over common sense. The Number of the Day is the number of immigrants in Oklahoma who are naturalized U.S. citizens and eligible to vote. In today’s Policy Note, the Center for American Progress calls for hitting the reset button on the debate over the federal budget, in light of the $2.5 trillion in deficit-reduction already enacted, slowing health care costs, and the collapse of evidence that austerity would promote growth.
In The News
Oklahoma launches state employee pay study
State officials announced Wednesday that they’re launching a study to determine how state employees are compensated, an analysis Gov. Mary Fallin has said is a critical first step before workers can receive a pay raise. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services began the study this week to determine the appropriate level of pay for an estimated 33,000 state workers. Kenning Consulting, a firm that has experience with similar studies in other states, has been awarded a $77,000 contract to provide technical assistance and develop recommendations, OMES spokesman John Estus said.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Economy growing
The impact of more stable oil and gas prices is beginning to show up in state revenues. The gross production tax exceeded collections from the same month in 2012. Treasurer Ken Miller said the $63.89 million collected in May was 1.2 percent above May 2012. It’s further evidence of continued steady growth in the state’s economy, Miller said. Other indicators of late are higher home prices and a metro area unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, among the lowest of the nation’s large metro areas.
Read more from the Norman Transcript.
Prosperity Policy: Unfinished business
This session, Oklahoma’s Republican leaders achieved their long-pursued cut to the top income tax rate. But on overall tax policy, the Legislature went home with major unfinished business. For two years, a group of legislators, led by state Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, and state Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Bixby, has tried valiantly to initiate a serious debate on tax reform. Their proposals would partially pay for cuts to the top income tax rate by eliminating or limiting income tax credits and deductions. So far these efforts have failed.
Read more from the Journal Record.
Poll shows Oklahoma voters strongly oppose tax breaks for horizontal drilling
By more than a two-to-one margin, Oklahoma voters oppose the state’s tax breaks to oil and gas companies for horizontal drilling, according to a recent poll of registered voters. The poll, conducted in late April by Global Strategies Group, provided respondents brief arguments for and against horizontal drilling tax breaks and then asked them whether they “support or oppose providing tax breaks to oil and gas companies for horizontal drilling.” Nearly two-thirds of respondents oppose these tax breaks (65 percent), while less than a third support them (28 percent). Oklahomans of all political stripes oppose the tax breaks, with a clear majority of Democrats (79 percent) and Independents (68 percent), and a plurality of Republicans (49 percent compared to 43 percent), in opposition.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Paddle me once
Oklahoma is one of just 19 states that still allows corporal punishment in schools, according to The Center for Effective Discipline. The state ranks fourth for prevalence of spanking; the rate of Oklahoma students struck by educators during the 2005-06 school year was 2.3 percent. Mississippi, the state where school spanking is most prevalent (at a rate of 7.5 percent between 2005-06, according to The Center for Effective Discipline), has come under fire again for its position on corporal punishment.
Read more from This Land Press.
Chesapeake Energy defends new director
Chesapeake Energy Corp. has remade itself over the past year after concerns about its corporate governance led to an investor uprising, but that doesn’t mean the company is without obstacles heading into next week’s annual meeting. Two shareholder advisory services have recommended voting against Chesapeake’s newest director, Service Corp. International CEO Thomas L. Ryan. One of the advisory firms also opposes the company’s executive compensation plan.
Oklahoma tornadoes: Insurance claims valued at $250 million so far
The value of insured losses from May’s deadly series of storms is at almost $250 million and is expected to rise, Insurance Commissioner John Doak said. Tornado-related insurance claims since May 19 were at more than 32,000 by Tuesday afternoon, including more than 13,900 claims by homeowners and 720 commercial property claims. Almost 17,500 automobile claims had been filed. Doak earlier estimated insured losses from the May 20 tornado could surpass $2 billion.
Wide range seen in legislative session grading
Grading school districts and individual schools is a controversial state policy that occupied some of the time of legislators in the 2013 session. As for grading how wisely legislators spent their time this session, report cards are emerging with some highly subjective conclusions. Gov. Mary Fallin and Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman gave the session an A. House Speaker T.W. Shannon gave it an A-minus. Thus, the three people most responsible for what went on during the session were quite pleased with the result. At the other end of the spectrum, the director of a progressive think tank said lawmakers earned a D.
Quote of the Day
We disagree with Blatt on many issues, but we concur that this Legislature deserved a downgrade for its ideological forays.
-The Oklahoman Editorial Board, on OK Policy Director David Blatt giving a “D” grade for the recently ended legislative session based on “multiple triumphs of ideology over common sense.” (Source: http://bit.ly/14iWN0R)
Number of the Day
70,407
Number of immigrants in Oklahoma who are naturalized U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, comprising 34 percent of the state’s immigrant population.
Source: Immigration Policy Center, 2011
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
It’s time to hit the reset button on the fiscal debate
The federal budget has dominated the policy and political debate in Washington over the past three years. During this time, both the underlying fiscal landscape and the broader economic context for the debate have shifted in very important ways, yet the debate has remained remarkably static. Most policymakers, organizations, and policy leaders seem to be stuck in 2010, as if nothing has changed in the years since. Much has changed, however, and the debate should change with it. If we are to move forward, it’s time to recognize all that has transpired in the past three years and begin the conversation anew. It’s time to hit the reset button on the entire fiscal debate.
Read more from the Center for American Progress.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
