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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. Click here to subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
Oklahoma police kill people at a higher rate than officers in any other state, according to two new reports that tally how many lives law enforcement have taken since the beginning of 2015. The Tulsa World reported on how a group of activists is taking a stand against police brutality and Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz. Teachers at Roosevelt Middle School are complaining that policy changes aimed at reducing a large racial disparity in suspensions are preventing them from maintaining student discipline. KGOU discussed the potential impact of new legislation giving Oklahoma judges more discretion in sentencing certain nonviolent offenders.
Governor Fallin signed a $7.1 billion budget bill, saying she’s proud of a budget that maintains flat funding for common education. Transportation Department officials said the rainiest month in state history has left unprecedented road and bridge damage throughout the state. Gov. Fallin requested a federal disaster declaration for 13 Oklahoma counties that were hit hard by severe weather, tornadoes and flooding since May 5. Fallin has signed into law a bill preventing towns, cities and counties from banning hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas activities.
On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed why Oklahoma lawmakers reined in tax breaks for the wind industry while continuing much larger giveaways to the oil and gas industry. In-depth climate science curriculum and activities will be showcased for Oklahoma’s classroom teachers at the state’s first teacher climate summit. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Tulsa woman who was denied a job at clothing chain Abercrombie Kids because she wore a Muslim headscarf to the job interview. Sen. Rick Brinkley, R-Owasso, has come under investigation because of accusations he embezzled funds while he was a top official at the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Oklahoma.
The Number of the Day is 22 – the number of Oklahomans killed by police officers this year, giving the state the highest per capita deaths by police in the nation. In today’s Policy Note, political science professor David Schultz argues that states have become too willing to repeat and replicate policy initiatives found elsewhere without asking if in fact they work.
In The News
Oklahoma leads nation in rate of police shootings
Oklahoma police kill people at a higher rate than officers in any other state, according to two new reports that tally how many lives law enforcement have taken since the beginning of 2015. Police are on course to kill nearly 1,000 people in the U.S. this year, according to data compilations by The Guardian, which counts 465, and The Washington Post, which records 385. The Post’s analysis looked only at shooting deaths, and The Guardian included deaths involving stun guns, speeding vehicles and asphyxiation.
Read more from Al Jazeera America.
We the People Oklahoma talking vocal stand against Sheriff Stanley Glanz, police brutality
We the People Oklahoma began modestly enough in Tulsa. The activist group took shape a summer ago as unrest exploded in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson, Missouri, and Jeremey Lake’s killing in Tulsa. Organizer Marq Lewis said a core of 20 people are leading the local charge against police brutality in a broad sense because other activist organizations have become “complacent.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Teachers complain about policy changes aimed at reducing racial disparity in suspensions
Friday was the last day of school for more than 45,000 Oklahoma City school district students and the end of the road for potentially dozens of teachers and support staff at Roosevelt Middle School, where student misconduct went largely unchecked over the last several months at the direction of district officials, several teachers told The Oklahoman.
New sentencing reform law creates ‘momentum’, but limitations could lessen impact
New legislation would give Oklahoma’s judges more discretion in sentencing certain nonviolent offenders. In some cases they will be able to depart from a mandatory minimum sentence. Previously, judges had no say in how long an offender would be behind bars. Prisons across Oklahoma are over capacity and understaffed.
Gov. Fallin signs $7.1 billion budget bill, says she’s ‘proud’
Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation Monday authorizing a $7.1 billion state budget for the 2016 fiscal year, which begins July 1. “I’m proud legislators and I were able to pass a budget in challenging times that shields common education, our largest and one of our most important expenses, from budget cuts,” Fallin said.
Oklahoma transportation officials scramble to repair biggest road damage in state history
The rainiest month in state history has left unprecedented road and bridge damage throughout the state, Transportation Department officials said Monday. Costs will likely be high. The estimated expense of repairing a single landslide that closed U.S. 271 in Pushmataha County has already increased to more than $1 million. And there are three major landslides to address in southeastern Oklahoma.
Gov. Fallin requests federal disaster declaration for 13 more counties
Gov. Mary Fallin requested on Monday a federal disaster declaration for 13 Oklahoma counties that were hit hard by severe weather, tornadoes and flooding since May 5, according to a news release. The 13 counties include Atoka, Bryan, Comanche, Johnston, Kiowa, Le Flore, McClain, McCurtain, Okfuskee, Pottawatomie, Pittsburg, Pushmataha and Tulsa counties.
Gov. Fallin signs bill to prevent towns, cities, and counties from banning fracking
Gov. Mary Fallin on May 29 signed into law a bill preventing towns, cities and counties from banning hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas activities. Senate Bill 809 was fueled by a voter-approved fracking ban in Denton, Texas, just south of the state line, as well as municipal actions here in Oklahoma, where cities such as Norman and Stillwater were revising and rewriting local oil and gas ordinances.
Read more from StateImpact Oklahoma.
An easier target
One day when I was in junior high, some friends and I came across a schoolyard fight between two of our classmates. A number of children were taunting one of the combatants, Bobby, and I must confess that I joined in the name-calling. After losing the scrap, an incensed Bobby looked around at those who’d been mocking him from the sidelines. Though not blameless, I had not been the loudest taunter in the crowd, or the cruelest – but I was one of the smallest. Bobby came charging over and socked me hard. I was reminded of this incident by the Legislature’s actions this session regarding tax breaks for the wind-power industry.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma’s first teacher climate summit set for July 28-29
In-depth climate science curriculum and activities will be showcased for Oklahoma’s classroom teachers at the state’s first teacher climate summit. Applications are being accepted for the summit, planned July 28-29 at the National Weather Center in Norman. Hosted by Oklahoma Mesonet, the Oklahoma Project Learning Tree and Oklahoma Forestry Services, the summit will provide educators with climate educational tools they can use in their classrooms.
Tulsa woman wins headscarf case against Abercrombie & Fitch
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a Tulsa woman who was denied a job at clothing chain Abercrombie Kids because she wore a Muslim headscarf to the job interview. In an 8-1 decision, the court said civil rights law prohibited the retailer from using Samantha Elauf’s religion as a motivating factor in not hiring her.
OSBI investigating Oklahoma state senator over embezzling funds
A powerful state senator has come under investigation because of accusations he embezzled funds while he was a top official at the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Oklahoma. Sen. Rick Brinkley, R-Owasso, has hired an attorney and is denying wrongdoing. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been looking into the accusations since January.
Quote of the Day
“I bring home about $2,000 take home a month. I made $12 a month too much to go on food stamps. That’s with a bachelor’s degree.”
-Tulsa 4th grade teacher Stephanie Anderson, who said she is considering becoming one of the hundreds of Oklahoma teachers leaving the profession due to low pay (Source)
Number of the Day
22
Number of Oklahomans killed by police officers this year, giving the state the highest per capita deaths by police in the nation.
Source: The Guardian
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The Myth of State Policy Innovation
Many state legislatures are not professional or full-time, or they lack extensive research staff to undertake policy work. So they turn to other states to see what they have done. Sometimes those policies are good ones, but more often borrowing from other states is a short-cut mechanism that results in policies that fail to deliver. States become creatures of me-tooism, repeating and replicating policy initiatives found elsewhere without asking if in fact they work.
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Regarding judges using the new legislation, the OU criminologist is right about the minimal numbers who will be affected, making the applause for this level of “reform” more than premature. One of the things that policymakers rarely attend to when writing their legislation is implementation feasibility, will those who are affected by the new or changed laws have the resources and/or inclinations to actually perform as needed to make the law effective? One of the major flaws with the OK Justice Reinvestment law was its assumption that those told/recommended to do things, like judges using more pre-sentence assessments, revocation centers being taken seriously, or the Attorney General performing real evaluations of grant programs he funded (IOW, evaluating his own decisions), would hop right on those things. There was never a chance, which made JRI in OK “policy theater” from the start, despite the good intentions of Speaker Steele, the only policymaker really invested in the changes. The mandatory minimum law changes will go the same way when, with a little proactive investigation, the state might have tailored them more effectively. Wisconsin passed a similar “alternatives” bill dealing with DUI sentencing about a decade ago but, before passage, had the state sentencing commission do focus groups with judges around the state to get feedback on reactions and how the proposals might (not) be used. The judges’ feedback was meaningful and helped the law get written/passed in a way that improved its acceptance and use. OK policymakers could do the same thing with a helpful university or nonprofit policy organization (!!!) and not pass these bills with no real clue as to how feasible the implementation would be. A state really committed to reform in any area would already be doing things like this. If the point, however, is “policy theater,” though . . . .