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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 Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater charged members of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board with misdemeanors, accusing them of voting on inmates’ requests for early release without proper public notice. NewsOK writes that voters’ reluctance to pay for improvements to the Oklahoma County jail could result in a federal takeover.
Former House Speaker Kris Steele said it appeared that Gov. Mary Fallin has backed away from supporting the Justice Reinvestment Initiative that Steele sponsored. David Blatt’s Journal Record column examines whether forces supporting the status quo in criminal justice have regained the upper hand. The Governor put out a press release expressing support for legislative moves to create a new state entity to oversee the reforms. The Senate approved a state ballot question to give the governor and Senate more control over the selection of judges. Gov. Fallin said she will withhold comment on a bill to allow teachers to carry guns in public schools until she sees the final version of it. House Speaker TW Shannon and several legislators held a press conference to voice their support for allowing the commercial slaughter of horses in Oklahoma for human consumption.
The House passed another bill to “nullify” national health care law. In NewsOK, Rep. Doug Cox argues for developing an Oklahoma plan to extend Medicaid coverage, and David Blatt writes that Oklahoma’s Medicaid program has proven its worth. OK Policy previously released an issue brief showing that Oklahoma’s Medicaid program is cost-effective and ready to handle expansion. On the OK Policy Blog, we write that a reduction in the state spending limit proposed in the House is a solution in search of a problem. The Senate passed a measure to allow cities and counties to ban smoking on properties they own or operate.
The Supreme Court is wading into a Texas-Okla. feud over water rights ahead of an expected”‘flood of litigation”. After months of criticism meant to spur an investor uprising, SandRidge Energy added four representatives of dissident shareholder TPG-Axon Capital to its board, signaling the possible departure of CEO Tom Ward. NewsOn6 profiled an Oklahoma family that is being helped by food stamps. The Number of the Day is the total state expenditures per person in Oklahoma in 2012. In today’s Policy Note, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warns that if deficit reduction targets programs that provide supports and foster opportunity for low-income families, the adverse effects could be felt for decades — and not just by the low-income families and individuals who receive this assistance.
In The News
Oklahoma parole board members charged with misdemeanors
The five current members of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board were accused Wednesday in misdemeanor charges of illegally voting on inmates’ requests for early release without proper public notice. All five current members of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board were accused Wednesday in misdemeanor charges of illegally voting on early release requests without proper public notice. The board acted in a way “designed to hide potentially unpopular actions … from the citizens it serves,” Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said in a news release after filing the charges. Gov. Mary Fallin quickly criticized the prosecutor’s decision and said she supported the board members.
Vote on Oklahoma County jail can’t be put off indefinitely
The Oklahoma County jail can hold about 2,400 inmates. It stays full most of the time. Yet the number of county residents who have a friend or relative locked up is small. Consequently, most locals don’t much care whether the building is too crowded or structurally inadequate. It’s not their problem. These sentiments were no doubt reflected in a survey that sought to gauge voters’ interest in a half-cent sales tax to pay for a new jail. Oklahoma County commissioners had considered putting that question on a ballot this spring. They changed their minds after looking at results of the survey, conducted by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. Now the strategy is to ask the U.S. Justice Department to ease off or abandon its threat to take over the jail if improvements aren’t made.
Steele questions support of Justice Reinvestment Initiative
A planned meeting of the working group for the Justice Reinvestment Initiative could become a discussion about the fate of the statewide initiative, The Journal Record has learned. Former House Speaker Kris Steele said he had several questions that need answers about the JRI and its implementation. Steele said it appeared that Republican Gov. Mary Fallin had backed away from supporting the program. not long after Steele left office in 2012, Fallin’s office announced that it would no longer seek the federal funds to implement the program. Fallin’s staff announced the policy change in a Feb. 21 letter to members of the JRI’s working group. On Tuesday, Steele, chairman of the working group, said he was frustrated by the change. He said attendance at the working group meetings has been spotty, at best.
Read more from the Journal Record [subscriber only].
Prosperity Policy: Pulling the plug
Is Oklahoma serious about criminal justice reform? Last year’s justice reinvestment bill suggested that elected leaders were finally ready to tackle the crisis of a criminal justice system that has produced one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation, and the world, without making us safer or preparing offenders for successful re-entry to society. But recent decisions suggest that the forces supporting the status quo have regained the upper hand.
Read more from the Journal Record.
Governor Fallin applauds passage of JRI implementation bill
PRESS RELEASE – Governor Mary Fallin today thanked the Oklahoma House of Representatives for passing House Bill 2042, a bill that would formalize the process of implementing the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). HB 2042 would incorporate a formal governmental body within state government to supervise JRI implementation, within the existing state entity called the Re-Entry Policy Council. Members would be selected by both the legislature and the Governor. “The JRI initiative is part of a ‘smart on crime’ philosophy that I have long advocated for,” said Fallin. “I am absolutely committed to seeing this initiative succeed. “We need to get non-violent offenders whose crimes are related to addiction and substance abuse the help they need to get sober and be constructive members of their community. That’s why it’s so important we get JRI right.”
Senate approves changes to judicial appointment
The state Senate on Wednesday passed an array of measures involving judges and school safety. One measure, Senate Joint Resolution 21, would let voters decide to give the governor and Senate more control of the selection of judges. Applications for judicial vacancies now go to the Judicial Nominating Commission, which is made up of six lawyers and nine nonlawyers. The panel interviews judges and submits three names to the governor, who makes a selection. Senate confirmation is not required. Under SJR 21, by Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, if voters approve a constitutional amendment, the governor would select a judge and ask for a rating of qualified or unqualified from the Judicial Nominating Commission. The Senate would have to confirm the selection.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Governor unsure about bill to allow guns at school
Gov. Mary Fallin said Wednesday she will withhold comment on a bill that would allow trained public school teachers to bring handguns to schools until she sees the final version of it. The governor said she is looking forward to seeing how recommendations from the Oklahoma Commission on School Safety will be developed into legislation. House Bill 1062 passed the House 68-23 late Tuesday and is headed to the Senate. The measure would allow public school teachers or administrators who successfully complete a special school resource officer course to bring loaded handguns to school. An emergency clause, which would make the bill take effect immediately if it is signed into law, failed.
Legislators line up behind horsemeat bill
Several legislators voiced their support Wednesday for a pair of measures that would allow the commercial slaughter of horses in Oklahoma for human consumption, despite recent recalls in Europe of products found to contain horse meat and a push in Washington to renew a federal ban on horse slaughter that expired in 2011. Rep. Skye McNiel, a Bristow Republican who crafted the House’s horsemeat bill, joined Speaker T. W. Shannon and more than 100 members of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and other agriculture groups at a news conference in the state Capitol. Many said ranchers and farmers know best how to care for their own animals. “This morning, we draw the line in the sand and say we are not going to be bullied,” said Shannon, who framed the issue in terms of property rights.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
House approves national health care law “nullification” bill, draws criticism
House Democrats criticized a bill Wednesday seeking to prevent enforcement of the national health care law as a political statement, meaningless and a waste of time. House Bill 1021, which also would have the Legislature declare the Affordable Care Act as not being authorized by the U.S. Constitution, easily passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives mostly along party lines 72-20. It now goes to the Senate. Rep. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, said voting for the measure could be a violation of lawmakers’ oaths to uphold the state and federal constitutions. The U.S. Supreme Court last year upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Legislator: Oklahoma plan needed to expand health care
In “Fight over Medicaid is a clash of visions” (Point of View, March 6), Brandon Dutcher said that as an emergency room physician I have “a vested financial interest in Medicaid expansion” because I work at a government-subsidized hospital. Dutcher is vice president of a conservative think tank who derives notoriety and income from pushing his agenda. As a Republican who believes in conservative principles, I choose to fall back on the common-sense conservative values taught to me by my parents. I practice the Golden Rule, to treat others as I would hope to be treated — including low-income individuals.
David Blatt: Medicaid proves its worth
Under the new national health care law, Oklahoma has an opportunity to extend Medicaid to provide health coverage to thousands of adults working low-wage jobs. In Oklahoma, extending Medicaid would provide health coverage to 125,000 adults who are currently uninsured and who struggle to find timely and affordable care. In adopting a stance of maximum opposition to “Obamacare,” some critics claim that being enrolled in Medicaid is worse than having no insurance at all. Yet research (and common sense) proves these claims wrong.
See also: Medicaid proves its worth in Oklahoma from Oklahoma Policy Institute
Senate advances bill to let cities, counties ban smoking on public property
The state Senate passed a measure Wednesday that would allow cities and counties to ban smoking on properties they own or operate. Senate Bill 501 by Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Ardmore, heads to the House for consideration after securing Senate approval by a vote of 44-1. Simpson said the measure would apply to parks, libraries, baseball fields, golf courses, soccer fields and other properties. Sen. Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, cast the lone vote against the measure.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Spending limit proposal is a solution in search of a problem
Oklahoma lawmakers are considering a proposal, HJR 1011, that would change the state constitution to lower the amount by which legislative appropriations can grow from one year to the next. After looking at state spending patterns in recent years, it’s clear this is an ill-advised solution in search of a problem. Oklahoma’s constitution (Article 10, Section 23.1) already limits state spending. Appropriations can grow 12 percent above the prior year’s total appropriations, adjusted for inflation. HJR 1011 would substantially lower the appropriations limit to the prior year’s total appropriations plus 7 percent, adjusted for inflation. But as the chart below shows, this constitutional amendment is unnecessary.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Supreme Court wades into bitter Texas-Okla. feud ahead of expected ‘flood of litigation’
Housing developments are all that grow these days on a parched brown landscape that sprawls out here in all directions. Booming population growth and oil and gas development are wringing the last drops of water out of an area in the grips of drought. But it’s a different picture about 100 miles up the highway in southeast Oklahoma. From a helicopter, about 300 feet up, you see lush areas the size of football fields with glistening puddles saturated by the nearby Kiamichi River. Dan Buhman, an engineer planning north Texas’ water supply for the next 50 years, looked down at the green fields and laughed.
Read more from Environment & Energy Publishing.
SandRidge Energy adds four board members to end shareholder fight
After months of criticism meant to spur an investor uprising, SandRidge Energy Inc. on Wednesday added four representatives of dissident shareholder TPG-Axon Capital to its board, signaling the possible departure of CEO Tom Ward. TPG-Axon, a New York-based hedge fund, had been pushing SandRidge shareholders to oust the current board, citing the company’s poor stock performance since its initial public offering in 2007. Votes in the proxy fight were due by Friday, but SandRidge announced it had reached a settlement agreement with TPG-Axon on Wednesday after the markets closed.
Economy forces family to choose between hunger and asking for help
In partnership with the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, News On 6 is committed to highlighting the problem of hunger in our community, especially when it strikes children. We’ve learned the families affected are often not the ones you would expect. Dinners are a collaborative effort at the Richens household. With four kids and a dog underfoot, there’s not a lot of down time. But for George and Rebecca, having a big family was a natural decision. “I come from a big family. [I’m] the youngest of nine kids and my wife is the second youngest of six kids,” George said. But big families come with big expenses, particularly when it comes to putting food on the table.
Quote of the Day
Dutcher tries to make the issue of extending Medicaid coverage a partisan one, asserting only that the “organized left” and the “crony capitalist/health care provider(s)” support caring for the poor. Really? The Republican values that I’m most proud of include not only compassion but fiscal responsibility. … While Dutcher makes this an issue of political parties, I choose to make it an issue about people — specifically tax-paying Oklahomans, who will see $8.6 billion of their tax money go to Florida or any of the more than 20 other states for their health care.
–Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, responding to criticism of his support for extending Medicaid by Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs Vice President Brandon Dutcher
Number of the Day
$4,378
Total state expenditures per person in Oklahoma in 2012, down from $4,661 in 2010
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Why Deficit Reduction Must Protect Effective Low-Income Programs
With President Obama and lawmakers of both parties vowing to achieve further deficit reduction, the stakes are high for low- and moderate-income Americans. Moreover, as we explain in a new paper, if deficit reduction targets programs that provide supports and foster opportunity for low-income families, the adverse effects could be felt for decades — and not just by the low-income families and individuals who receive this assistance. The economy’s future strength will depend in part on tapping the talents of as many Americans as possible. If we shortchange investments that expand opportunity, the nation and our economy will be weaker than otherwise. As recent data and research show, various key federal programs both ameliorate poverty in the short run and have important positive impacts over the long run. Census data show that, as a group, programs that help families struggling to afford the basics are effective at substantially reducing the number of poor and uninsured Americans.
Read more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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