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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.
The chief investigator at the Oklahoma Veterans Affairs Department has been fired and is facing prosecution after authorities concluded he is a fraud. The only state facility for incarcerated juvenile girls could close this summer if additional funding isn’t obtained by the Office of Juvenile Affairs. Tulsa city and county officials seem to be inching closer to a jail agreement, but officials are still negotiating over which inmates should be the first to be released when the jail reaches capacity. The Tulsa World praised the package of criminal justice reform measures moving though the Legislature.
On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed how despite talk of the need for greater scrutiny of tax incentives, lawmakers are pushing another unproven tax break with no idea what it will cost. While still negotiating the language, the Oklahoma House of Representatives Common Education Committee kept alive education reform measures that would replace state-mandated end of instruction tests and extend a moratorium on automatic retention of third graders. Tulsa Superintendent Keith Ballard announced Monday that he will be seeking school board approval to cancel classes on March 30 to allow teachers and other staff to attend an education rally at the state Capitol.
A Senate committee approved legislation to prohibit the use of all tobacco products in public schools and make them tobacco free. Inside Higher Ed examined issues surrounding the University of Oklahoma’s treatment of American Indian students. The Cherokee Nation is distributing checks totaling $4 million from tribal car tag sales to 106 school districts. A bill that would require doctors to check a patient database before writing prescriptions for highly addictive drugs is one step away from the governor’s signature after passing a Senate committee.
The Journal Record editorial board argued that accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid would be good for business in Oklahoma. An OK Policy report previously examined the Medicaid expansion’s track record in other states. A man is preparing to take the matter to court after the Oklahoma Tax Commission denied a personalized license plate supporting gay rights with the message “LGBTALY,” claiming it is sexual in nature. Legislation that authorizes public schools to implement programs intended to help prevent child sexual abuse has been approved by an Oklahoma Senate committee, though lawmakers added protections for parents who opt their children out of this training program. Six years after the Legislature approved a Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol, the state is still fighting legal action.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma City metro residents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. In today’s Policy Note, NPR reports on why Americans with low incomes pay a price in poor health.
In The News
Oklahoma veterans agency chief investigator fired, accused of being fake police officer
In a stunningly embarrassing twist, the chief investigator at the Oklahoma Veterans Affairs Department has been fired and is facing prosecution after authorities concluded he is a fraud. Steven B. Pancoast Jr., 41, was never the state-certified law enforcement officer he pretended to be, authorities allege. His paperwork turned out to be faked. Instead, he is an ex-convict who spent almost three years in a New Jersey prison in the 1990s before moving to Oklahoma, they say.
Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs takes over incarcerated girls facility in Norman
The only state facility for incarcerated juvenile girls could close this summer if additional funding isn’t obtained by the Office of Juvenile Affairs. The medium-security facility has beds for 22 juvenile girls. In its budget request, the Office of Juvenile Affairs has asked the Legislature for $2.5 million to keep the facility open.
City, county officials say two issues remain for jail deal
City and county officials seem to be inching ever closer to a jail agreement. County Commission Chairman Ron Peters went so far Monday as to say he believes there has been “a meeting of the minds.” Peters gave his fellow commissioners an update on negotiations Monday, saying that only two outstanding issues remained: • When an inmate should be considered released from the jail. • Whether city of Tulsa municipal inmates should be among the first to be released from the jail when it reaches capacity.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Good prison reform efforts on the table at state Capitol
A package of criminal justice reforms winding its way through the Legislature could bring some long overdue reason to how Oklahoma handles lawbreakers. Oklahoma incarcerates more offenders per capita than nearly any other state and without a commensurate increase in public safety. More than half of inmates are behind bars for nonviolent offenses, costing taxpayers nearly $20,000 per inmate annually, far more than the state spends per pupil in public schools.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Lawmakers pushing another unproven tax break with no idea what it will cost
There’s lots of talk at the Capitol this year about the need for greater scrutiny and control of tax incentives. As we’ve discussed, bills authored by the House Speaker and Senate Pro Tem would evaluate all incentives on a regular basis and collect data on their fiscal and economic impact. Yet at least one measure that would create a new tax incentive of unknown cost and effectiveness is rushing through the Legislature.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma House keeps education reform bills moving
Due process, the suitability of national standardized tests for Oklahoma classrooms and early elementary reading remediation kept the Oklahoma House of Representatives Common Education Committee after class on Monday. Meeting after the House’s brief regular session and continuing long after everyone else had gone home, the committee ultimately kept alive five reform measures whose final language is still being negotiated.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
TPS wants to use last snow day for March 30 Capitol rally, Superintendent Keith Ballard says
Tulsa Superintendent Keith Ballard announced Monday that he will be seeking school board approval to cancel classes on March 30 to allow teachers and other staff to attend an education rally at the state Capitol. Organized by the Oklahoma Education Coalition, the “Brighter Future” rally is meant to call attention not only to education funding levels, but also to laws and policies that have made state assessments high stakes for students and teachers alike.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tobacco-Free Schools Bill Passes Senate Committee
An Oklahoma Senate committee has approved legislation to prohibit the use of all tobacco products in public schools and make them tobacco free. Oklahoma law already requires that public schools be tobacco-free during the school day. The bill by Republican Sen. James Halligan of Stillwater would extend that policy to include non-school hours as well as school vehicles and school-sponsored activities.
How U. of Oklahoma Treats American Indians
University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren drew praise last week when he swiftly moved to punish members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon caught singing a racist song — much like he did when members of the same fraternity in 1996 stole a tepee and placed it on a sorority house lawn. But since the university’s scattered student services offices in the 1990’s merged into a reorganized Center for Student Life, critics of Boren’s leadership say the communities for American Indian students that flourished during the late 80’s and early 90’s have “dwindled to almost nothing.”
Read more from Inside Higher Ed.
Cherokee Nation To Give $4 Million To School Districts
The Cherokee Nation is distributing checks totaling $4 million from tribal car tag sales to 106 school districts later this week. The checks will be handed out Friday at the Tahlequah-based tribe’s annual Public School Appreciation Day at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. Each year, the tribe allocates 38 percent of tax revenue from the sale of the tags to help school districts fund teacher staffing, buy new technology or other needs.
Prescription drug monitoring bill one step from Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s signature
A bill that would require doctors to check a patient database before writing prescriptions for highly addictive drugs is one step away from the governor’s signature. “I think we should have the votes to finally get this across the finish line,” Sen. A.J. Griffin said Monday after House Bill 1948 passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, 8-1.
See also: Opportunity Missed: the Prescription Monitoring Program in Oklahoma from the OK Policy Blog.
Expanding Medicaid is good for business
The Affordable Care Act is now 5 years old. That’s long enough for the preliminary results to come in. The numbers are good, but they could be better – both for Oklahoma residents and health care providers. More than 126,000 Oklahomans are now insured through the Marketplace system, which has helped reduce the percentage of uninsured residents from 21.4 in 2013 to 18.5 this year.
Read more from Journal Record.
See also: Medicaid Expansion’s Track Record Shows It’s a Good Deal for Oklahoma from OK Policy.
Oklahoma man denied car tag supporting gay rights
The Oklahoma Tax Commission denied a personalized license plate with the message “LGBTALY,” claiming it is sexual in nature, according to an Edmond man who made the request. John Patrick Keefe II, 36, said he has retained an attorney, filed a protest with the commission over the decision and is prepared to take the matter to court. “I’m a staunch LGBT ally and supporter,” he said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Senate Committee Amends And Passes ‘Erin’s Law’ Legislation
Legislation that authorizes public schools to implement programs intended to help prevent child sexual abuse has been approved by an Oklahoma Senate committee. The bill that originated in the House was first amended in ways that raises some concerns by the bill’s original House authors. The committee substitute language offers additional protections for parents who opt their children out of this training program.
Oklahoma Capitol’s Ten Commandments monument still the subject of court fight
When the idea of placing a Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol first gathered momentum six years ago, then-Sen. Jim Wilson predicted big legal expenses. “We’re going to spend a lot of money, and we’re going to lose,” the Tahlequah Democrat said March 30, 2009, when an Oklahoma Senate committee approved a bill to allow the monument. Six years later, the state is still fighting legal action.
Quote of the Day
“It is my intention to close school on March 30 so teachers can participate in the rally and meet with legislators. I am greatly concerned about teacher pay and the statewide teacher shortage. I am supportive of State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s initiative to improve the educational environment in Oklahoma.”
– Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard, announcing that he intends to ask the school board to approve using the district’s remaining snow day to allow teachers and staff to attend a rally for education funding at the state Capitol (Source)
Number of the Day
3.5%
Percentage of Oklahoma City metro residents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, 11th lowest among the top 50 metro areas in the U.S.
Source: Gallup.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
People With Low Incomes Say They Pay A Price In Poor Health
When you ask people what impacts health you’ll get a lot of different answers: Access to good health care and preventative services, personal behavior, exposure to germs or pollution and stress. But if you dig a little deeper you’ll find a clear dividing line, and it boils down to one word: money. People whose household income is more than $75,000 a year have very different perceptions of what affects health than those whose household income is less than $25,000.
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