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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 State Department of Health has ended its contract with Planned Parenthood to provide nutrition assistance for low-income women, infants, and young children. The OK Policy Blog has discussed an earlier attempt by legislators to remove Planned Parenthood from this program. A new student organization at the University of Oklahoma has been formed to promote political involvement on issues of reproductive justice and gender equality. Implementation of a plan to privatize parts of foster care and improve the welfare of children in state custody is well under way.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy named Oklahoma one of the most improved states for energy efficiency in its annual rankings. OK Policy previously examined why energy efficiency is important and what more we can do to improve it in Oklahoma. Legislators pulled a request to block the appropriation of $2 million in public funds to a private, nonprofit livestock show. Oklahoma Policy Institute released an updated fact sheet on budget trends and highlights.
A Senate interim study discussed the fact that state appropriations to common education have been reduced by nearly $200 million since 2009. Rep. Richard Morrissette called for the legislature to intervene on behalf of dozens of education leaders who have questioned the accuracy and fairness of A-F grades for schools. The U.S. Department of Education has started its own investigation into Douglass Mid-High School, where former students and teachers allege administrators changed grades and forged attendance records.
The Tulsa World spoke with OK Policy Director David Blatt and other state policy experts about last night’s presidential debate. David Blatt’s Journal Record column explains how we all pay taxes – rich, poor and middle class alike. The OK Policy Blog discussed how the decline of American labor unions has led to stagnant incomes for working families and growing inequality.
The Number of the Day is how many Oklahomans were enrolled in the food stamp program at some point during FY 2011. In today’s Policy Note, a new study Georgetown University researchers suggests that even if insurers are allowed to sell across state lines, they won’t choose to do so.
In The News
Oklahoma WIC contract ended with Planned Parenthood
The Oklahoma State Department of Health has ended its WIC contract with Planned Parenthood, whose CEO thinks the decision was politically motivated. Three out of the four Planned Parenthood health centers in the Tulsa area provide services through the federal Women, Infants and Children program, but CEO Jill June said she doesn’t know whether the centers will have to close because the organization is fighting the contract’s termination. “We’re going to do whatever we can to preserve our ability to continue to serve these women and children, because we know that’s what they want and we know that we are a very good provider,” she said. The clinics in the Tulsa area have about 3,000 WIC visits a month, a spokesman said. The state Department of Health says the contract was not renewed for business reasons.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Previously: Out of the Mouths of Babes: Legislature moves to cut child nutrition benefits from the OK Policy Blog
New student organization promotes women’s rights
A new student organization called Gender Equality and Reproductive Rights has been formed to promote political involvement and spread knowledge about the issues of reproductive justice and gender equality. GEARR was formed in response to 10 bills that appeared in the Oklahoma legislature last year that were aimed to limit women’s reproductive rights, organization president Danielle Williams said. The most controversial bill, SB 1433 known as the Personhood Act, became a centerpiece for activism and political involvement, she said. “Nothing that extreme had ever happened before, and many young women realized for the first time that this directly affects them,” said Williams.
DHS reforms, foster care privatization under way
Implementation of a plan to privatize parts of foster care and improve the welfare of children in state custody is well under way, Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, told the Senate committee for DHS on Wednesday. Lawmakers passed five bills last session that changed the organization, leadership, operation and transparency of the Department of Human Services, one of the state’s largest agencies. Many of the changes were promised by the state in a settlement agreement to a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of ill-served foster care children in Oklahoma. The settlement resulted in adoption of what has come to be known as The Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan.
Oklahoma named one of the most improved states for energy efficiency
Gov. Mary Fallin said here Wednesday that a concerted effort to increase energy efficiency in state government helped Oklahoma raise its score enough in an annual ranking to be named one of the most improved. Speaking at a news conference hosted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the governor said she had been given the organization’s previous report and wasn’t happy with the ranking. “One area that our state had fallen behind (in) was energy efficiency and energy conservation,” she said. “And when I became governor a year ago, I was given a copy of ACEEE’s report and I saw where we were ranked 47th in the nation. And I said, ‘Wait, we’re too good a state to be ranked 47th in the nation and we’re going to improve that.’” In the rankings released Wednesday, the state moved up to 39th and had a score of 11 points out of a possible 50. Massachusetts finished first for the second year in a row, with a score of 43.5.
Previously: Energy Efficiency: ‘It’s fruit lying on the ground.’ from the OK Policy Blog
2 lawmakers pull request to stop Okla. Expo money
Two Oklahoma legislators are pulling a request for an Oklahoma County judge to block the appropriation of $2 million in public funds to a private, nonprofit livestock show, one of the lawmakers said Wednesday. But state Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, said he and fellow Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, are still pursuing their lawsuit against the state that alleges payments to the Oklahoma Youth Expo livestock show are unconstitutional. A hearing scheduled Wednesday on a temporary injunction to stop the transfer of funds to the Youth Expo was postponed, and a new hearing date was not set. Reynolds said he and Ritze plan to pull their injunction request because the money has already been distributed. “We can no longer ask them not to cut the check because they cut it,” Reynolds said.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
Budget trends and highlights – October 2012
State revenue collections have not fully recovered from the downturn •• Tax collections are at historically low levels as a share of state personal income. • FY 2010 General Revenue (GR) collections fell 22.4 percent below pre-downturn levels (FY 2008). • FY 2012 revenue collections were up 20.0 percent from FY ‘10 but remain 6.9 percent below their pre-downturn peak. • Revenues for the first two months of FY 2013 are down 2.8 percent from last year and are barely on pace with estimates, due primarily to weak natural gas prices and payments to energy producers for deferred exemptions
Read more from Oklahoma Policy Institute.
State funding for education down $198 million since 2009
State appropriations to common education have been reduced by nearly $200 million since fiscal year 2009, lawmakers were told Wednesday. As a result, educators are frustrated and feel common education is not a priority for lawmakers, said Jeff Mills, Oklahoma State School Boards Association executive director. He spoke before the Senate Education Committee, which is conducting an interim study on common education funding. The study was requested by Republican Sens. John Ford of Bartlesville and Jim Halligan of Stillwater. Mills said the looming education cuts amount to nearly $122 million – including revenue lost if two state questions on the November ballot are approved, potential federal reductions and unfunded mandates.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Legislator calls for intervention on school report cards
Just days before the scheduled release of new A-F grades for every public school and school district, an Oklahoma City legislator is calling on legislative leaders from both parties to intervene on behalf of dozens of education leaders who have publicly questioned the accuracy and fairness of their report cards. State Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, said the grading-system problems described publicly by superintendents in districts from the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas, as well as rural districts, could undermine the reputation of public schools across the state. “The political leadership in both parties knows there is a huge problem with the rollout of state school ratings, and it’s time for the governor and legislative leadership to intervene in this bizarre process before irreparable damage is done,” Morrissette said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma City superintendent confirms federal investigation of Douglas Mid-High School
The U.S. Department of Education has started its own investigation into Douglass Mid-High School, where former students and teachers allege administrators changed grades and forged attendance records. Oklahoma City Public Schools has been conducting a parallel investigation for months. “The district investigation is ongoing,” Superintendent Karl Springer said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with the United States Department of Education.” A complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education, a school district spokeswoman confirmed. However, a federal education spokesman could not immediately provide information about that complaint. Recently, a group of former teachers and students handed over affidavits about Douglass Mid-High School to the school board. In the documents, they claim cheating was rampant in the school, and most point the finger at Principal Brian Staples.
State domestic policy experts weigh in on presidential debate
Oklahoma experts on a variety of domestic policy issues said Wednesday night’s presidential debate offered interesting and useful information, but they lamented that some subjects were not dealt with in more depth — or in some cases at all. “There was no discussion of immigration or social policy,” said David Blatt of the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Policy Institute. “They kept going back to taxes, Medicare and education — all of which are important. “The strangest thing is that so much of how we choose a president is based on a skill they don’t need after they become president. The one thing you don’t do as president is debate. We have a better selection process for deciding who will be Donald Trump’s apprentice than we do for president.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Prosperity Policy: We all pay taxes
Who pays taxes? The indisputable answer is that we all do – rich, poor and middle class alike. Moreover, we all generally pay a similar share of our income to support schools, roads, defense and other public services nationally and locally. Recently, of course, the question has generated heated controversy, especially regarding presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s leaked comment that it is not his job to worry about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay federal income tax. While it’s true that nearly half of American households paid no federal income tax in 2011, according to the Tax Policy Center, this is not the whole story.
Read more from the Journal Record.
What we’re reading: Harold Meyerson on ‘What happens if labor dies?’
Over the past several decades, income growth for most American families has been weak or non-existent. Between 1979 and 2007, incomes for the top 1 percent of households grew more than the bottom 90 percent. Incomes for the top 1 percent grew 241 percent compared to just 11 percent for the bottom fifth and 19 percent for the middle fifth. This month’s cover story in the American Prospect by Harold Meyerson makes a compelling case that one of the main causes of the stagnant economic fortunes of working families and growing economic inequality is the weakened state of American labor unions. From a peak of one in three workers in the early 1950s, union membership has now shrunk to just 11.8 percent of American workers, and only 6.9 percent of workers in the private sector. In Oklahoma, just 6.4 percent of workers are unionized.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Quote of the Day
I said, ‘Wait, we’re too good a state to be ranked 47th in the nation and we’re going to improve that.’
–Gov. Mary Fallin, speaking about energy efficiency
Number of the Day
880,939
Number of Oklahomans that were enrolled in the food stamp program at some point during FY 2011, up 13 percent from FY 2010
Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Do health insurers even want to sell across state lines?
Allowing insurance sales across state lines comes up perennially as a way to drive down the cost of health care. Conservatives argue that allowing a plan from a state with relatively few benefit mandates – say, Wyoming – to sell its package in a mandate-heavy state (like New York) would give consumers access to options that are more affordable than what they get now. Liberals tend to argue this is a bad idea, contending that it would create a “race to the bottom,” where insurers compete to offer the skimpiest benefit packages. A new paper from Georgetown University researchers suggests a third possible outcome: Absolutely nothing at all will happen. They looked at the three states – Maine, Georgia and Wyoming – that have passed laws allowing insurers from other states to participate in their markets. All have done so within the past two years. So far, none of the three have seen out-of-state carriers come into their market or express interest in doing so. It seems to have nothing to do with state benefit mandates, and everything to do with the big challenge of setting up a network of providers that new subscribers could see.
Read more from The Washington Post.
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