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The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma has been shut down after a video appeared online showing reported members of the organization chanting racial slurs and making a reference to lynching. The New York Times examined how Oklahoma and other states are considering laws that would allow business owners to refuse service to gay couples. The Tulsa World spoke with Oklahomans whose new access to health insurance could be in jeopardy from a legal challenge at the US Supreme Court.
A Democratic state senator proposed three amendments to a school voucher bill that would prevent funding from going to any private school teaching AP U.S. history; would require all parents to take and pass a drug test; and would prohibit parents from using the money to buy curriculum materials tied to Common Core standards. Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard said he doesn’t understand why lawmakers are talking about “shoveling money at private schools” when Oklahoma already has a huge state budget shortfall. Education groups said a bill making its way through the Legislature unfairly targets teachers by barring state paycheck deductions for dues to the Oklahoma Education Association.
Gross production tax collections dropped sharply in February as Oklahoma continued to feel the effects of slumping oil prices, but higher sales tax and income tax revenue helped put February’s total revenue at 3.3 percent above the same month last year. Governor Fallin argued in a Tulsa World op-ed that that budget crisis is an opportunity to fix structural imbalances in Oklahoma’s budget system. Oklahoma prisons reached an all-time high of inmates last month while the number of guards is at 67 percent of authorized levels. Pregnant women who use drugs could face criminal penalties under a measure working its way through the Oklahoma Senate.
State Treasurer Ken Miller says two bills that would keep his office from linking Oklahoma residents with rightful life insurance proceeds are “shameful” and vowed Friday to sue the state if the measures become laws. A new study found that the faults responsible for thousands of earthquakes in Oklahoma are capable of producing much larger earthquakes in areas near Langston, Cushing, Medford and Stillwater. The city of Lawton approved a $1 water bill surcharge to pay $250,000 for a cloud-seeding company to try to bring more rain. A bill that would allow Oklahomans to have a fire during a burn ban passed out of the Oklahoma House on Thursday.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma who do not have health insurance. In today’s Policy Note, the Washington Post examines how America’s talent flow has gotten clogged as middle-class workers are forced into low-skill, low-paying jobs.
In The News
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity national president orders OU chapter to cease and desist after racist video appears online
The national president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, which has a chapter at the University of Oklahoma, said Sunday evening that the OU chapter was placed on an immediate cease and desist order just hours after a video appeared online showing reported members of the organization chanting racial slurs. The 10-second video, posted at 6:40 p.m. Sunday, features men singing “there will never be a n—-r in SAE,” along with a line referencing lynching.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
States Weigh Legislation to Let Businesses Refuse to Serve Gay Couples
As it looks increasingly likely that the Supreme Court will establish a nationwide right to same-sex marriage later this year, state legislatures across the country are taking up bills that would make it easier for businesses and individuals to opt out of serving gay couples on religious grounds. “They don’t have a right to be served in every single store,”said State Senator Joseph Silk, an Oklahoma Republican and the sponsor of a bill in that state. “People need to have the ability to refuse service if its violates their religious convictions.”
Read more from The New York Times.
Tulsa-area residents worry about losing insurance subsidies
Regina Johnson cried on Tuesday when she received her health-insurance card in the mail. It’s the first time in her life she’s had insurance. “I called my husband crying because I was so happy,” the 50-year-old Collinsville woman said. Johnson signed up for health coverage last month under the Affordable Care Act, but the insurance she and millions of others have just received could be in jeopardy.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Senator Ties Education Savings Accounts to AP History Ban
A Democratic state senator who opposes a bill creating education savings accounts is proposing three amendments that appear to take a shot at other recent Republican legislation. Sen. John Sparks, D-Norman, proposed the amendments on the Senate floor on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first would prevent funding from going to any school teaching AP U.S. history; the second would require all parents to take and pass a drug test, and the third would prohibit parents from using the money to buy curriculum materials tied to Common Core standards.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
TPS Superintendent Keith Ballard asks legislators to spike voucher bill
Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard used Friday morning’s Tulsa Regional Chamber Legislative Briefing Breakfast to lobby Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, on a school voucher bill expected to be heard next week. “For the life of me,” Ballard said near the end of a question-and-answer period with Bingman and other legislators, “I cannot understand why … at a time when we’re talking about a huge (state revenue) shortfall, why are we shoveling money at private schools.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Legislation unfairly targets teachers, education groups say
A bill making its way through the Legislature would bar state paycheck deductions for dues to the Oklahoma Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. Leaders of the education groups say teachers are being targeted by the proposed legislation. House Bill 1749 by Rep. Tom Newell, R-Seminole, passed the state House last month by a vote of 59-39. It has been assigned to the Senate General Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow. Dahm is the Senate author of the measure and intends to hear it in his committee.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma revenue report shows ups, downs
Gross production tax collections dropped sharply in February as Oklahoma continued to feel the effects of slumping oil prices, state Treasurer Ken Miller said Friday. But it wasn’t all bad news. “Low oil prices were a double-edged sword for the Oklahoma economy during this past month, with gross production receipts falling by 24 percent and sales tax collections rising by more than 5 percent,” he said. “It appears Oklahomans used the money saved at the gas pump to buy other items, which led to the higher sales tax figures.”
Gov. Mary Fallin: Oklahoma’s budget crisis presents opportunity for reform
With every challenge comes an opportunity and, as one of my favorite sayings goes, “setbacks are opportunities for comebacks.” Fifty dollar a barrel oil prices and a $611 million budget shortfall certainly qualify as challenges, even setbacks, but they are ones that we can overcome. This year we have a tremendous opportunity to carefully rethink how we put together the state’s budget and to address cyclical and structural imbalances that threaten the stability of state finances.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma Prisoner Numbers Growing While Guard Numbers Decline
Understaffed prisons filled beyond capacity and a budget shortfall likely to make the problem worse could provide the impetus for legislators to address the politically difficult task of reducing inmate growth. Oklahoma prisons reached an all-time high of inmates last month, more than 28,500, while the number of guards is at 67 percent of authorized levels. Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton told legislators last week that further budget cuts could force him to eliminate nearly 340 more positions.
Bill Would Penalize Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs
Pregnant women who use drugs could face criminal penalties under a measure working its way through the Oklahoma Senate. SB 559 would change the definition of assault to include the illegal use of a narcotic drug by a child’s mother while the mother is pregnant. A woman found guilty would face a misdemeanor charge, possibly 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. State Sen. Bryce Marlatt State Sen. Bryce Marlatt However, if the child dies as a result of the drug use, the assault would be considered a felony and the woman would face a prison sentence of not more than five years and a $500 fine.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Oklahoma treasurer describes insurance bills as ‘shameful’
Treasurer Ken Miller says two bills that would keep his office from linking Oklahoma residents with rightful life insurance proceeds are “shameful” and vowed Friday to sue the state if the measures become laws. Miller, a Republican who oversees Oklahoma’s Unclaimed Property Fund, said it received $18 million in unclaimed insurance proceeds over the last 12 months that his office will try to return to the rightful owners. But the bills, being sponsored by lawmakers who are also insurance agents, would hamper those efforts, he said.
Study: ‘Reawakened’ Oklahoma Faults Could Produce Larger Earthquakes
The faults responsible for thousands of earthquakes in Oklahoma are capable of producing larger earthquakes, according to a new study. These “reactivated” faults were formed roughly 300 million years ago and are well known for creating underground structures that “trap” oil and natural gas, the U.S. Geological Survey wrote in a statement about the new research. The paper points out several “earthquake clusters” that are of “particular concern” for producing larger earthquakes, including areas near the communities of Langston, Cushing, Medford and Stillwater.
Lawton Turns to Weather Manipulation to Aid Drought-Stricken City Water Supplies
Five years of drought has strangled lakes and reservoirs in southwestern Oklahoma. The city of Lawton is considering extraordinary means to help fill water supplies. City leaders hope a man with an airplane can manipulate the weather and bring more rain. In February, Lawton approved a $1 water bill surcharge to pay Seeding Operations and Atmospheric Research for a five-month, $250,000 cloud-seeding contract.
House Passes Prescribed Burn Bill
A bill that would allow Oklahomans to have a fire during a burn ban passed out of the Oklahoma House on Thursday despite some members’ concerns. Freshman Rep. Kevin Wallace (R-Wellston), who authored the legislation, said HB1462 would allow more local control and would standardize the Governor’s burn ban at the county level. Landowners would be required to have a burn plan in place 60 days before the burn and they must have fire extinguishing equipment.
Quote of the Day
“It frightens me a little. I can’t afford the premium without the subsidy. If that is taken away, I won’t be insured.”
-Liz Masters, a Tulsa woman who has health insurance for the first time in years thanks to Affordable Care Act subsidies that opponents of the law are trying to block at the Supreme Court (Source)
Number of the Day
75%
Percentage of undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma who do not have health insurance.
Source: Migration Policy Center.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Fixing the broken talent flow
In the American psyche, the moon landing is the story of almost everything that went right after World War II. But in economic terms, Lisa Rapp is that story — a housecleaner’s daughter who would grow up to be an engineer; a face of an upward flow of talent that lifted workers and wages around the country. The reason the American middle class has stagnated in recent decades is the upward talent flow got clogged up.
Read more from The Washington Post.
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