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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 saw a $194 million increase in fees this year, which outpaces the cost of the cut to the state’s top income tax rate set for 2015. More than three-fourths of the increase was due to a hospital provider fee approved by the Legislature in 2011. The Tulsa World writes that a hike in drivers’ license fees is one of many fee increases to come if Oklahoma continues to slash the income tax. Prison workers across Oklahoma who were denied a raise in a $7.1 billion budget deal say they feel trapped in a political crossfire between the governor and the state’s prison director.
The Purcell city council called on Gov. Mary Fallin and other elected state officials to set politics aside and accept federal dollars for the good of rural health care. The Tulsa World writes that Gov. Fallin’s refusal to work with the federal government for a solution on health care is a disservice to Oklahomans. The most common reason for Norman elementary school students to visit their nurse or health assistant last year was hunger. The public high school in Muldrow is being threatened by a lawsuit if postings of the Ten Commandments aren’t removed from the walls.
The mayors of Wichita, Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Mo. signed a letter of support for expanded passenger rail service between Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. The Kansas Department of Transportation will contribute $3 million to pursue federal funding for the project, contingent on Oklahoma providing $2.3 million.
Oklahoma House Democrats say an improper vote was cast for a $7.1 billion budget bill on behalf of a Republican legislator who had left the building. A legislative plan to remodel office space in the state Capitol could interfere with overall plans to fix the aging building’s plumbing, structural and electrical problems. Gov. Fallin vetoed a bill that would have allowed new state employees to choose a defined contribution pension plan. NewsOK reports that Oklahoma gun shows are considered easy targets for felons seeking firearms.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma households with a past due mortgage. In today’s Policy Note, Jared Bernstein writes in the New York Times that the United States needs a new approach to address a persistent lack of jobs.
In The News
State fee increases offset Oklahoma income tax cut
The state raked in nearly $600 million from fees, licenses and permits last fiscal year — an eye-popping 48 percent increase over the amount taken in just one year earlier. The $194 million increase outpaces the $136 million a year that tax officials have projected taxpayers will save if the House-approved one-quarter percent cut in the state’s highest income tax rate is implemented. More than three-fourths — or about $153.7 million — of the $194 million increase came from a hospital provider fees approved by the Legislature in 2011. Conservative Oklahomans have groused for years that fees have proliferated and soared in the state since 1992 when voters curbed the Legislature’s ability to raise taxes by passing a constitutional amendment.
See also: Driver’s license hike and more fees to come from the Tulsa World
Prison workers feel trapped in political spat
Prison workers across Oklahoma who were denied a raise in a $7.1 billion budget deal say they feel trapped in the crossfire of a political dispute between the governor and the state’s prison director over how much money the agency has available in several revolving accounts. When Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders recently announced a deal on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the Department of Corrections received a stand-still budget of $463.7 million. No additional money was included to help the agency deal with an increasing number of inmates or pay for raises for prison guards who say they’re reaching a breaking point. Meanwhile, prison workers at several facilities are being forced to work mandatory 12-hour shifts, five days a week, while others are required to work double-shifts or mandatory overtime. During a violent outbreak involving nearly 150 inmates a few months ago at a state prison in Lexington, only six officers were available to respond and several suffered injuries trying to break up the melee, said Sgt. David Edelman, a guard at the facility.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Purcell city council calls for Oklahoma to accept federal funds for health care
A resolution adopted Monday evening by the Purcell city council calls on Gov. Mary Fallin and other elected state officials to set politics aside and accept federal dollars for the good of rural health care. Jim Berry, chief executive officer at Purcell Municipal Hospital, put it in perspective for the council. Over the next eight years, Berry said, the hospital is facing $5.9 million in funding cuts because of the Affordable Care Act and the sequester. If the federal funding is accepted, Medicaid will be able to cover 180,000 more Oklahomans.
Read more from the Purcell Register.
Tulsa World: Medicaid standoff a disservice to Oklahomans
Does anyone else see the massive irony in Gov. Mary Fallin’s latest attack on the Obama administration? She accused the president of not keeping his word and of “actively” seeking to toss 30,000 Oklahomans off a state-subsidized health-insurance program, when she has had it in her power for many months to singlehandedly provide health insurance for an estimated 180,000 residents by next year. Thanks to Oklahoma’s inaction, the Insure Oklahoma program really is in jeopardy, and a consultant’s report on how Oklahoma can address the uninsured says another home-grown solution probably can’t be up and running until sometime in 2015.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Hunger rampant in schools
Norman’s elementary school students may visit their nurse or health assistant for any number of reasons, but the most common, as of last year, was hunger. Though it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact numbers and circumstances of all hungry children and teens in the Norman district and statewide, data and trends monitored by the district and the Oklahoma Department of Education show a sharp increase in students qualifying for nutritional assistance. According to the Department of Education, 62 percent of the state’s student population is on Free and Reduced Lunch for Fiscal Year 2013.
Read more from the Norman Transcript.
Uproar in Muldrow, Oklahoma, after classroom ten commandments display prompts lawsuit threat
The little town of Muldrow, Okla., is in turmoil after a national nonprofit organization reportedly threatened a lawsuit if postings of the Ten Commandments aren’t removed from the walls of a public high school. A letter from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FRFF) was sent to school officials after an anonymous student contacted the organization about the postings of the Ten Commandments at his high school, according to multiple reports. In the letter, the nonprofit group, which advocates for the separation of church and state, asked the school to pull the postings down. The foundation indicated that a lawsuit would result if the school refused, the Sequoyah County Times reported Friday.
Read more from the Huffington Post.
Mayors push for expanded rail service between OK, KS
Passenger rail supporters want to close the 185-mile service gap between Oklahoma City and Wichita. They contend creating daily passenger rail service between the two cities would strengthen the existing regional network throughout the I-35 corridor that stretches from San Antonio to Kansas City, Mo. A letter of support signed by the mayors of Wichita, Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Mo., was released Friday. Wichita Vice Mayor Pete Meitzner said in a news release that the Kansas Department of Transportation will contribute $3 million for the city to pursue federal funding for the project, contingent on Oklahoma providing $2.3 million.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Okla. Democrats say absent lawmaker voted on bill
Oklahoma House Democrats say an improper vote was cast for a $7.1 billion budget bill on behalf of a Republican legislator who had left the building. House Democratic Leader Rep. Scott Inman said Thursday that Tulsa Republican Rep. Terry O’Donnell had left the Capitol when two votes were cast on the general appropriations bill. O’Donnell was shown voting yes on both votes. It is a violation of House rules for a vote to be cast for any member who is not present in the chamber. A spokesman for House Speaker T.W. Shannon says they are “looking into the situation.”
Office remodel could conflict with Capitol fixes
A legislative plan to remodel office space in the state Capitol could interfere with overall plans to fix the aging building’s plumbing, structural and electrical problems, Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger said. Lawmakers have approved $120 million to go toward fixing the building. But in the recently announced budget agreement, the House and Senate were able to secure an additional $7 million, some of which will be used for remodeling work. Doerflinger said he absolutely has concerns about the renovations being considered by lawmakers in light of a decision to repair the Capitol in a comprehensive manner. If lawmakers move forward, the legislative remodeling work might have to be redone, costing additional dollars, Doerflinger said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Fallin vetoes pension bill
Gov. Mary Fallin, still miffed that legislators this year didn’t take up her proposal to consolidate the staff, boards and offices of several pension plans into one, vetoed a bill Friday that would have given some state employees the chance to choose between two retirement plans. House Bill 2077 “qualifies as window dressing, not real reform,” said Alex Weintz, Fallin’s communications director. HB 2077 would have given employees whose pensions would be administered by the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System the option of a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k) plan, instead of the defined benefit plan, which is a traditional pension. New employees hired after July 1, 2014, would have had 90 days to make the decision, which would be final.
Gun shows considered easy targets for felons seeking firearms
It didn’t take long for undercover police officers working a gun show at the state fairgrounds to spot Damien Laster. The prominent neck tattoos popular among former prison inmates gave him away. Officers watched as Laster, 33, of Oklahoma City, a suspected drug trafficker with convictions for assault and battery and drug possession, paid cash for 310 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition and three 100-round magazines, along with several large military-style duffel bags. At one stop, Laster picked up an AR-15 assault rifle and inserted one of the magazines. He then tried to buy two of the rifles but was thwarted by a seller who refused to do business with Laster because of his criminal backgrounds. “That’s OK,” Laster boldly told the vendor. “I’ll have my girlfriend come back and buy them,” police reported in a probable cause affidavit.
Quote of the Day
Officers and inmates are going to die from these situations. We’re tired. We’re worn out. By the end of the summer, DOC is going to be at a complete breaking point. It will happen.
–Sgt. David Edelman, a guard at the state prison in Lexington. During a violent outbreak involving nearly 150 inmates a few months ago, only six officers were available to respond and several suffered injuries trying to break up the melee. Prison workers at several facilities are being forced to work mandatory 12-hour shifts, five days a week.
Number of the Day
10.0 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma households with a past due mortgage, compared to 10.8 percent nationally
Source: Federal Reserve Bank, 2012
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Where have all the jobs gone?
Though yesterday’s employment report revealed a slowly improving job market, the jobless rate is still elevated, at 7.5 percent, with 11.7 million people looking for work, including 4.4 million who have been doing so for at least half a year. About eight million more were stuck in underemployment (“involuntary” part-timers) last month, unable to find the hours of work they sought. These measures persist amid an economic expansion continuing since mid-2009, a roaring stock market and a housing market that’s now reliably in recovery. While the high jobless numbers are partly a legacy of the Great Recession, the fact is that our economy has generated too few jobs for most of the last 30 years and is likely to continue to do so. The only viable response is a return to an idea that once animated domestic policy making: full employment, the notion that everyone who wants to work should be able to find a job, and if the market isn’t up to the task, then the government must fill the gap.
Read more from the New York Times.
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