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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 Governor Fallin included a lawsuit against Tulsa psychiatrist David Crass in a larger example of why state lawmakers must revive laws protecting doctors against “frivolous lawsuits,” even though the state was prosecuting Crass five years ago after several of his patients died. The Tulsa World shared other court cases that have been revived after the tort reform law was thrown out. Doctors, dentists and others who would benefit from tort reform legislation have contributed more than $700,000 to Gov. Fallin’s campaign.
The American Cancer Society found Oklahoma failed to meet any of its 10 benchmarks for policies to combat cancer. The state Department of Health said the number of Oklahoma residents who smoke has dropped to an historic low. Rep. Doug Cox wrote that Oklahoma youth face a critical need for health and sex education.
State Superintendent Janet Barresi said schools should give all teachers a $2,000 raise without any extra funds from the state. A Jenks Principal wrote that her comments are clueless about school finance. Oklahoma Watch reported on efforts to block tougher, nationally uniform academic standards from taking effect next year in Oklahoma’s public schools. Broken Arrow Public Schools has seen explosive growth in its pre-K program – from 191 students enrolled last year to 1,100 this year.
An Oklahoma City pastor is taking to the national airwaves as part of a radio ad campaign urging Congress to pass immigration reform. Female juvenile offenders now housed at a mixed-gender medium-security facility will be transferred to a private women-only facility. The Associated Press reported on continuing struggles to complete the $170 million American Indian Museum, which remains half-built two decades after the idea was proposed.
The Christian Science Monitor explained why comments by Oklahoma Senator Coburn and other Republicans about impeaching President Obama are empty talk. Oklahoma’s delegation was ranked 38th in Congressional influence. The Number of the Day is the average annual drop in Oklahoma’s violent crime rate between 2007 and 2011. In today’s Policy Note, a Bloomberg columnist explains why tort reform hasn’t worked to reduce health care costs, but large lawsuits have worked to make health care safer.
In The News
State prosecuted doctor Fallin cites among ‘frivolous’ lawsuits
In her call for aspecial legislative session, Mary Fallin included a lawsuit against Tulsa psychiatrist David Crass in a larger example of why state lawmakers must convene to revive laws protecting doctors against “frivolous lawsuits.” The lawsuit was one of a dozen cases Fallin said has been reopened since the state Supreme Court threw out a package of tort reform laws in June. Far from protecting that psychiatrist from frivolous suits, the state was prosecuting Crass five years ago after several of his patients died, including a man whose family later filed the suit, records show.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Read some of the lawsuits dismissed under tort reform law here.
Health sector contributed more than $700,000 to Fallin campaign
Doctors, dentists and others who would benefit from tort reform legislation to be considered in an upcoming special session have poured more than $700,000 into Gov. Mary Fallin’s campaign coffers, a Tulsa World analysis shows. The contributions from the health industry accounted for one out of every seven dollars given to Fallin’s campaigns for governor, a World analysis of Ethics Commission data reflects. The individuals, businesses and political action committees from the health sector have contributed about $741,000 to Fallin’s 2010 and 2014 candidate committees.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
State cancer prevention efforts fall shorts, says American Cancer Society
Oklahoma does not do enough legislatively to combat cancer, according to a report by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. The report finds Oklahoma failed to meet any of the 10 benchmarks it measured. The state ranked worst in smoke-free laws, tobacco tax and price increases, indoor tanning bed restrictions for minors, physical education time requirements, access to palliative care and Medicaid expansion.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Health Department says Oklahoma smoking rate declining
The state Department of Health said Friday the number of Oklahoma residents who smoke has dropped to an historic low, which officials said will mean fewer premature deaths and lower health care costs for smoking-related illnesses. State health officials said figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate 23.3 percent of Oklahoma residents smoked in 2012, down from 26.1 percent in 2011. Oklahoma is now ranked 39th highest in the nation in its rate of adult smoking, a significant decline from 47th last year.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Oklahoma faces critical need for health, sex education
A recent newspaper headline read “14-year-old girl pleads guilty to killing son.” The 14-year-old Oklahoma City girl pleaded guilty to murder in the death of her 7-month-old son. Think about that. This girl became pregnant when she was 12 or 13 years old. Unfortunately, teen pregnancy is a problem in Oklahoma. We have the fourth highest teen birth rate in the nation. There is a correlation between teen birth rates and the incidence of child abuse and neglect, high-school drop-out rates and poverty. It is important to offer comprehensive sex and health-education programs that include teen pregnancy prevention education components to our young people.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Barresi says schools should give $2,000 raise to all teachers without more funds from state
State Superintendent Janet Barresi told a crowd of administrators and school board members Saturday that she supports giving Oklahoma teachers a $2,000 raise, according to a release. The raise would not require increased state appropriations, according to the release, but could be funded by tapping surplus funds and reducing schools’ administrative overhead. Oklahoma schools are facing a massive shortage of quality teachers. A Tulsa World analysis of Oklahoma teacher and student numbers done in March showed that teacher totals statewide had fallen by 510 since 2008-09, though the state’s student enrollment had grown by more than 30,000.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Clueless and classless in OKC from A View From The Edge
Are Oklahoma’s tougher school standards in jeopardy?
Efforts are building to block tougher, nationally uniform academic standards from taking effect next year in Oklahoma’s public schools. It’s unclear, however, if opponents have the political support to halt a program that the state has been gradually implementing for three years. Although debates have heated up over Common Core State Standards and some legislators are opposed to them, other state officials are defending the guidelines, which outline the knowledge and skills that students from kindergarten through 12th grade are expected to learn in English language arts and math.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Pre-K enrollment in Broken Arrow jumps from 191 to 1,100
With the opening this year of Park Lane Early Childhood Center and two other new early childhood centers, Broken Arrow Public Schools has seen explosive growth in its pre-K program – from 191 students enrolled last year to 1,100 this year, said Janet Dunlop, assistant superintendent of instructional services. This is the district’s first year to offer a full-day program and to have the necessary space. Park Lane, Aspen Creek and Creekwood early childhood centers opened this year. Construction is underway to transform the former Arrow Springs Elementary into a fourth center next year.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma City pastor pushes for immigration reform in radio ad campaign
The Rev. Felix Cabrera looks out into the pews of his Oklahoma City ministry, and the faces of those affected by America’s immigration laws stare back at him. Because of his multicultural congregation — he estimates half are undocumented — the local pastor is taking to the national airwaves as part of a high-dollar radio advertising campaign urging Congress to make broad changes to U.S. immigration laws. The ads are set to run on Christian and talk radio in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets.
Oklahoma female juvenile offenders will be moved to private facility
Female juvenile offenders now housed at a mixed-gender medium-security facility in Tecumseh soon will be transferred to a privately run facility in Norman that is just for girls. Privately run Southern Plains Treatment Services will operate the Norman facility under a contract signed in July. An existing facility is being modified to handle juvenile offenders. The contract requires Southern Plains Treatment Services to have 22 beds reserved for girls, the same number of beds currently reserved for girls at COJC.
2 decades after proposal, $170M American Indian museum sits unfinished
The idea was ambitious and smart: Design a sprawling multimillion-dollar museum in Oklahoma’s capital city to pay homage to the state’s 39 federally recognized tribes, build it at the intersection of two cross-country interstates, then take in millions of dollars as tourists from around the world flocked to Smithsonian-quality exhibits. But the reality is far different at the $170 million American Indian Cultural Center and Museum. It’s half-built and short of the money needed for completion two decades after the idea was proposed and seven years after the land was blessed by tribes and construction started.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Coburn says President Obama ‘close’ to impeachment. True?
Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma this week became the latest Republican lawmaker to publicly discuss the possibility of impeaching President Obama. On Wednesday, Senator Coburn told a meeting of 300 constituents in Muskogee, Okla., that the Obama administration is “lawless” and that Mr. Obama himself is “getting perilously close” to the constitutional standard for impeachment. Wow – so will Republicans in Congress reconvene this fall and begin a serious attempt to remove the president from office? No. No, they won’t.
Read more from the Christian Science Monitor.
Oklahoma ranked 38th in state Congressional influence
As defined by Webster, “clout” means “pull” or “influence.” As defined by Roll Call, “clout” is something Oklahoma doesn’t have much of. The Capitol Hill publication’s latest congressional “clout index” ranks Oklahoma’s delegation 38th, just behind Rhode Island and just ahead of Wyoming. That’s consistent with recent biennial rankings, but well below the No. 20 achieved in 2001. Roll Call’s evaluation uses traditional hallmarks of congressional power and influence: seniority, party affiliation, committee leadership, delegation size and per capita federal spending.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
I’m not doing this because I’m Hispanic. I’m doing this because I’m a Christian.
-Rev. Felix Cabrera, pastor at Quail Springs Baptist Church, on why he recorded a radio ad for a national campaign by evangelicals urging Congress to pass immigration reform (Source: http://bit.ly/17YgNF).
Number of the Day
1.5 percent
The average annual drop in Oklahoma’s violent crime rate between 2007 and 2011, compared to a 5 percent annual dip nationally.
Source: FBI via Oklahoma Watch
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Tort reform hasn’t worked to reduce medical costs
A jury in one of New York’s most conservative counties recently returned a $130 million verdict in a medical-malpractice case, the second-largest in the state’s history. Lawyers for the losing hospital decried a “jury out of control” and called for more tort reform. Before the case went to trial, their offer of an $8 million settlement was turned down. What the defense lawyers seemed not to realize is that tort reform hasn’t worked for 25 years. And large verdicts may be the most effective drivers in making health care safer.
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