OKPOLICY.ORG
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. Click here to subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
The state’s General Revenue Fund collections for May were 10.3 percent lower than the prior year, a drop of $46.3 million. On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed how even those agencies that received flat funding in next year’s budget will be unable to keep up existing services due to growing caseloads and enrollment, rising costs, and reduced funding from other sources. The Tulsa World editorial board discussed the initial steps lawmakers took this year to examine costly tax incentives.
The state Department of Corrections Director said Oklahoma prisons continue to face huge challenges with overcrowding, and they are out of room for incarcerating women. A Washington Post report claims that Oklahoma’s prisons are controlled from the inside by the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood gang. The advocacy group We the People Oklahoma said they have gathered enough signatures to petition for a grand jury investigation into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
A federal appeals court threw out a pair of high-profile lawsuits, including one joined by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate change regulations. Senator David Holt hailed reforms passed this year to improve Oklahoma’s voter turnout, but he said there is more work to do. An OK Policy report examines signs that democracy is broken in Oklahoma and suggests ways to fix it.
A total of 29 airport infrastructure projects will be funded under a proposed $55 million airport Capital Improvement Program for Oklahoma, largely using federal funds. The Oklahoma Air National Guard is preparing to fly from Tulsa to the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center in Wisconsin for the largest simulation exercise in its history. The owner of the last business left in the former town of Picher, Oklahoma has died at age 60 from a sudden illness. The town was made toxic by a century of unregulated lead and zinc mining.
The Number of the Day is 51st – Oklahoma’s ranking for the percentage of kids participating in a federal summer nutrition program, out of all 50 states and Washington DC. In today’s Policy Note, Bloomberg Business reports on how the cherry-picking of “peer” companies contributes to rapid increases in executive pay.
In The News
State revenue for May down 10 percent from last year
General Revenue Fund collections for May were 10.3 percent lower than the prior year, according to figures released Tuesday. The General Revenue Fund is the state’s main operating fund. May collections brought in $402.7 million, down $46.3 million, according to the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services. June is the last month in fiscal year 2015. Total collections are at $5.2 billion, which is 3 percent above the prior year.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Flat funding still means cuts for Oklahoma’s core services
In crafting a budget in the face of a large drop in available revenue, lawmakers this year made a sincere effort to minimize cuts to key agencies in the areas of education, health, and safety. Whereas most agencies took cuts of 0.25 to 7 percent, the Department of Education received flat funding, and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services and Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services received modest funding increases. Yet even these agencies weren’t funded enough to keep up existing services when faced with growing caseloads and enrollment, rising costs, reduced funding from other sources, and other factors.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Tulsa World editorial: Tax incentive reform shows promise of prioritizing state ‘spending’
A highlight of the 2015 legislative session was the promise that lawmakers are getting serious about examining costly tax incentives with a realistic eye. Practically invisible to the public, tax incentives are government spending as sure as welfare benefits and pork-barrel projects are. The public’s treasury is reduced (by individuals and companies not being required to pay taxes or having taxes they do pay refunded) in exchange for certain priorities, such as the creation of jobs. Sometimes those priorities are genuinely puzzling.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma corrections chief says prisons face major challenges
The state Department of Corrections will use a $14 million budget hike to hire more staff, add more beds for a growing inmate population, make repairs and pay for expected increases in utility bills, DOC Director Robert Patton said Tuesday. Speaking to The Oklahoman’s editorial board, he praised the Legislature for its attention to the problems of his department, but said the DOC will continue to face huge challenges.
Meth, torture and the grip of the Aryan Brotherhood
How to defeat a gang that doesn’t just openly recruit and operate inside Oklahoma’s prisons, but practically owns the institutions? What to do when each arrest just adds to the organization’s ranks? These questions are vexing authorities across America, where ever more crowded prison blocks are increasingly controlled by violent gangs.
Read more from the Washington Post.
Group says it has 6,000 signatures petitioning for grand jury investigation of Tulsa County Sheriff
We the People Oklahoma organizer Marq Lewis said in a news conference the group has gathered more than 6,000 signatures so far in its petition requesting a grand jury investigation into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. The group needs 5,000 valid signatures and plans to turn its petition in to the Tulsa County Election Board on June 19 to begin the certification process.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Appeals court tosses suits challenging climate change plan
A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out a pair of high-profile lawsuits challenging the Obama administration’s sweeping plan to address climate change, saying it’s too early to challenge a proposed rule that isn’t yet final. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a temporary setback to opponents of the plan who are expected to renew their legal attack once the regulation is finalized later this year.
Oklahoma Senator David Holt hails 2015 election reforms
Gov. Mary Fallin has signed into law Senate Bill 312, which consolidates local election dates to either one cycle in the spring or one cycle in the fall. This follows the successful adoption of other proposals championed by Sen. David Holt (R-Oklahoma City) to encourage higher voter turnout after dramatic recent declines. “We took some major steps this year in addressing Oklahoma’s civic participation crisis,” Holt said in comments sent to CapitolBeatOK.
See also: Repairing Oklahoma’s Broken Democracy from Oklahoma Policy Institute
Airport improvement projects planned for Oklahoma
A total of 29 airport infrastructure projects will be funded under a proposed $55 million airport Capital Improvement Program for fiscal years 2016-2018 for the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. The projects will be carried out in 21 communities and $42.8 million in federal funds will pay for most of them. Some $5.7 million in state grants and $5.9 million in local matching funds will take care of the remaining costs, according to an announcement by the Commission.
Read more from OK Energy Today.
Oklahoma Air National Guard to conduct full-scale deployment exercise
For the past few weeks, the 138th Fighter Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard has been working on an order to deploy all of its primary assigned aircraft — and hundreds of accompanying personnel — out of state to complete what military officials say will be training for some of the most demanding tasks possible during potential combat operations. The wing’s members will fly from Tulsa to the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center near Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, beginning Tuesday for the largest simulation exercise in its history.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Holdout businessman in Picher dies at 60
The owner of the last business left in the former town of Picher died Saturday. Gary Duane Linderman, 60, died at his home from a sudden illness, according to an obituary released by Thomas Funeral Home in Welch. Linderman owned the Ole Miners Pharmacy in Picher. Employees said the business closed permanently on Tuesday.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
“We took some major steps this year in addressing Oklahoma’s civic participation crisis. First, we recognized that we have a problem. Second, we passed some important reforms, including online registration and local election consolidation. Having said that, there is much more to do, and I will continue to push the issue. Improving voter turnout is going to be a long process, and the responsibility is by no means limited to policymakers. We all have to take ownership.”
-Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, who sponsored nine measures to improve voter turnout and participation in Oklahoma, two of which were approved (source).
Number of the Day
51st
Oklahoma’s ranking for the percentage of kids participating in a federal summer nutrition program, out of all 50 states and Washington DC.
Source: Food Research and Action Center
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
How Companies Justify Big Pay Raises for CEOs
When deciding how much to pay their senior executives, the directors at Jarden Corp.—the owner of brands including Yankee Candle, Rawlings sports equipment, and Bicycle playing cards—use what might seem to be an unlikely measuring stick: the top managers at Oracle Corp., the world’s largest data-base maker. Oracle is one of 14 companies Jarden identified in 2011 as a “peer”to help it gauge the going rate for executive pay—a common practice among boards when setting compensation for top managers.
Read more from Bloomberg Business.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
