In The Know: Supreme Court strikes down Oklahoma managed care plan | President Biden calls on nation to confront racism | More

In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.

Oklahoma News

Oklahoma Supreme Court strikes down managed care for Medicaid: The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Oklahoma Health Care Authority does not have the authority to implement a managed care plan for the state’s Medicaid system. In a victory for state medical groups, the court said the health care authority created a new managed care program without legislative authority. [The Oklahoman] Under the Stitt Administration’s managed care plan, Oklahoma would shift $2 billion in Medicaid funding to four private insurance companies, which would then coordinate care for most of the state’s Medicaid enrollees. Those contracts have been awarded, and enrollment is slated for the fall. [KOSU] The Oklahoma Supreme Court voted 6-3 against the state, saying it did not have the authority to outsource the program. [Tulsa World] The Oklahoma State Medical Association, Oklahoma Dental Association, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, the Oklahoma Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc., and Oklahoma Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, Inc., challenged the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) and the State of Oklahoma’s effort to outsource management of the state’s Medicaid program to for-profit companies, awarding those companies $2.2 billion in contracts. [KFOR] 

• What does Oklahoma’s Medicaid expansion mean for me? Who’s eligible and how to apply [The Oklahoman]
• SoonerCare begins expansion enrollment [KWSO] | [FOX 25]

Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial News

100 years after Tulsa massacre, President calls on nation to confront racism: In a speech memorializing the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, President Joe Biden urged Americans to come to terms with the nation’s dark history of racial violence, but stopped short of mentioning reparations for survivors and descendants. And while much of the focus of the president’s speech centered around the Tulsa Race Massacre, Biden told Americans it was time to evaluate racism in the U.S., saying what happened in Greenwood “was an act of hate and domestic terrorism with a through line that exists today.” He drew parallels to a 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. [The Frontier]

• Biden promises Tulsa massacre survivors their story will be ‘known in full view’ [New York Times] 
• In race massacre commemoration speech, Biden calls on Americans to face dark chapters in history [Public Radio Tulsa] | [Public Radio Tulsa]
• In Tulsa speech, Biden implores Americans to confront past and help communities of color move forward [KOSU]
• President Biden in Tulsa shines light on race massacre, decries ‘assault’ on voting rights [The Oklahoman]
• Biden makes strong impression on local leaders, who praise his knowledge of race massacre [Tulsa World]
• Crowds turn out in hopes of witnessing historic presidential visit [Tulsa World]
• Tulsa crowd hopes presidential visit brings change [The Oklahoman]

The true costs of the Tulsa Race Massacre, 100 years later: The Tulsa massacre is only recently receiving the national recognition it needs. But even as the massacre itself becomes better known, much of the remaining story of Greenwood is still left untold. In particular, little attention is given to subsequent events in Tulsa, including the rebuilding of Greenwood by its Black residents, followed by its second destruction—this time at the hands of white city planners during the “urban renewal” period of the 1960s to 1980s. In both periods of destruction, important Black capital that undergirded the community was lost, as were opportunities for wealth-building for Tulsa’s Black residents. To be clear, the loss of human life in the massacre is a horror beyond all calculation. But another important and often neglected dimension to this history is the devastating effects of destroyed communal wealth, which had supported the flourishing of the city’s Black residents. [Brookings]

• At century mark, Tulsa Race Massacre’s wounds still unhealed [AP News]
• City resumes search for mass graves associated with 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre [Tulsa World]
• Exhumation underway in race massacre graves search; mayor calls reparations issue ‘complex’ [Public Radio Tulsa] | [Tulsa World]
• Bynum says he’ll support City Council resolution apologizing for 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, committing to making amends [Tulsa World]
• ‘God has preserved them for this day’ – Tulsa Race Massacre survivors remember 100 years [KFOR]

Tulsa conference focuses on steering money, mentorship to minority-owned businesses: John Rogers Jr., a giant in the world of Black entrepreneurship and founder of one of the country’s first and largest Black-owned investment firms, spoke Tuesday about how to hold corporate America more accountable in supporting minority business. Speaking on a panel at Economic Empowerment Day, a conference taking place during the Tulsa Race Massacre commemoration, Rogers said corporations should commit to the promises they keep. [The Oklahoman]

• $40,000 in grants for Black-owned small businesses announced through Greenwood Chamber, Fiserv initiative [Tulsa World]
• Financial literacy, equal access to money topics of Black economic summit in Tulsa [Tulsa World]
• Tulsa conference aimed at helping Black-owned businesses to close racial wealth gap [Public Radio Tulsa]
• In Tulsa, focusing on the wealth gap [The Journal Record]

Health News

Patient influx from other states increases Kansas abortions: The number of abortions performed in Kansas increased by 9.1% last year as far more women traveled from Oklahoma and Texas to terminate pregnancies than in 2019 and the state reported that out-of-state patients outnumbered Kansas patients for the first time in almost 50 years. [AP News]

Outsourced newborn screenings return to Oklahoma Public Health Lab amid move to Stillwater: In-house newborn screenings have returned to Oklahoma’s Public Health Lab after the tests were outsourced to a lab in Pennsylvania amid the lab’s ongoing move from Oklahoma City to Stillwater, health officials announced Tuesday. [The Oklahoman]

State Government News

More congressional redistricting meetings scheduled: The Oklahoma House of Representatives and the State Senate redistricting offices has announced the schedule for town hall meetings on the congressional redistricting process. Legislators and redistricting office staff will answer questions and take comments from the public during the meetings. Five in-person town halls are scheduled – one in each congressional district. Two virtual town halls also will be held for those who can’t attend one of the in-person meetings. [Tahlequah Daily Press]

Oklahoma State Treasurer Randy McDaniel will not seek reelection: Oklahoma State Treasurer Randy McDaniel will not seek reelection in 2022. McDaniel said in a release on Tuesday that it is time to prioritize his family rather than a statewide campaign. He added that making the announcement now allows candidates time to organize their campaigns. [The Oklahoman]

Oklahoma City budget rebounds after pandemic-related cuts last year: The Oklahoma City Council reviewed the proposed fiscal 2022 Utilities, Airports and Public Works budgets Tuesday. The city’s overall $1.65 billion budget represents a restoration after cuts last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council is expected to vote on the budget after the fourth and final public hearing next Tuesday. The new budget year begins July 1. [The Oklahoman] The directors of Public Works, Utilities, and Airports each offered a presentation of the proposed budgets for their departments. [OKC Free Press]

Editorial: Naming Oklahoma’s President Donald J. Trump Highway was meant to ‘own’ the Democrats, and it worked: Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed legislation to name a dusty 20-mile stretch of U.S. 287 in the Oklahoma Panhandle in honor of former President Donald Trump. Henceforth, the road from Boise City to the Texas line is the President Donald J. Trump Highway. Trump had no particular connection to that part of the state, except that he was popular there. [Tulsa World]

Federal Government News

Biden pushes for US voting rights law as restrictions mount: President Joe Biden used the 100th anniversary of Tulsa’s race massacre to make a plea for sweeping legislation in Congress to protect the right to vote as Republican-led governments in Texas and other states pass new restrictions making it tougher to cast ballots. Biden, marking the centennial in Oklahoma on Tuesday, called out lawmakers in Congress — including two senators in his own party — for holding up action on voting bills. [AP News]

• Biden assigns Harris another difficult role: Protecting voting rights [New York Times]

Tribal Nations News

U.S. Supreme Court clarifies authority of tribal police on reservations: Addressing a situation that could become increasingly common in Oklahoma, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tribal law enforcement officers can temporarily detain and search non-Indian suspects traveling on public roads in Indian reservations. [The Oklahoman] Justice Stephen Breyer cited a past case, Montana v. United States, in that a “tribe may also retain inherent power to exercise civil authority over the conduct of non-Indians on fee lands within its reservation when that conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the tribe.” [Indian Country Today]

Indigenous tribes revive horse heritage with bareback races in Oklahoma: Indigenous tribes from the United States and Canada converged on Oklahoma for the Indian Relay Horse Race this weekend, helping to revive horse heritage in the state and symbolizing a return to normal after pandemic restrictions. [Reuters]

Criminal Justice News

Facing murder charge, Creek County man claims self-defense, gun removed: On Tuesday, a judge set a June 14 trial date for a Creek County man charged with first-degree murder in a homicide he says was justified. Weeks earlier, the judge denied a defense motion to consider dismissing the case on the basis of Oklahoma’s “stand your ground” statute. [NonDoc]

Economy & Business News

Increased demand, few sellers in OKC heats up market for homebuyers: Current home listings in Oklahoma City metro are down 50.1 percent compared to June 2020 while the median sales price has risen 11 percent from last year, according to current Multiple Listing Service (MLS) statistics. [OKC Free Press]

Oklahoma Local News

• University of Oklahoma, French woman to cede ownership of Nazi-looted painting [The Oklahoman] | [New York Times]

Quote of the Day

Number of the Day

$200 million

Estimated damage in today’s dollars caused by white rioters during the Tulsa Race Massacre, which includes homes, businesses, churches, public buildings, personal property and other assets, such as cash and personal belongings. The Tulsa Race Massacre not only led to the loss of innocent lives, but it also destroyed the economic prospects for future generations.

[Source: American Journal of Economics and Sociology]

Policy Note

Why Black wealth has stayed ‘relatively flat’ since Tulsa massacre: In the 100 years since the Greenwood massacre and more than 150 years since the official end of slavery on “Juneteenth,” studies show little progress has been made to reduce the racial wealth gap between black and white households. While many economic, legislative, and social proposals have been made to eliminate the gap between white and Black Americans, some say that reparations is the only hope. [Yahoo Finance]

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