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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 a new study showed states choosing not to expand Medicaid will lose billions of dollars in federal funds. OK Policy has a resource and information page if you want to learn more about Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in Oklahoma.
The Office of Management and Enterprise Services released a study of state employee compensation that shows that state worker pay is less than that of comparable state governments, but benefits are higher. In response to an open records request, Gov. Fallin’s office released more than 8,000 records on prison reforms known as the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). OK Policy previously blogged about what the JRI did and how it’s been implemented.
Gov. Mary Fallin signed an executive order to clarify that the state’s implementation of the Common Core State Standards is not a federal program. The Oklahoma State Department of Education changed their assessment of whether the state’s decision to adopt Common Core State Standards would be reversed from ‘somewhat likely’ to ‘not likely’.
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake hit central Oklahoma on Saturday. Sen. Debbe Leftwich was convicted for her role in a bribery scheme and received a one-year suspended sentence without jail time. Unemployment rose across most of Oklahoma’s 77 counties in October.
The Muskogee Phoenix advised against a proposed change to increase the amount that a lobbyist can give in kind to a legislator. Judge Carlos Chappelle will become the first black Oklahoman to serve as the presiding district judge for Tulsa County.
In today’s Policy Note, The Commonwealth Fund examined how much state’s rejecting federal funds to expand Medicaid will lose in benefits for low-income residents and financing to local health care providers. The Number of the Day is Oklahoma City and Tulsa’s rank among metro areas of a similar size in the share of their bridges that are structurally deficient.
In The News
Study: States that reject Medicaid expansion lose money
The 20 states choosing not to expand Medicaid will lose billions of dollars in federal funds, according to a new study released Thursday. By 2022, Texas could lose $9.2 billion by not expanding Medicaid as allowed under the Affordable Care Act, while Florida could lose $5 billion over that period, the study conducted by The Commonwealth Fund shows. Commonwealth was founded in 1918 to improve health services for Americans.
Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act: Resources and Information
The Supreme Court upheld almost all of the reforms in the new national health care law – the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – but it struck down the federal government’s authority to enforce Medicaid expansion in the states. Oklahoma now has the chance to expand coverage for low-income uninsured adults. Though Governor Fallin has stated that she will not pursue joining the Medicaid expansion, many continue to advocate for taking this opportunity to extend health care access to about 150,000 uninsured Oklahomans. See the below links for more information and ways to become involved.
Read more from Oklahoma Policy Institute
State worker pay low, benefits high, a study finds
A state employee compensation study released Friday shows that pay is 21.7 percent less than the private and public market and 6.4 percent less than that of comparable state governments, but benefits are higher. The comparable state governments include Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas. The results of the study, which looked at pay and benefits, were released by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
Records on state prison reforms are released
Fifteen months after the Tulsa World requested public records relating to the now-gutted Justice Reinvestment Initiative, Gov. Mary Fallin’s office has released more than 8,000 records related to the prison reforms. The World is reviewing thousands of records to uncover answers as to what happened to the much-heralded package of reforms aimed at curbing prison growth that quickly lost momentum — and funding — after the governor signed the law in May 2012.
Oklahoma is still waiting for criminal justice reform
The report also criticized lack of follow-up and oversight in states that approved JRI bills, arguing that “short-lived technical assistance eventually gives way to increasingly watered-down, risk-averse policy mechanisms and inadequate quality assurance of implementation.” That statement tragically resembles what is happening in Oklahoma. We are wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary incarceration, tearing non-violent offenders away from their families, and putting both corrections officers and inmates at serious risk. The problem is in plain view, and we know what needs to be done. What’s still missing is the courage of elected officials to take on the status quo and do what is right.
Read more from Oklahoma Policy Institute
Oklahoma Gov. Fallin signs executive order supplementing Common Core standards in education
Gov. Mary Fallin signed an executive order Wednesday she hopes will address concerns of federal intrusion into schools, as well as create more rigorous and localized academic standards. Fallin said the order makes it clear that the state’s implementation of the Common Core State Standards is not a federal program. “We certainly don’t want Washington telling us how to teach our students,” said Fallin. “And, unfortunately, Washington does not always get that message.”
State education officials call Common Core repeal ‘unlikely’
Despite continued opposition to new public-school standards, Oklahoma education officials say they are more confident than they were earlier this year that the standards will be fully implemented. In a national survey conducted by the Center on Education Policy at George Washington University, Oklahoma State Department of Education officials indicated in May that it was “somewhat likely” that the state’s decision to adopt Common Core State Standards would be reversed, limited or changed, according to a copy of the survey obtained by Oklahoma Watch through an Open Records Act request. The department cited public opposition and opposition from state legislators as reasons for a possible change in the state’s 2010 decision to adopt the standards. However, Tricia Pemberton, assistant director of communications at the education department, said the agency would answer that question differently now. “We would change that response to ‘not likely,'” she said.
Read more from The Lawton Constitution
Oklahoma earthquake: 4.3 temblor rattles state
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake in central Oklahoma shook residents Saturday, just weeks after the two-year anniversary of the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Sooner state. The shaking is increasingly commonplace in the state, so after the initial surprise, customers at a central Oklahoma restaurant returned their attention to an in-state college football rivalry game.
Read more from Christian Science Monitor
Former Okla. Senator Found Guilty in Bribery Case
A former Democratic state senator from Oklahoma City was convicted Thursday for her role in a bribery scheme in which she was accused of agreeing not to run for re-election in 2010 in exchange for a state job. Former state Sen. Debbe Leftwich received a one-year suspended sentence that will keep her from serving any jail time.
Read more from Associated Press
Unemployment inches higher in Oklahoma City and many counties
Oklahoma City’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in October, up slightly from 5 percent in September, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Unemployment rose across most of Oklahoma’s 77 counties in October, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission said Thursday.
Lobbyist proposal reeks
A proposed change to increase the amount in meals and other gifts that a lobbyist can give to a legislator each year is just plain terrible. The proposed change is part of a major overhaul of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission rules that govern the activities of candidates, campaigns and lobbyists, the Associated Press reports. Under current rules, a lobbyist is limited to giving a legislator $100 worth of meals and gifts, with more than a dozen exclusions to what constitutes a thing of value. The new rule would increase the limit to $500, and eliminate the exclusions.
Read more from Muskogee Phoenix
Carlos Chappelle to become Tulsa County’s first black presiding judge
The leadership face of the Tulsa County judiciary will soon make a change marking a first at the Tulsa courthouse. Effective in January, District Judge Carlos Chappelle will have the additional role of presiding district judge. Chappelle will become the first black judge to take on that title and task in Tulsa County.
Quote of the Day
“It’s possible that somewhere along the line that someone got confused. We’re the first administration that has existed completely in the digital age.”
Governor Fallin’s spokesman Alex Weintz, on taking over a year (15 months) to respond to an open records request
Number of the Day
Oklahoma City and Tulsa’s rank among metro areas of a similar size in the share of their bridges that are structurally deficient, 2012
Source: NDD United
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
How States Stand to Gain or Lose Federal Funds by Opting In or Out of the Medicaid Expansion
This issue brief examines how participating in the Medicaid expansion will affect the movement of federal funds to each state. States that choose to participate in the expansion will experience a more positive net flow of federal funds than will states that choose not to participate. In addition to providing valuable health insurance benefits to low-income state residents, and steady sources of financing to state health care providers, the Medicaid expansion will be an important source of new federal funds for states.
Read more from The Commonwealth Fund
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