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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.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt announced Thursday that he would be joining his counterpart in Nebraska in asking the Supreme Court to declare Colorado’s legalization of marijuana unconstitutional. The people of Colorado had voted to legalize and regulate marijuana sales n 2012. We’ve written about how Oklahoma’s marijuana laws are among the harshest in the US before. State leaders have approved a tax cut for the state’s wealthiest, after projections showed that revenues were high enough to trigger the cut. OK Policy released a statement arguing that allowing the tax cut to trigger is supremely irresponsible. We’ve previously noted that 41 percent of Oklahomans will see no change to their taxes at all. State officials report that falling gas prices will not have a significant effect on the budget of the current fiscal year, although there are concerns that it could impact next year’s budget.
A new post on the OK Policy Blog reveals that the state’s school funding situation is even worse than many previously believed, because our public schools are more dependent on state revenues that those in other states. The State Board of Education has voted to award the contracts for the state’s end-of-instruction, science and social studies assessments to one of three bidders. Board members voted without knowing the name of the vendor, and the name will not be released until the final contract is in place. Superintendent Janet Barresi said that it will be difficult for schools to make mid-year budget adjustments following a state aid miscalculation. Writing in the Journal Record, Oklahoma Observer editor Arnold Hamilton discussed the legislative outcry following Supt. Barresi’s decision to create a $90,000/year position for her counsel’s husband, and argued that the practice is more common in the legislature than the outcry would suggest.
In federal court on Thursday, the former general counsel for the state Department of Corrections testified that political pressure played a key role in the decision to procure and use an untested drug cocktail in the botched execution of Clayton Lockett. A former Tulsa Police officer has been bound over for trial on charges of first degree murder and shooting with intent to kill. The man had shot at his daughter, and shot and killed her boyfriend, Jeremy Lake.
The Tulsa World’s Editorial Board argued that a state Supreme Court decision in favor of an executive privilege exemption to the Open Records Act had torn “a giant hole” in the state’s most important transparency statute, because it makes it more difficult for the public to hold the Governor’s office accountable. Hundreds of residents turned out for a public meeting on an oil drilling plan for Lake Hefner. Pedestal Oil Co. Inc. plans to drill multiple wells 600 feet from a park near the lake. The state Department of Health says that a total of six people have died of influenza in the current flu season, and nearly 140 people have been hospitalized. We’ve written about the importance of getting a flu shot before. The Number of the Day is the cost of a bear hunting license for Oklahoma residents in the 2014-2015 hunting season. In today’s Policy Note, Slate discusses America’s dismal college dropout rates.
In The News
Oklahoma AG Pruitt joins Nebraska suit against Colorado marijuana law
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt joined Nebraska’s Jon Bruning on Thursday in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to declare Colorado’s legalization of marijuana unconstitutional. “Fundamentally, Oklahoma and states surrounding Colorado are being impacted by Colorado’s decision to legalize and promote the commercialization of marijuana,” Pruitt said in a written statement.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: While nearby states decriminalize, Oklahoma’s marijuana laws are among harshest in the nation from the OK Policy Blog.
State leaders approve tax break for wealthiest Oklahomans
Oklahoma leaders have approved a measure that would give a tax cut to the wealthiest Oklahomans. According to the memorandum, Senate Bill 1246 would reduce the top individual income tax rate beginning in 2016, if certain revenue standards are met. Currently, the wealthiest Oklahomans pay 5.25 percent in income taxes.
Statement: Allowing tax cut to trigger is supremely irresponsible
Oklahoma Policy Institute Executive Director David Blatt released the following statement in response to Oklahoma’s latest revenue estimates that under current law will trigger a tax cut in 2016.
See also: How the tax cut proposal would affect Oklahoma from the OK Policy Blog.
Drop in gas prices not affecting current budget, panel told
Falling gas prices will not have a significant effect on the current fiscal year’s budget, but state officials are watching closely for signs of an impact next year. The Board of Equalization met Thursday to certify revenues available for Gov. Mary Fallin to build her fiscal year 2016 executive budget.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Political pressure existed to find new execution drug, former Oklahoma DOC official testifies
The former general counsel for Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections testified in federal court Thursday that political pressure played a key role in the rush to find a new execution drug, in addition to the threat of legal challenges. “There were calls from the Governor’s Office,” said Michael Oakley, former general counsel for DOC. “We would get word from the Attorney General’s Office that we better hurry up and do something.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Former TPD officer accused of murder bound over for trial
A former Tulsa police officer accused of shooting his daughter’s boyfriend was bound over for trial Thursday on charges of first-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill. Shannon James Kepler, 54, is charged with murder in the Aug. 5 death of Jeremey Lake and shooting with intent to kill at his daughter Lisa Kepler.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma school funding: Even worse than you thought
In October, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published an update to its study of cuts to state aid to public K-12 schools since the recession, showing that Oklahoma has widened its lead in making the largest cuts in the nation. From 2008 to 2015, we’ve slashed state aid to schools by 23.6 percent, or $857 per student. But the situation is even worse than it appears at first glance.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
State Board of Education moves toward new testing vendor contract
The state is one step closer to having a new testing vendor for its end-of-instruction assessments, as well as for its science and social studies assessments for fifth, seventh and eighth grades. The State Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved recommending the awarding of the contract to one of the three bidders.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Janet Barresi to State Board: Mid-year adjustments will be challenge after state aid miscalculation
Superintendent Janet Barresi told State Board of Education members Thursday that the Department of Education will face a challenge with mid-year adjustments this year. Barresi said her department was alerted earlier this year by a legislator that Ponca City Superintendent David Pennington had brought forth information about miscalculation in state aid that has been occurring annually since 1992.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Good old boys should police themselves
State Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi’s reign of error is down to its final weeks, but she won’t soon be forgotten – at least not by fellow Republicans serving in the Oklahoma Legislature. In September, less than three months after primary voters rejected her re-election bid, Barresi infuriated GOP lawmakers by creating a new $90,000-a-year position and filling it with her general counsel’s husband.
Read more from the Journal Record.
Supreme Court tears hole in state transparency law
Oklahomans woke up Tuesday protected by a strong open records law, but went to bed that night exposed to the whims of public power. The Oklahoma Supreme Court tore a giant hole in the state’s most important transparency statute.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma City residents express concerns about oil drilling plan for Lake Hefner
Several hundred residents turned out Thursday evening to hear from an oil company that wants to drill on the southern shore of Oklahoma City’s Lake Hefner. Pedestal Oil Co. Inc. is in discussions with the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust to drill up to six wells about 600 feet west of Stars and Stripes Park at Lake Hefner.
Oklahoma Influenza Death Count Grows To Six This Season
The Oklahoma Department of Health is reporting four more deaths due to influenza in the state. The department said Thursday that six people have now died as a result of the flu during the season that began Sept. 28. Each person who died was 65-years-old or older.
Read more: Go get your flu shot. Yes, you. Now. from the OK Policy Blog.
Quote of the Day
“There were calls from the Governor’s Office. We would get word from the Attorney General’s Office that we better hurry up and do something.”
– Michael Oakley, former general counsel for state Department of Corrections, testifying in federal court on Thursday about the rush to procure an untested cocktail of execution drugs before a botched execution in April. (Source: bit.ly/1C6mx2K)
Number of the Day
$101
Cost of a bear hunting license for Oklahoma residents in the 2014-2015 hunting season. (The cost is $506 for non-residents.)
Source: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation .
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
America’s Awful College Dropout Rates, in Four Charts
America’s nagging problem with college dropouts managed to get the tiniest bit worse this year. The National Student Clearinghouse reports that 55 percent of first-time undergraduates who matriculated in the fall of 2008 finished a degree within six years, versus 56.1 percent of those who began in fall 2007. Keep in mind, we already had the lowest college completion rate in the developed world, at least among the 18 countries tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Much like American health care, American higher education continues to set a global standard for inefficiency.
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