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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.
Attorney Jerry Fent asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to dismiss his lawsuit challenging oil and gas production tax changes. Fent said he would have no comment on why he filed for dismissal. The OK Policy Blog previously discussed how Fent’s lawsuits could dramatically change tax politics in Oklahoma. The OK Policy Blog discussed a new report from Governor Fallin’s office that lays out a path forward for criminal justice reform. State Sen. David Holt called for lawmakers to do something to address Oklahoma’s low voter turnout. OK Policy previously made the case for finding alternatives to very low turnout runoff elections.
The Tulsa World looked at what’s behind numbers ranking Oklahoma the third-highest in the nation for the rate of women murdered by men. Leaders of the Family Safety Center wrote a Tulsa World op-ed on what’s needed to stop the cycle of violence in domestic abuse. The arrest of NFL star Adrian Peterson has ignited debate in Oklahoma over when discipline becomes child abuse.
Recently released crime statistics show a large spike in the number of reported rapes in Oklahoma over the last two years. Law enforcement officials attributed the increase to a broadened definition of rape and efforts to reduce the stigma attached to reporting sexual assaults. An Oklahoma Highway Patrolman arrested on allegations of sexually assaulting women while on duty turned his dashboard camera and microphone off six times this year during traffic stops.
The Oklahoma City Council voted unanimously to deregulate fare-setting and require toughened background checks for drivers of both taxis and and new rideshare services Uber and Lyft. They are also considering whether a physical exam should be required before drivers get behind the wheel. The Tulsa school board worked on refining the superintendent’s job description Monday in preparation for opening the position to applicants in early October.
Volunteers working out of Goldsby are helping veterans to navigate the VA health care system. Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences is hoping to recruit more Native American high school and college students into the medicine and science fields. Oklahoma authorities say rainy weather and a cooler summer have been good for wildlife population growth, especially for skunks.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma women killed by men in 2012 whose killer was someone they knew. In today’s Policy Note, Vox explains why immigrants aren’t stealing American jobs.
In The News
Attorney seeks dismissal of his lawsuit against Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas production tax
An attorney asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday to dismiss his lawsuit challenging a new oil and natural gas production tax. Jerry Fent, of Oklahoma City, told the court that “upon further consideration and for the benefit of those herein and hereout” he was filing for the lawsuit to be dismissed, with prejudice, meaning it could not be refiled. He said he still has a separate lawsuit pending against an income tax reduction measure. Reached by phone, Fent said he would have no comment on why he filed for dismissal.
See also: Tax cut legal challenges could be game-changers from the OK Policy Blog.
Has Governor Fallin turned a corner on criminal justice reform?
Two years ago, hopes were high that Oklahoma was finally taking a different approach to criminal justice, away from policies that had given us some of the highest levels of incarceration in the world without doing much to reduce crime and recidivism. The Justice Reinvestment Initiative, spearheaded by former Speaker of the House Kris Steele, made recommendations to enhance public safety, strengthen post-release supervisions and treatment for addiction and mental health problems, and contain prison costs.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
State Sen. David Holt speaks out against voter apathy
People simply don’t care. That’s what Republican State Sen. David Holt believes when it comes to politics. Recent stats seem to back him up. “It’s something that determines how we’re going to live our lives,” said Holt, from Oklahoma City. According to the Oklahoma state election board, voter turnout in the August runoff primary for U.S. House District 5 was down nearly 30 percent from 2010.
See also: Time to off the runoff? from the OK Policy Blog
Tulsa’s rate of women murdered by men far outpaces national figure
Ashley Brizendine was 21 and pregnant the first time her boyfriend was jailed on allegations that he abused her. Her boyfriend, Brian Xavier Harris, was arrested after she told police that he grabbed her by the throat and poured red Kool-Aid down her throat. Harris finally stopped, she told police, and told her to “go take a shower.” While she was showering, Harris hit her in the head, leaving a bruise, and cut her with a knife, leaving a visible 2-inch laceration, she said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2012 Homicide Data from the Violence Policy Center.
Interrupting the cycle of violence
A 50-year-old survivor of strangulation has visited court multiple times for emergency protective orders against her husband. She has been issued several as the assaults have escalated, but never follows through pursuing a permanent order. The fianceé of a prominent pro athlete is knocked unconscious in a publicly reviewed video, but ultimately marries her abuser. A young Hispanic mom in Tulsa with two kids files for a protective order but returns to her husband, and is subsequently murdered. What do these women have in common? Abusive relationships, and a single question: Why didn’t she just leave?
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Peterson case sparks discipline debate in Oklahoma
The arrest of NFL star Adrian Peterson has reignited a big debate over when discipline becomes abuse. In Oklahoma, the law allows parents to spank their children, but does not specify when it crosses the line. Parents reacted to the injuries left behind on Adrian Peterson’s 4-year-old son after a “whooping.” “Back in my day is a spanking, that was considered a light spanking,” said Carlos Spencer. Oklahoma law allows any parent to use “ordinary force as a means of discipline including, but not limited to, spanking, switching, or paddling.” What the law does not specify are injuries.
Rape Report Surge Reflects New Definition, Other Factors
While recently released crime statistics from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation show a large spike in the number of reported rapes over the last two years, the actual increase might not be as dramatic, according to police. The number of rape cases reported to police between 2011 and 2013 rose 21 percent, according to the OSBI’s 2013 Uniform Crime Report, which tracks several types of crime statistics across the state. All other forms of violent crime fell during that period.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Trooper turned off dash camera during alleged sexual assaults
An Oklahoma Highway Patrolman arrested Monday on allegations of sexually assaulting women while on duty turned his dashboard camera and microphone off six times this year during traffic stops, OHP Commander Ricky Adams said. Eric Roberts, a 16-year veteran of the OHP, was at the Creek County Jail on complaints of second-degree rape, three complaints of sexual battery, two counts each of rape by instrumentation, kidnapping and indecent exposure and one count of forcible sodomy.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
‘Rideshare’ rules go back to Oklahoma City Council
Two down, one to go in Oklahoma City’s taxi wars. Differences among policymakers over regulations for app-dispatched ride services Uber and Lyft appeared to be down to a single issue after Monday’s meeting of the Traffic and Transportation Commission. In consecutive unanimous votes, commissioners agreed to deregulate fare-setting and to require toughened background checks for drivers. Both policies would apply throughout the vehicle-for-hire industry, from cabs to limousines to trendy “rideshare” services. The remaining difference of opinion is over whether a physical exam should be required before drivers get behind the wheel.
Tulsa school board preparing to advertise superintendent’s job
The Tulsa school board worked on refining the superintendent’s job description Monday in preparation for opening the position to applicants in early October. Board members have said they hope to identify a potential candidate to succeed Superintendent Keith Ballard by mid-January. Ballard has said he will leave at the end of his contract on June 30. At a special board meeting devoted solely to the topic, members considered whether to change language in the job posting that indicates their preference for someone with experience in Oklahoma.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Volunteers help Oklahoma veterans battle through bureaucracy
Firing heavy weapons shattered the hearing of Korean War-era veteran EJ Branch years ago. Yet only in recent years did the former Navy veteran from Lindsay decide he ought to apply to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for benefits related to his wartime injuries. But Branch had no idea how to proceed. Through word of mouth, he heard about a group that works out of a community center in Goldsby, a town of about 1,800 residents about 25 miles south of Oklahoma City. There, he met with volunteers from Veterans Corner, who told him, step by step, how to move forward.
OSU Says More Native Americans Needed In Medicine And Sciences
Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences is hoping to recruit more Native American high school and college students into the medicine and science fields. The Office for the Advancement of American Indians in Medicine and Science was created at the Tulsa-based medical school in April. Associate dean Kent Smith says it’s important for more American Indians to go into the science and medicine fields because Native culture revolves around nature, animals and plants.
Skunk Population Increases in Oklahoma
Oklahoma authorities say rainy weather and a cooler summer have been good for wildlife population growth, especially for skunks. A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation tells The Oklahoman there are more wild animals living in urban areas as compared to previous years when there were droughts. He says skunks are “opportunists” that are not afraid to live around humans.
Read more from Public Radio Tulsa.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t know what that looks like, but I think it’s a democratic crisis that we have to look at as policymakers to make it easier for people to understand what the process is and how they can participate in it.”
-State Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, who said lawmakers need to address Oklahoma’s very low voter turnout (Source: http://bit.ly/1BINXcd)
Number of the Day
92 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma women killed by men in 2012 whose killer was someone they knew. A new report ranks Oklahoma 3rd in the US for the rate of women killed by men.
Source: Violence Policy Center
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Immigrants aren’t stealing your jobs
Dylan Matthews records Bryan Caplan making a very persuasive case for open borders. One of Caplan’s best arguments is the entrance of women into the workforce in the 60s, 70s and 80s. “Was the result mass unemployment for men, as women took all their jobs? Of course not.” But that frames it in the negative. Does anyone doubt that the American economy is better off because women can work? Of course not. Even the most retrograde sexists base their arguments on culture rather than economics.
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