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. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today you should know that Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said he believes another income tax cut will be on the agenda next year, even though lawmakers are facing a $171 million decline in funding for state services. About 4,900 Oklahomans will lose benefits when the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program expires at the end of the month, and an additional 14,000 will be cast adrift in the first six months of 2014. Live Science showed how Sen. Tom Coburn’s “Wastebook” report distorts and oversimplifies the federally-funded scientific research that he categorizes as wasteful.
Adult education programs in Oklahoma prisons are graduating a higher percentage of GED students than adult education out of prison. The Legislature may require that DNA be collected from all Oklahoma suspects for certain crimes at the time of arrest, not just conviction. Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin released a statement of support for “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, who was suspended after saying that gays are doomed to eternal damnation and African-Americans were better off under racial segregation.
Citizens at a town hall meeting with Rep. Todd Thomsen (R-Ada) called for more local control of schools and increased education funding. Kenneth Corn wrote in the Tulsa World that lawmakers attempt to reign in the state Supreme Court would corrupt our justice system. The Number of the Day is how many Oklahomans will be cut off from unemployment benefits by June 2014 if Congress does not extend the Emergency Unemployment program. In today’s Policy Note, Wonkbook explains why it’s still too early for Congress to stop worrying about unemployment.
In The News
Lawmakers predict income tax cuts will be on 2014 agenda
Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman believes another income tax cut will be on the agenda when lawmakers return to the Capitol in February. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that House Bill 2032 by Bingman, R-Sapulpa, and House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton was unconstitutional because it included more than one subject. Bingman’s comments came after state officials said Gov. Mary Fallin will have about $171 million less to build her fiscal year 2015 executive budget than was available in fiscal year 2014.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
4,900 Oklahomans among those set to lose extended unemployment insurance
About 4,900 Oklahomans will lose benefits when the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program expires at the end of the month, according to figures from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. An additional 14,000 will be cast adrift in the first six months of 2014, according to a press release the group issued this week. John Carpenter, spokesman for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, could not confirm those specific totals but said they were in line with agency data. Congressional Democrats have pressed for a renewal of the program, which provides extended unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work for six months or more.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Hey, Tom Coburn: Why ‘wasteful’ science is important
A new report calling out “wasteful” government spending misrepresents the science projects it labels as unworthy of funding, associated scientists say. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) released his annual “Wastebook” on Tuesday, listing 100 government-funded projects he sees as wasteful. Some of the listed expenditures are political in nature, such as a criticism of the money spent to develop the Obamacare website. Nearly a quarter of the projects on the list, however, are science-related. Unfortunately, Coburn and his staff frequently oversimplify the research in their zeal to criticize spending.
Higher percentage of inmates in Oklahoma earn GEDs than adult education students not imprisoned
Four decades passed before Roy Pursley finally decided to get serious about his education. Prison motivated Pursley, 59, a ninth-grade dropout serving time for drug possession, to obtain his general equivalency diploma, or GED. Now he’s encouraging fellow inmates at the James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena to do likewise. “I wanted to better myself and show my daughter that you’re never too old to get an education,” he said recently. “I never thought about school until I came here.”
Will Okla. authorities collect DNA from the accused?
Maggie Zingman, 58, a psychologist who now lives in Lawton, has been on a crusade for years to have Oklahoma require that DNA be collected from suspects at the time of arrest, not just conviction, for certain crimes. Now the possibility that the state Legislature will pass such a law may be greater than ever, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld collection of DNA from arrestees. However, the proposal, which was introduced but not voted on in the last regular state legislative session, still faces two major hurdles.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Oklahoma Congressman backs ‘Duck Dynasty’ star
Second District Congressman Markwayne Mullin waded into the “Duck Dynasty” controversy on Thursday with a public statement in support of the television program’s Phil Robertson. Robertson was suspended by the A&E Network, which carries “Duck Dynasty,” after GQ published an interview in which the 67-year-old patriarch says homosexuality is “just not logical” and that gays are doomed to eternal damnation. Robertson, who grew up and lives in northern Louisiana, also suggests that Southern blacks were happier in the days of racial segregation.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Group argues for greater local control of schools
District 25 State Rep. Todd Thomsen told local residents who filled the Perfect Blend Coffee House Monday evening they weren’t there to fight and be unpleasant. The town hall-type meeting would take place with everyone playing nicely. That’s exactly what happened — at least in Ada. Most audience members expressed the opinion that State School Superintendent Janet Barresi is out of control. Monday’s meeting was an effort to create a power base among local parents, teachers and administrators without regard to political ideology.
Kenneth Corn: Judicial proposal chips away at freedom
Oklahoma’s Founding Fathers had a distrust of overreaching politicians, government and large corporations. It was a distrust so strong that they wrote one of the most detailed state Constitutions in America. Like the U.S. Constitution, our state Constitution provides each citizen with an impartial, independent judicial system to guarantee justice. The intent of our ancestor’s effort is undeniable. Justice should not be denied or corrupted by the rich, the powerful, politicians and special interests. That could change in Oklahoma if the State Chamber of Commerce and House Speaker T.W. Shannon get their way.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
I know the budget outlook is kind of shady right now.
-Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, who said another income tax cut will be on the agenda in 2014, even though officials are expecting a $171 million decline in funding for state services (Source: http://bit.ly/1chyKE1)
Number of the Day
19,400
Number of Oklahomans who will be cut off from unemployment benefits by June 2014 if Congress does not extend the Emergency Unemployment program.
Source: U.S. House Ways and Means Committee
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
It’s still too early for Congress to stop worrying about unemployment
This is the month that unemployment officially fell off the agenda in Washington, D.C. There are three major levers that policymakers can use to push for full employment in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The federal government can run additional deficits to boost aggregate demand. The Federal Reserve can provided monetary stimulus to increase investment. And regulators can fix the broken housing market to allow for quicker deleveraging and to prevent destabilizing foreclosures. But policymakers are now easing up on all three levers.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
