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.
Oklahoma Republicans met will meet Sunday and Monday to hammer out details of their agenda for 2015, and House Speaker Jeff Hickman said they are focusing on increased funding for public schools and more scrutiny of state tax credits. Gov. Mary Fallin said she’s urging lawmakers to give careful scrutiny to the state-appropriated budget, especially the amount being diverted from Oklahoma’s general revenue fund. The Oklahoma Democratic Party chose not to pursue a new election in the Second Congressional District, even though the party’s original candidate died two days before the election.
A decade after casino gambling was approved in Oklahoma, the industry has boomed, but little has been done to measure how bad compulsive gambling is in Oklahoma. Compulsive gambling has been the motivation for several high profile embezzling cases in the state. Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert defended a program that is providing military equipment at very low cost to local law enforcement. President Obama is planning an executive order to restrict this program, while creating new grants to improve police training and place body cameras on 50,000 officers across the country. Sheriff Colbert said his office is already testing out two body cameras and would be interested in a federal grant to put them on all of his deputies.
For World AIDs Day, the OK Policy Blog shared a Q&A with the director of H.O.P.E., a Tulsa-based HIV/AIDS testing and educational organization. Tulsa CARES, an organization that provides support to people in northeast Oklahoma living with HIV/AIDS, announced that they are building a new, much larger facility. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from a Tulsa police officer who had refused to attend a law enforcement appreciation day event held by the Islamic Society in Tulsa. NewsOK reported that Oklahoma is relying on the honor system to enforce a new law prohibiting certain welfare funds from being used in casinos, liquor stores, tobacco shops and strip clubs.
The Tulsa School Board is looking at a $415 million bond proposal for facility and technology upgrades, which would set a new state record for total cost. A Tulsa World poll found that by a 2 to 1 margin, Oklahomans don’t think the state’s A-F system of grading public schools accurately reflects school quality. A monthly economic survey index of Oklahoma and eight nearby states has dipped again, pointing to much slower growth for the overall regional economy over the next three to six months. Falling oil prices have cost Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm $10 billion in lost stock value since August.
Oklahoma’s tobacco trust is on pace to generate as much in earnings for the fight against tobacco as it is taking in from tobacco companies as part of a nationwide legal settlement. A long-awaited train connecting passengers from Tulsa to Oklahoma City is arriving next year with plans to connect riders from downtown to downtown. Oklahoma officials said the state will have a hard time meeting stricter new ozone standards being proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ground-level ozone fuels smog and can worsen respiratory and cardiovascular problems, including asthma.
The Number of the Day is the number of children in the custody of the state of Oklahoma at the end of FY 2013. In today’s Policy Note, the New York Times examined a growing parent backlash against overtesting in schools.
In The News
Oklahoma Republicans develop 2015 agenda
Emboldened by continued domination at the ballot box, Oklahoma Republican legislative leaders are set to meet to hammer out details of their agenda for 2015 and are finding consensus already for increased funding for public schools and more scrutiny of state tax credits. House Republicans, who maintained their 72-29 advantage over Democrats this month, plan to meet Sunday and Monday with Gov. Mary Fallin and Superintendent-elect Joy Hofmeister at the Chickasaw Retreat and Cultural Center in Sulphur.
Read more from the Durant Democrat.
Fallin calls for more scrutiny of Oklahoma budget
As the newly elected Legislature prepares for the 2015 session, Gov. Mary Fallin said Monday she’s urging lawmakers to give careful scrutiny to the roughly $7 billion state-appropriated budget, especially the amount being diverted from Oklahoma’s general revenue fund. Fallin met Sunday with House Republicans at their annual retreat in Sulphur. Fallin is pushing for a close examination of the state’s budgeting process, especially the increasing amount of state revenue that is being diverted “off the top” directly to fund various programs and is not available for the Legislature and governor to appropriate.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
Oklahoma Democrats drop Second District challenge
The Oklahoma Democratic Party will not pursue a new election in the Second Congressional District, state Chairman Wallace Collins said late Monday. “The state officers voted not to pursue it, even though we believe the law is clear,” said Collins. “It came down to a matter of resources.” Republican incumbent Markwayne Mullin won the Nov. 4 general election with 70 percent of the vote, but his Democratic opponent, Earl Everett of Fort Gibson, died two days earlier.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
In Oklahoma, Few Efforts to Measure Gambling Addiction
In fiscal 2013, a total of 1,838 Oklahomans called a national hotline seeking help related to compulsive gambling – a nearly 60 percent spike over the previous year. Then, in 2014, the number of calls fell sharply to 1,310, according to HeartLine, an Oklahoma City call center that fields calls from Oklahomans to the National Problem Gambling Helpline (800-522-4700). The sudden drop perplexes Danielle Harris, coordinator for HeartLine. The conundrum also reflects a larger issue: No one really knows how bad compulsive gambling is in Oklahoma.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
See also: Compulsive Gambling Linked to Embezzlement from Oklahoma Watch.
Wagoner County Sheriff: ‘Using Military Equipment Isn’t About Becoming Military’
With the fallout from Ferguson, President Barack Obama is using an executive order to create a task force to look for ways to build trust between police and the communities they serve. Obama proposed spending more than $250 million on more police training as well as body cameras for 50,000 officers across the country. That executive order could also standardize how military gear is re-purposed for local law enforcement agencies to use. A new study found that there is a lack of consistency in how that gear is handed out.
On World AIDS Day, a Q&A about HIV and AIDS in Oklahoma
Since 1988, health advocates around the world have recognized World AIDS Day as an opportunity to unify in the fight against AIDS. To learn more about HIV/AIDS in Oklahoma, we spoke with Kathy Williams, executive director of Health Outreach Prevention Education, Inc. (H.O.P.E.), a Tulsa-based HIV/AIDS testing and educational organization. Her answers are summarized below.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
New facility for those with HIV/AIDS planned, will be named after Charles Faudree
By tripling the size of Tulsa CARES, the Charles Faudree Center will greatly improve the facility’s ability to help those in northeast Oklahoma living with HIV/AIDS. Just what Faudree would have wanted. Tulsa CARES announced the new center Monday — World AIDS Day — with a groundbreaking set for early 2015.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
High court rejects case of Tulsa police officer who refused to attend Islamic event
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a Tulsa police officer who sued the city after a controversy over attending an event held by an Islamic group. Without comment, the high court declined to review the case of Paul Campbell Fields, who refused to attend or assign others to attend a law enforcement appreciation day held by the Islamic Society in Tulsa.
DHS can’t block some welfare funds from casinos, strip clubs, liquor and tobacco stores
The state Department of Human Services is relying on the honor system to enforce a law prohibiting certain welfare funds from being used in casinos, liquor stores, tobacco shops and strip clubs. The current setup doesn’t allow the department to block use of the money in these establishments, DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said, though the agency is working to remedy this situation through a new vendor contract.
Tulsa school board eyes record $415 million bond proposal
The Tulsa school board got its first look at a proposed bond package that if approved by voters would set a new state record for total cost. The Tulsa Public Schools Citizens Bond Development Committee has put forth a $415 million proposal to complete a 20-year plan for facilities updates established in 1996 and to help the school district continue to catch up in the way of modern technology.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Voters reject A-F accuracy, not concept
Oklahoma’s A-F system of grading public schools has lost its credibility with the public. Ahead of the general election, the Tulsa World-sponsored Oklahoma Poll asked 404 likely voters statewide if they thought the state’s system of assigning a single letter grade to schools accurately reflected the quality of education in their school.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Report: Midwest Economic Index Dips Again
A monthly economic survey index for nine Midwestern and Plains states has dipped again. A survey report issued Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index fell in November to 51.3 from 51.8 in October. September’s figure was 54.3. After rising in June to its highest level in more than three years, the overall reading has hovered in a range pointing to much slower growth for the overall regional economy over the next three to six months.
Harold Hamm loses $10 billion from oil shock
This summer, analysts were predicting that Harold Hamm could lose half of his $20 billion fortune in his divorce. Since then, Hamm’s fortune has indeed been cut in half. But the reason is oil prices, not his divorce. Since the end of August, the CEO and founder of oil-company Continental Resources has seen the value of his shares in the company fall from $20 billion in late August to just over $10 billion on Friday. We don’t know what other major assets or debts he has, or how leveraged he might be, but it’s safe to say that Hamm’s paper fortune from Continental has been cut in half in just three months.
Oklahoma’s tobacco trust reaping huge dividends
Oklahoma’s groundbreaking way of preserving tobacco settlement money is reaping huge dividends, literally. The nation’s first constitutionally protected tobacco trust is on pace to generate as much in earnings for the fight against tobacco as it is taking in from tobacco companies as part of the settlement.
Trains, buses and automobiles: Passenger rail coming next year
The long-awaited train, connecting passengers from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, is arriving next year with plans to connect riders from downtown to downtown, officials said. While the trains won’t actually be able to arrive in downtown from the start, train officials plan to have shuttle buses that connect passengers from several pickup and drop-off points around town to the train station in Sapulpa.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
State Regulators: Stricter Ozone Standard Would be Hard for Oklahoma to Meet
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal for stricter ozone standards has been praised by environmentalists as a step in the right direction and derided by industry groups. In Oklahoma, local government officials say tougher rules aren’t needed because ozone levels are already improving, but the state Department of Environmental Quality says the state would have a hard time meeting the proposed rules. Ground-level ozone fuels smog and can worsen respiratory and cardiovascular problems, including asthma.
Quote of the Day
“In the state budget or the federal budget, direct services get the lion’s share of funding, but doing this prevention work and trying to get kids to never start smoking is so important so they don’t end up with cancer and other problems. If we don’t stop the pipeline, we’re only going to need more and more treatment services.”
-Tracey Strader, executive director of Oklahoma’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (Source: http://bit.ly/1vh0e6R)
Number of the Day
10,233
Number of children in the custody of the state of Oklahoma at the end of FY 2013.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
States listen as parents give rampant testing an F
Florida embraced the school accountability movement early and enthusiastically, but that was hard to remember at a parent meeting in a high school auditorium here not long ago. Parents railed at a system that they said was overrun by new tests coming from all levels — district, state and federal. Some wept as they described teenagers who take Xanax to cope with test stress, children who refuse to go to school and teachers who retire rather than promote a culture that seems to value testing over learning.
Read more from the New York Times.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
