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A controversial measure dubbed the “hoodie” bill, which is aimed prohibiting people from concealing their identity, will not get a hearing in the Legislature. Staff at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission directed that an injection well operated by SandRidge Energy be shut down Tuesday due to continuing earthquakes in Alfalfa County. A bill that would allow Oklahoma ministers to be immune from civil liability for refusing to officiate a same-sex marriage has cleared a House committee. The Oklahoma State Medical Association has thrown its support behind legislation that would create a prescription monitoring program in the state. While Oklahoma’s attorney general is fighting in court to defend two anti-abortion bills passed by the Legislature last year, state lawmakers have introduced several new abortion bills for the 2015 session.
On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed how the state has been on a steady march downward in national health rankings since 1990. Groups advocating for the state’s poor had both praise and criticism for Governor Fallin’s new online dashboard that seeks to hold government accountable by tracking metrics related to the quality of life in Oklahoma. KTUL examined the potential for measles outbreaks to come to Oklahoma. NewsOK discussed what you need to know about the 2015 flu outbreak, which has already claimed 58 lives in Oklahoma. A Tulsa church is hosting “Claim Your Coverage,” a free, one-on-one counseling service in enrolling in the Health Insurance Marketplace this weekend.
Journal Record Editor Ted Streuli criticized misleading comments from Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman about what accepting the Medicaid expansion would mean for Oklahoma. Hundreds of school districts across Oklahoma will share more than $16.3 million in state funding after the State Department of Education admitted miscalculating the state’s school funding formula for more than 20 years. The city of Tulsa and Tulsa County are so far apart on the terms of a new jail agreement that it may be time for the parties to go their separate ways, Undersheriff Tim Albin said Tuesday. All U.S. and Oklahoma flags on state property will be flown at half-staff this weekend to honor an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who died Saturday while on duty.
The Number of the Day is Oklahoma’s ranking among all 50 states for the total number of embezzlement cases tied to gambling. In today’s Policy Note, the Pew Charitable Trusts examines how states are going beyond federal law to protect pregnant workers who want to stay on the job.
In The News
‘Hoodie’ bill will not get legislative hearing
A measure dubbed the “hoodie” bill, which is aimed prohibiting people from concealing their identity, will not be heard. “After evaluating the legislation assigned to the Judiciary Committee this session, I have decided that Senate Bill 13 will not be heard so we may focus on other legislation before us,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, said Tuesday.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
State orders injection well shut down after northwestern Oklahoma earthquake
Staff at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission directed that an injection well operated by SandRidge Energy be shut down Tuesday due to continuing earthquakes in Alfalfa County near the Kansas border. The well is the second active wastewater injection well directed to “shut in” or halt operations by the agency since it began a new monitoring system in 2013.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Bill Allowing Ministers To Refuse Gay Marriages Clears House Committee
A bill that would allow Oklahoma ministers to be immune from civil liability for refusing to officiate a same-sex marriage has cleared a House committee. The bill by Broken Arrow Republican Rep. David Brumbaugh passed the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday with a 7-2 vote.
Oklahoma medical association backs prescription legislation
The Oklahoma State Medical Association has thrown its support behind legislation that would create a prescription monitoring program in the state. The association’s president, Dr. Todd Brockman, expressed support for the proposal Tuesday after a state House committee voted 7-0 to send the measure by Rep. Doug Cox of Grove to the House floor for debate and a vote.
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
Oklahoma GOP lawmakers push several anti-abortion bills
While Oklahoma’s attorney general is fighting in court to defend two anti-abortion bills passed by the Legislature last year, state lawmakers have introduced several new abortion bills for the 2015 session. Among those filed this year are measures to prohibit certain late-term abortions, require doctors to inform pregnant women about the fetal heartbeat, and require women to have certain information provided to them at least three days before an abortion.
Oklahoma’s health ranking: same song, another verse
The latest nationwide health ranking is out, and Oklahoma in its customary trailing position on national comparisons. United Health Foundation’s annual America’s Health Rankings report placed Oklahoma 46th in the US for the health of our people. This continues the state’s steady march downward since the group began compiling and releasing rankings. Since the rankings were first released in 1990, we’ve fallen to 46th from a solid 32.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Fallin’s Oklahoma-meter picks up praise, skepticism
Gov. Mary Fallin on Monday unveiled an online barometer of health, crime, education and other factors in the quality of life in Oklahoma — an initiative that she says will hold government accountable for spending. But leaders of groups working with the state’s poor, who provide some of the services that Fallin hopes to improve, critiqued the demographic dashboard as short on detail. It remains to be seen how Fallin plans to tackle more than 160 areas of social concern tracked by the website — such as infant mortality, poverty, graduation rates, illiteracy and recidivism.
Read more from the Duncan Banner.
See the dashboard at http://www.ok.gov/okstatestat/.
Will The Measles Come To Oklahoma?
As of January 30th, there are 102 measles cases in 14 states. So will the measles ever reach Oklahoma? Health officials say it’s a nasty and uncomfortable disease, that is best avoided, but thankfully, a major effort to immunize people is paying-off in this state. About 63% of all Oklahomans have had their shots.
What you need to know about the 2015 flu outbreak in Oklahoma
Flu season always takes a toll, making millions sick and claiming thousands of lives in the U.S. each year. But this year’s flu outbreak is shaping up to be particularly bad, having already spread to at least 46 states with a highly dangerous strain that poses a serious threat to the elderly and young children. It has claimed 58 lives in Oklahoma. To add to the concern, this year’s flu vaccine doesn’t appear to protect against the strain that’s making most people sick.
Tulsa Church To Offer Free Help For Health Care Enrollment
A Tulsa church is hosting “Claim Your Coverage,” a free, one-on-one counseling service in enrolling in the Health Insurance Marketplace this weekend. Morton Comprehensive Health Center counselors will be answering questions and helping people enroll in the Health Care Marketplace from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. February 6 at All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 South Peoria Avenue.
Ted Streuli: Bingman needs a wake-up call
Each legislative session brings forth a lawmaker who proposes something so crazy she gains instant notoriety or one who validates the Peter Principle. Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, is taking a serious run at the trophy. At the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s legislative breakfast last month, Bingman tried to explain that Medicaid money was really just a loan and that Oklahoma shouldn’t take it. I’m still trying to figure out how he got there; last I checked we all pay federal taxes, including one on the pay stub for Medicaid.
Read more from the Journal Record.
Oklahoma school districts sharing $16.3 million after recalculation
Hundreds of school districts across Oklahoma will share more than $16.3 million in state funding after the State Department of Education admitted miscalculating the state’s school funding formula for more than 20 years. State school officials say the funds are being sent to districts and charter schools this week and next.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Sheriff’s Office talks about life without city of Tulsa inmates
The city of Tulsa and Tulsa County are so far apart on the terms of a new jail agreement that it may be time for the parties to go their separate ways, Undersheriff Tim Albin said Tuesday. “It is with a heavy heart that we come to talk to you about this,” Albin told county commissioners. “But based on the city of Tulsa’s attempts to delay this eight months … I think we may have reached a point of irreconcilable differences and it is time for a divorce.” Albin and Sheriff Stanley Glanz appeared before commissioners to explain how the county would be affected should the city end up running its own jail.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Flags to be flown at half-staff this weekend in honor of OHP trooper killed at crash scene
All U.S. and Oklahoma flags on state property will be flown at half-staff this weekend to honor an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who died Saturday while on duty, Gov. Mary Fallin announced Tuesday. Troopers Nicholas Dees and Keith Burch were struck by a vehicle Saturday night while working a crash scene on Interstate 40 in Seminole County east of Shawnee.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
“At the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s legislative breakfast last month, Bingman tried to explain that Medicaid money was really just a loan and that Oklahoma shouldn’t take it. I’m still trying to figure out how he got there; last I checked we all pay federal taxes … And the federal government sends that money back to the states to help poor people get health care.”
-Journal Record Editor Ted Streuli, responding to comments by Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman about why Oklahoma is refusing billions in federal dollars meant to extend health coverage (Source: http://bit.ly/1vsqwVR)
Number of the Day
3rd
Oklahoma’s ranking among all 50 states for the total number of embezzlement cases tied to gambling.
Source: Marquet International via Oklahoma Watch.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
States Go Beyond Federal Law to Protect Pregnant Workers
Decades after a federal law banned discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace, some states are providing additional protections to pregnant workers who want to stay on the job. After Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, many state legislators thought the problem had been solved. But as the number of women in the workforce has increased—and more of them have stayed on the job through their pregnancies—they have encountered obstacles not covered by the federal law. Recent federal court rulings that have sided with employers who support a narrow interpretation of the law have added fuel to efforts in state capitals.
Read more from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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