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 or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zebre.
Download today’s In The Know podcast here or play it in your browser:
Today you should know that the Oklahoma House voted to make embryonic stem cell research a felony. The bill would also ban in vitro fertilization unless extra embryos created by the procedure were kept frozen forever or provided to others who want to grow them into babies. Oklahoma pharmacists rallied at the Capitol against what they claim are abusive practices of low reimbursement by several large insurance companies. The Senate delayed action on a bill to prevent girls younger than 17 from buying the morning-after pill without a prescription, after lawmakers realized it did not prevent boys from purchasing the drug.
The Southern Poverty Law Center identified 17 hate groups active in Oklahoma last year. A bill that would allow business owners in Oklahoma to refuse service to gays for religious reasons likely won’t be heard in its current form. The bills author, Rep. Tom Newell, said the measure is being rewritten to avoid “fiascos like there have been elsewhere.” The Senate voted to build a Bill of Rights monument at the state Capitol.
The OK Policy Blog discussed how lawmakers’ push to move new state employees to 401(k)-style pensions, which is being sold as a way to reduce the state’s unfunded pension liabilities, could actually make the liabilities worse. Oklahoma ranks among the bottom 10 states for overall well-being, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The Oklahoma Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the attorney general’s office abused its discretion by rewriting a petition to place storm shelters in Oklahoma public schools.
The Number of the Day is Oklahoma’s rank out of all 50 states on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. In today’s Policy Note, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows how expanding health coverage also reduces debt and improves credit scores.
In The News
Oklahoma House votes to ban stem cell research, in vitro fertilization
A bill that would make it a felony to knowingly destroy a human embryo for stem cell research or any other purpose cruised through the state House of Representatives on Tuesday by a vote of 73-14. It now goes to the state Senate. Fisher said his bill would ban couples from destroying frozen embryos that are left over following in vitro fertilization as well as embryonic stem cell research that results in their destruction. Excess embryos left over from in vitro fertilization would either need to be kept frozen forever or provided to others who want to adopt the embryos and grow them into babies, he said.
Oklahoma pharmacists lobby for regulations on insurance companies
Claiming the survival of their pharmacy businesses are at stake, more than 100 Oklahoma independent pharmacists rallied at the state Capitol on Tuesday to lobby against what they claim are abusive practices of low reimbursement by several large pharmacy benefit managers. Oklahoma’s independent pharmacists are pushing for House Bill 2100, which they say would place regulatory controls on pharmacy benefit managers and prohibit those managers from requiring pharmacists to dispense medication when the reimbursement rate is below the pharmacists’ invoice cost.
Senate delays action on morning-after pill
The Oklahoma Senate has delayed action on a bill to prevent girls younger than 17 from buying the so-called morning-after pill without a prescription after the measure’s author realized it applied only to females. Norman Republican Sen. Rob Standridge brought the bill up for consideration Tuesday in the Senate. The measure prohibits girls younger than 17 from purchasing the morning-after emergency contraceptive without a prescription. But Oklahoma City Democratic Sen. Connie Johnson noted the bill only prohibited females younger than 17, and not males, from purchasing the drug.
Agency identifies 17 hate groups in Oklahoma
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest statistics counted 17 hate groups and 15 “patriot groups” in Oklahoma last year, which officials said during a news conference Tuesday is part of the agency’s recording of downward trends of the existence of such groups around the country. The report includes neo-Nazi, white nationalist, neo-Confederate, racist skinhead, Klansmen and black separatist groups, as well as anti-LGBT, Muslim and immigrant groups and those that create racist music or Holocaust denial propaganda. The only category to see a notable increase was anti-LGBT groups, Potok said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma gay discrimination bill being redrafted
The author of a bill that would allow business owners in Oklahoma with strongly held religious beliefs to refuse service to gays says the measure is being rewritten and likely won’t be considered in its current form this session. Seminole Republican Rep. Tom Newell said Tuesday that while he still supports the idea, his bill is being redrafted to prevent “any fiascos like there have been elsewhere.” The bill initially would have provided legal immunity to anyone who refuses services to gays — if the refusal is based on religious beliefs.
Oklahoma Senate passes bill establishing Bill of Rights monument at state Capitol
A new monument may soon grace the grounds of the state Capitol, despite a moratorium on such sculptures that was put in place recently by a state commission. A measure allowing the establishment of a monument to the Bill of Rights passed the Senate on Tuesday and now goes to the House. In December, the Capitol Preservation Commission placed a moratorium on monuments amid a flurry of proposals from religious and advocacy groups seeking to place a monument on Capitol grounds after a House bill allowed a Ten Commandments monument to be placed there in 2012. Hindu and Satanic groups and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals all filed proposals with the commission.
Moving new employees to 401(k)s would endanger existing pensions, increase cost to taxpayers
During this year’s State of the State address, Gov. Mary Fallin expressed strong support for doing away with traditional defined benefit pension plans for new hires within the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) in favor of 401k-style defined contribution retirement plans. The Governor touted the switch as beneficial both to public employees, whose retirement benefits would be more portable if they wish to leave state employment early in their careers, and to the state’s fiscal stability.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma near bottom of new well-being index
Oklahoma ranks among the bottom 10 states for overall well-being, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The state ranks 42nd, with its poorest marks in the categories of healthy behaviors and life evaluation. Mississippi, Kentucky and West Virginia were the bottom three states, while the top states were North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. Oklahoma ranked in the bottom 10 for four of the categories: life evaluation, physical health, healthy behaviors and basic access. It ranked 39th for emotional health and a surprising seventh for work environment.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma Supreme Court hears arguments school shelter initiative language
The attorney general’s office abused its discretion by rewriting a ballot title for a petition to place storm shelters in Oklahoma public schools, a lawyer for the initiative’s supporters told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday. The 200-word ballot title condenses the full initiative petition, State Question 767. When it was submitted, it focused on what supporters say was the purpose of the proposal, to finance and build school storm shelters. Attorney General Scott Pruitt made significant changes, going into great detail on the financial aspects of the $500 million bond.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Quote of the Day
Studies in 13 states that have considered a switch to defined contribution plans have reached an actuarial consensus that closing a defined benefit plan lowers investment returns and thus increases unfunded liabilities.
-Researchers Ross Eisenbrey and Steve Herzenberg, in a report finding that lawmakers’ plan to move state pensions to a 401(k) style system could create billions of dollars of additional costs for taxpayers (Source: http://bit.ly/1dyYGsg)
Number of the Day
42nd
Oklahoma’s rank out of all 50 states on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The state ranked especially poorly for life evaluation, physical health, healthy behaviors and basic access to health care.
Source: Healthways
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Expanding health coverage provides financial protection too
The comprehensive health reform that Massachusetts enacted in 2006 improved residents’ financial well-being, likely by protecting them from high out-of-pocket medical costs (among other things), according to recent research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Combined with previous research, these findings suggest that the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) will not only give people better access to quality health care but also help them avoid financial hardship. As the share of Massachusetts residents with health coverage rose by about 7 percentage points, residents’ credit scores improved, personal debt fell 22 percent on average, and the likelihood of bankruptcy fell 18 percent, after controlling for other personal and macroeconomic factors.
Read more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
