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.
In The Know will be off tomorrow as we host the 2015 State Budget Summit. It will return Friday.
Oklahoma House and Senate leaders have introduced legislation that would require thorough reviews every four years of several dozen business incentives that are costing the state as much as $300 million annually. Governor Fallin said she would call for Oklahoma to tap millions of dollars in “revolving funds” to close this year’s budget hole. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has twice found that lawmakers acted illegally last year when tapping revolving funds in ways that took money from Oklahoma’s Promise scholarships and health care for the uninsured. On the OK Policy Blog, we examined the damage being done by Oklahoma’s chronic funding shortfalls.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission says the state’s unemployment rate declined in December, from 4.4 percent in November to 4.2 percent. More than 100,000 Oklahomans are already insured for 2015 through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, 30,000 more than last year. A bill to grant Oklahoma patients with terminal illnesses increased access to experimental drugs has been introduced by state Rep. Richard Morrissette. A bill proposed by a Tulsa Senator Brian Crain would bring brewers of high-point beer in Oklahoma on par with wineries by giving them the ability to sell their products directly to consumers on site, but there is some question if the bill is constitutional.
Gov. Mary Fallin has asked the War Veterans Commission to replace the executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. The Oklahoma PTA is encouraging parents to opt their children out of the fifth- and eighth-grade writing tests this year because one of the test’s two prompts is a field test. The Journal Record editorial board criticized bills by Rep. Sally Kern targeting the gay community. Rep. Kern defended the measures as an effort to support traditional values. Watermelon farmers are concerned about Senator Nathan Dahm’s bill to repeal the watermelon’s status as the state’s official vegetable.
The Number of the Day is how much Oklahoma paid to private companies through the Quality Jobs Program from 1993 to 2014. In today’s Policy Note, the New York Times explains how a couple of little-noticed legislative tweaks appear to have created the conditions for far-reaching changes that are helping to lift the burden of student debt.
In The News
Legislative Leaders Propose New Scrutiny of Business Tax Breaks
Oklahoma House and Senate leaders have introduced legislation that would require thorough reviews every four years of several dozen business incentives that are costing the state as much as $300 million annually. Companion bills authored by House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, and Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, would create a seven-member Incentive Evaluation Commission to conduct the quadrennial reviews.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Fallin points to ‘revolving funds’ to help close Oklahoma’s budget hole
Millions of dollars in so-called “revolving funds” are sitting unused and can help pay for state priorities even as revenue drops sharply, Gov. Mary Fallin said Tuesday in a preview of the message she will deliver to legislators at the start of their yearly session. She said the state has $1.7 billion in revolving funds, or money held in accounts by individual agencies.
See also: Legislature’s wandering budget hands get slapped again from the OK Policy Blog
Budget road certain to be rocky
As we look ahead to next year’s state budget, one thing is for certain: it’s going to be a very rocky ride. Last month, the Board of Equalization certified $298 million less revenue for next year’s budget than was appropriated this year. As we discussed in this blog post, the initial certification assumes that tax collections will grow next year, despite low energy prices; the shortfall is due to the use of over $400 million in one-time funds from cash reserves and agency revolving funds to balance this year’s budget, as well as a quarter-point cut in the income tax that last year’s Legislature scheduled to take effect at the start of 2016.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Why higher education should be a higher state budget priority
As a new legislative session begins and the governor prepares a new budget, Oklahoma has an opportunity to get on the right track. In many ways, we are like a private business. Wise businessmen and women know when it is time to invest in the future of their businesses — even when times are difficult. As we face uncertainty with oil and gas prices, we are reminded again of the need to diversify our economy and broaden the skills of our workforce.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Why juvenile justice should be a higher state budget priority
Several years ago I was honored to participate as co-chairman of the Oklahoma Juvenile Justice Reform Committee, established in 2010 by House Joint Resolution. After two years of study, we hit a barrier in recommending an efficient and effective organization and programs to accomplish the goals of Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system. Why? Oklahoma’s state agency responsible for the implementation and funding of programs within this state — the Office of Juvenile Affairs — suffered crippling budget cuts that rendered it incapable outside of mere survival.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Department Of Corrections Asks For 18% Increase For Staff And Salaries
The Department of Corrections defended its fiscal year 2016 appropriation requests Tuesday during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and the Judiciary budget hearing. The department is requesting appropriations that would be nearly 18 percent more than what they were given for the current fiscal year. Director of Communications Terri Watkins said the agency wants to eventually get back to levels of funding it saw six or seven years ago.
Budget Requests Continue To Increase In Health, Human Services Subcommittee Hearings
The trend in requesting budget increases continued into the second day of budget hearings presented to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. All four agencies presenting Tuesday requested significant increases to their fiscal year 2016 budgets.
State Unemployment Rate Falls To 4.2 Percent
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission says the state’s unemployment rate declined by two-tenths of a percentage point in December, from 4.4 percent in November to 4.2 percent. State officials said Tuesday that five of the state’s nine seasonally adjusted business sectors added jobs in December. Professional and business services led the way with an over-the-month increase of 2,000 jobs.
Oklahomans Search For Best Deal In Health Care Marketplace
More than 100,000 Oklahomans are already insured through the Health Care Marketplace for 2015. That’s 30,000 more than last year. In our state, it’s mostly young adults, part-time workers and people who are semi-retired who are getting coverage under the Affordable Health Care Act.
Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants Experimental Drug Access For Terminal Patients
A bill to grant Oklahoma patients with terminal illnesses increased access to experimental drugs has been introduced by state Rep. Richard Morrissette. “It may be a … hail Mary. Why not? Let’s give them that chance,” said Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City. Under House Bill 1074, which is called the “Right to Try Act,” terminally ill patients would be required to obtain approval from their physicians before being granted access to the experimental drugs. Only experimental drugs that have successfully completed phase one clinical trials and that are still in the FDA testing process would be approved for use.
Read more from the Times Record.
Proposed bill would put Oklahoma beermakers on par with wineries
A bill proposed by a Tulsa senator would bring brewers of high-point beer in Oklahoma on par with wineries by giving them the ability to sell their products directly to consumers on site. Senate Bill 424 by Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, would amend state statute to allow breweries to sell high-point beer to consumers “on the premises of the brewery.” There is some question if the bill is constitutional, however.
Governor Seeks to Change Leadership of State Veterans Agency
Gov. Mary Fallin has asked the nine-member War Veterans Commission to change the executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. In a Jan. 26 letter, Fallin asked the WVC to “immediately unify the position of executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.” Fallin’s spokesman Alex Weintz said the change would make Major Gen. Miles Deering the new director of the ODVA, replacing the agency’s current director John McReynolds.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Oklahoma PTA calls for statewide opt-out from writing tests
The Oklahoma PTA is encouraging parents to opt their children out of the fifth- and eighth-grade writing tests this year because one of the test’s two prompts is a field test. “Parents are frustrated by the overwhelming use of standardized tests,” said President Jeffery Corbett. “Oklahoma PTA believes that parents have the right to make informed decisions regarding whether or not their child provides unpaid research to the billion-dollar testing industry.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Legislating prejudice
State Rep. Sally Kern is a bigot. Everyone in the state and much of the rest of the nation, unfortunately, already knows that. And she has a right to her awful views. The problem is that, as an elected representative, she wants to make the state an instrument of her prejudice.
Read more from the Journal Record.
State Rep. Sally Kern says anti-gay bills are an effort to support traditional values
A state lawmaker under fire for three controversial bills targeting the gay community on Tuesday defended the measures as an effort to support traditional values. Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, is the author of House Bill 1599, called the “Preservation and Sovereignty of Marriage Act.” It attempts to nullify federal court action that legalized same-sex marriage after Oklahoma voters approved a constitutional ban.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Watermelon: Economic impact of reclassification
Senator Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed Senate Bill 329 last week to repeal the watermelon’s status as the state’s official vegetable. Watermelon was granted the distinction of Oklahoma’s state vegetable in 2007, thanks to then-Representative Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, which is the home of the world famous watermelon festival. Economically speaking, the proposed bill will impact quite a few people, particularly farmers. It seems like a minor issue, but for the people of Rush Springs who’ve seen a big economic boost thanks to watermelon and its official title, the repeal is certainly not a welcome change.
Quote of the Day
“I think Oklahoma is really poised to become a leader in this area. Most or all states are sort of dealing with these same issues. I think a lot of states will be looking to Oklahoma to see how they can follow suit… It’s a huge step.”
– Jeff Chapman, project director of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Business Incentive Initiative, on legislation that would impose stronger oversight of state tax breaks, rebates and other business incentives (Source: bit.ly/1z1btSF)
Number of the Day
$949 million
Amount the state of Oklahoma paid to companies through the Quality Jobs Program from 1993 to 2014. Oklahoma Watch analysis reveals that fewer than half the promised jobs were created by required deadlines
Source: Oklahoma Watch.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
A quiet revolution in helping life the burden of student debt
Has the student loan crisis already been solved? This might seem an absurd question. Student loan debt is at a record high of $1.1 trillion, and the average undergraduate who borrows to attend school graduates nearly $30,000 in debt. Almost 20 percent of student borrowers are in default. Yet a couple of little-noticed legislative tweaks to a small, obscure loan repayment program — revisions made under two very different presidents — appear to have created the conditions for far-reaching changes in how a college education is bought and paid for. The result may make it much easier for students to get out from under their debts.
Read more from The New York Times.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
actually, the note about OK’s chronic budget shortfalls should have followed immediately after Fallin’s plan to balance the budget by tapping agency revolving funds. the only reason the state hasn’t had more budget problems is that agency heads learned long ago to store whatever they could in those revolving funds since state policymakers would undoubtedly play stupid human tricks on the straight appropriations. since the governor and her DUI finance man discovered the “horror” of such activity, they have set the funds in their scopes. so expect even more disaster for state agencies and their operations as the really smart executive branch people add themselves to the old saying that, if you lined up all the jerks in the world, the first 200 would be state legislators. that line includes governors and finance directors now, too.