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Today In The News
Mental health providers given details of planned state funding cuts: The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services began delivering the bad news to providers on Tuesday. Meeting behind closed doors at the agency’s headquarters Tuesday afternoon, providers were told how the department plans to shed 23 percent of its budget — $75 million — beginning Dec. 1. Those plans will be made public at a 1 p.m. Wednesday news conference [Tulsa World]. If lawmakers wait until regular session to fix the budget, it will already be too late [OK Policy]. Lawmakers must use special session to fix the budget, not pass the buck [OK Policy].
Lawmakers discuss budget deal at Governor’s Mansion: The Oklahoma Capitol is closed for business, but House and Senate leadership are holding off-site budget meetings. One of the spots where those meetings have been held is the Governor’s Mansion, where lawmakers are working to come up with compromises to determine how to fill a $215 million budget hole. Some of the potential areas include raising taxes on cigarettes, gasoline, income on high earners and gross production for oil and gas [KOCO].
Is Oklahoma spending more than ever? Only if you ignore inflation: As Oklahoma’s elected officials wrestle to close a budget gap, a recent op-ed from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs argued that tax hikes shouldn’t be part of the solution. “Why do we need to raise taxes if the government is already spending more than ever before,” the conservative think tank wrote. “State government spending is at an all-time high. The state is on track to spend more in this fiscal year — more than $17.9 billion — than at any time in state history.” Where does the state money go? [Politifact] Two big myths that distort Oklahoma’s education funding debate [OK Policy].
Oklahoma board considers reducing legislator pay, benefits: A committee created to decide whether to give Oklahoma lawmakers a pay raise decided instead Tuesday to consider reducing the salary and benefits for the state’s 149 legislators. The Legislative Compensation Board voted to keep the $38,400 annual salary for now, but the nine-member panel agreed to meet again in four months to discuss the issue more. Chairman Wes Milbourn and several members suggested the board consider reducing lawmaker salary and benefits given the state’s budget crisis and a perception from the public that lawmakers are doing a poor job [Associated Press].
For Many Oklahomans, Better Hearing Is Beyond Their Means: When the government began providing health coverage to millions of older Americans five decades ago, it specifically excluded hearing aids. Hearing loss among the aged was not a life-endangering medical condition, the reasoning went. Good hearing was not considered essential to good health. That view has changed. Hearing specialists say the consequences of untreated hearing loss can be substantial, from impaired job performance and damaged relationships to social withdrawal, anxiety, depression and possibly even accelerated dementia [Oklahoma Watch].
Policy deals second blow to stemming teen motherhood: As local health officials work to improve Oklahoma’s national ranking for teen birth rates, federal policy might have struck a second blow for the year. Although birth rates among teens have been on the decline for the past few years, Oklahoma remains second in the nation for teenagers giving birth. Local health departments and nonprofit campaigns have been trying to increase access to contraception and sex education, among other strategies, to help girls stay economically independent and to increase their chances of staying in school, going to college and achieving their career goals [Journal Record]. Loss of federal prevention funds will lead to more unintended teen pregnancies [OK Policy].
Hey, Scott Biggs! Criminal justice reform is conservative justice reform: As conservatives, we want government to collect and spend as few tax dollars as possible. And when those tax dollars are spent, they should be spent wisely. When the government fails in that charge, we demand accountability. So why are some conservatives fighting for Oklahoma’s state government to waste money on programs that don’t work? [Jason Pye / Tulsa World] Misguided budget concerns sank criminal justice reform this year, but lawmakers have another shot in 2018 [OK Policy].
Oklahoma’s mental health issues place heavy burden on police: The recent death by suicide of a woman at the Midwest City jail recalled comments made 15 months ago by David Brown, who at the time was police chief in Dallas. “Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve,” Brown said. “Not enough mental health funding? Let the cops handle it. Not enough drug conviction funding? Let’s give it to the cops.” He added a few other examples before saying, “That’s too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.” And yet, this is what we ask our police departments to do [Editorial Board / NewsOK].
Lawsuit: Oklahoma jailers mocked, withheld medical care from inmate suffering from 91-hour erection: A Wilburton man says he suffered a medication-induced erection lasting more than 91 hours while locked in the Pittsburg County jail, while jail staff mocked his condition and refused to get him medical treatment, according to a recently-filed lawsuit. The man, Dustin John Lance, 32, said he suffered “unbearable pain” and permanent injury to his penis because of the four-day long erection while in the jail between Dec. 15, 2016, and Dec. 19, 2016, according to the lawsuit [The Frontier].
AG Jeff Sessions will speak to sheriffs in Midwest City: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will speak to sheriffs Thursday in Midwest City. The Alabama Republican will deliver keynote remarks to the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association in a student center at Rose State College, the OSA announced Tuesday. “It’s a real big deal,” said Ray McNair, the group’s executive director [NewsOK].
Why courts’ use of religious work camps could be ‘patently illegal’: The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent letters to 24 courts in Oklahoma on Monday demanding they stop sending defendants to a drug rehabilitation center that forces them to attend church and work for free in chicken plants. The national nonprofit group, which advocates for the separation of church and state, said the court’s use of Christian Alcoholics & Addicts in Recovery violates religious liberties established by the First Amendment [Reveal].
Another ‘REAL ID’ deadline passes, Oklahoma waiting on extension: Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005, but Oklahoma still has yet to issue licenses or identification cards that are compliant with that law. October 10th, another deadline passed for the state to bring itself into accordance with Real ID, but as things stand today it appears unlikely that will happen before roughly 2020. Randy Rogers, Legislative Liaison with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, tells KRMG the good news is that latest deadline came with a grace period, which doesn’t expire until January 22nd, 2018 [KRMG].
Rules for use of wastewater flowing toward approval: The state is moving closer to allowing cities to use cleaned-up wastewater as a raw water source. Rules protecting public health and the state’s reservoirs for several water conservation measures could be approved by September. And there still isn’t yet a well-established formula for how much it will cost municipalities and rural water districts to comply with new rules, said Michael Graves, vice president at engineering firm Garver [Journal Record].
Quote of the Day
“These cuts are unbearable and will decimate our state’s behavioral health care system. Yet, they are the only choices the agency has left to keep from completely eliminating services for Oklahoma’s most acutely ill.”
– Department of Mental Health Commissioner Terri White, announcing $75 million in cuts – 23 percent of its budget – as a result of the Supreme Court striking down a $1.50 per pack cigarette fee earlier this year (Source)
Number of the Day
$465 million
Net loss of Oklahoma’s state revenue due to the capital gains tax break, 2010-2014, according to a study for Oklahoma’s Incentive Evaluation Commission.
Source: PFM Group Consulting LLC
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The Republican Attack on Feeding the Hungry: The end of September marks the 40th anniversary of the Food Stamp Act, the program that institutionalized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Its passage was a model of how to make constructive and important legislation, finding common ground by making tradeoffs across all the usual boundaries. In this case, the key players included George McGovern and Bob Dole, Tom Foley and Shirley Chisholm, among others. The McGovern-Dole alliance was a striking one. When I came to Washington in 1969-70, I witnessed the near-nuclear conflict between the two men [The Atlantic].
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