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.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court osided upheld a district court’s decision letting Governor Fallin withhold from the public records related to her decision-making process. The Tulsa World reported that Devon Energy’s political action committee and executive chairman have poured nearly $1 million since 2006 into the campaign funds of GOP candidates for state offices, including the maximum allowed contribution to Attorney General Scott Pruitt even though he faced no opponent. A new OK Policy report looks at the evidence that democracy is broken in Oklahoma and lays out several reforms that could fix it. You can download the full report here, download an executive summary, or watch an animated video summarizing the report.
The Obama administration announced Tuesday it had chosen Oklahoma to receive an Affordable Care Act grant of up to $2 million to develop innovative models for delivering health care. Despite Department of Corrections efforts to release inmates to make room for offenders from the county jails, the prison system remains significantly over capacity, understaffed, and badly in need of repair. The Enid News & Eagle wrote that Oklahoma needs to reform the prison system soon or risk the federal government taking over and mandating expensive changes. Tulsa World business columnist John Stancavage examined how cheap gas may cost the state economy down the road. A Community Action Project program providing education and job opportunities to low-income parents with young children celebrated its first participants’ graduation from a Registered Nurse program. On the OK Policy Blog, we previously discussed why it’s so important to expand policies that help parents.
The U.S. Geological Survey says groundwater levels are rapidly declining in an aquifer that serves parts of Oklahoma and seven other states. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board approved a plan to conduct a $1.4 million study of ways to conserve and manage water in southwest Oklahoma’s Upper Red River Basin. The Oklahoma City utilities department plans a public meeting Thursday on a proposal by a private company to drill for oil and natural gas near Lake Hefner. The Number of the Day is the percentage of women who entered the state correctional system in 2013 with a moderate to high need for substance abuse treatment. In today’s Policy Note, Nature discusses evidence that estimates of abundant natural gas reserves in the United States may be wishful thinking.
In The News
Oklahoma Supreme Court says Governor can withhold details from public
The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with Gov. Mary Fallin in a dispute over open records. The ruling upheld a district court’s decision letting Fallin withhold records from public inspection. “We agree with the trial court that Oklahoma Governors have a privilege to refuse to disclose advice they receive in confidence from ‘senior executive branch officials’ when deliberating discretionary decisions and shaping policy,” the ruling said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Donations from Devon PACs, executives fill GOP campaign coffers
Devon Energy’s political action committee and executive chairman have poured nearly $1 million since 2006 into the campaign funds of GOP candidates for state offices and party committees supporting them, a Tulsa World analysis shows. Among the top individual recipients during that time is Attorney General Scott Pruitt, whose campaign received the maximum $5,000 contribution from Devon Energy’s PAC this year, even though Pruitt was re-elected months later with no opponent.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
New report shares ideas for repairing Oklahoma’s broken democracy
Electoral participation is a cornerstone of our representative democracy. The vote allows citizens to participate freely and fairly in the political process and ensures that elected officials stay accountable to their constituents. Yet in Oklahoma we are seeing growing signs of the breakdown of electoral participation.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
State Wins Affordable Care Act Grant
The Obama administration announced Tuesday it had chosen Oklahoma to receive a grant of up to $2 million to develop innovative models for delivering health care. The award is significant because it represents a rare departure from the state’s general reluctance to participate in programs authorized by the Affordable Care Act, sometimes characterized as Obamacare.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Wardens: State Prison System Understaffed, Over-Crowded, Badly in Need of Repair
Despite Department of Corrections efforts to release inmates to make room for offenders from the county jails—the “jail backup”—the prison system remains over capacity, documents show. Quarterly reports from prison wardens show the inmate population peaked above 105 percent capacity this summer, and remains at 104 percent this month.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Legislative session should prioritize addressing prison problems
Oklahoma could risk losing control of its corrections system if the state doesn’t tackle its burgeoning prison population. If we lose control of our prisons — as Oklahoma did in the 1970s — legislators would face a funding mandate that could lead to possible education and transportation funding cuts. Acting now could provide some latitude to prioritize and find solutions on our own terms. “Everybody, regardless of party, ought to be very interested in getting this fixed,” said House Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview.
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
Cheap gas may cost state economy down the road
Although gasoline prices have been $1.99 a gallon in several towns around the state for a couple of weeks, it took until Tuesday for the trend to reach Tulsa. QuikTrip, the dominant convenience store chain in the Tulsa area, slashed prices by almost 20 cents a gallon overnight as crude oil prices continued to fall. The new price is the lowest in town since May 8, 2009.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
CAP Tulsa’s CareerAdvance celebrates first RN graduates
Misty White’s journey toward family self-sufficiency hit a major milestone Tuesday evening. White was one of the first two participants in CAP Tulsa’s CareerAdvance program to graduate from Tulsa Community College’s Registered Nurse program during a ceremony for graduates at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa campus.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: To help kids, help parents from the OK Policy Blog
High Plains Aquifer Groundwater Declining
The U.S. Geological Survey says groundwater levels are declining in an aquifer that serves parts of Oklahoma and seven other states. The USGS has released a report on changes in groundwater levels in the High Plains Aquifer, also known as the Ogallala Aquifer. USGS scientist Virginia McGuire says measurements between 2011 and 2013 represent a large decline in groundwater levels and are likely due to increased groundwater pumping.
Study Will Develop Plan For Drought Stricken Southwest Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board on Tuesday unanimously approved the terms of a plan to further study the Upper Red River Basin as part of the Water SMART Basin Studies Program. The study, which has an estimated cost of approximately $1.4 million, will help Oklahoma’s southwest corner find ways to best conserve and manage the water they draw from the Upper Red River Basin.
Oil company proposes drilling at Oklahoma City’s Lake Hefner
The Oklahoma City utilities department plans a public meeting Thursday on a proposal by Pedestal Oil Co. Inc. to drill for oil and natural gas near Lake Hefner. The meeting will be 6 p.m. at the Will Rogers Conservatory, 3600 NW 36. The proposed drilling site is northwest of NW 68 and Portland Avenue, about 600 feet west of Stars and Stripes Park. It is outside the park’s boundaries.
Quote of the Day
“It’s definitely an amazing feeling. I’m going to be able to actually provide for my family, which is huge. I also feel that I can give back for once. CAP helped me so much, and now I can go out and help others the way they did for me.”
– Amber Sanchez, a participant of Community Action Project Tulsa’s CareerAdvance program, which provides education and job opportunities to parents of children enrolled in CAP Tulsa’s early childhood programs, Educare or TANF (Source: bit.ly/1vXQbiq)
Number of the Day
61.10%
Percentage of women who entered the state correctional system in 2013 with a moderate to high need for substance abuse treatment.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Corrections 2013 Division of Female Offender Operations Annual Report.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Natural gas: The fracking fallacy
When US President Barack Obama talks about the future, he foresees a thriving US economy fuelled to a large degree by vast amounts of natural gas pouring from domestic wells. “We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years,” he declared in his 2012 State of the Union address. Obama’s statement reflects an optimism that has permeated the United States. It is all thanks to fracking — or hydraulic fracturing — which has made it possible to coax natural gas at a relatively low price out of the fine-grained rock known as shale. Around the country, terms such as ‘shale revolution’ and ‘energy abundance’ echo through corporate boardrooms.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
