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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.
A state income tax cut bill passed by the Oklahoma Legislature this year was upheld Tuesday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. You can read the Court’s decision here. A rape charge has been filed against a former Norman High School student in a case that sparked a protest by classmates of the alleged victim. State Superintendent-elect Joy Hofmeister on Tuesday released the results of an unscientific poll conducted by her transition team that identified testing, teacher pay and overall funding as the top three priorities identified by more than 10,000 respondents.
On Thursday, OK Policy’s Kate Richey will speak about her research on the wealth and opportunity gap for people of color in Oklahoma at a meeting of the Alliance for Economic Inclusion for Northeastern Oklahoma. The meeting is free and open to the public and will be held from 6-8 pm at 221 E Mathew B Brady St in Tulsa. You can find our report and past presentations on the opportunity gap here. A protest is being planned outside the weekly Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee meeting over an article the groups’s president wrote titled, “Why blacks hate cops & how blacks can be winners, not losers!”
Oklahoma’s unemployment rate for 2014 is 4.5 percent, down significantly from 5.6 percent in 2013. OSU economist Dan Rickman warned that a drop in oil prices could cost the state up to 1,000 jobs next year. A survey by Arvest Bank found that Oklahomans’ sentiment about their financial situation improved from June to October, but 60 percent of respondents foresee widespread unemployment in five years. A Tulsa police officer charged in the murder of his daughter’s boyfriend retired last month and collected a lump sum pension payout of more than $160,000. While a state law prevents officers convicted of felonies from collecting their monthly pensions, Officer Shannon Kepler gets to keep the lump sum even if convicted in the case.
A north Tulsa specialty health clinic celebrated the opening of a new education center Tuesday. The clinic is aimed at easing the doctor shortage in north Tulsa and helping area residents to have easier access to specialists. The Oklahoman editorial board argued that Oklahoma should get off the short list of states that haven’t banned texting while driving. The Oklahoma Lottery Commission will again ask legislators to lower their 35 percent minimum mandated percentage of net profits going to education.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission ended its four-month inquiry into wind energy development in Oklahoma, which could lead to new rules for the industry. National Geographic Traveler magazine has named Oklahoma City as one of the ‘Best Trips’ of 2015. You can see the magazine’s write-up here. The Number of the Day is the percentage of consumers with subprime credit in Oklahoma. In today’s Policy Note, Wonkblog reports that many Americans didn’t vote in the most recent elections because they couldn’t get time off from work.
In The News
Oklahoma Supreme Court upholds income tax cut measure
A state income tax cut bill passed by the Oklahoma Legislature this year was upheld Tuesday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. State Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, joined several other elected officials and business leaders in praising the decision. The decision clears the way for a gradual reduction in the state’s top personal income tax rate from 5.25 to 4.85 percent. The two-tiered tax cut is structured so that increases in the state’s general tax revenues must take place before the tax cuts will take effect. Tax year 2016 is the earliest Oklahomans could see a tax cut under the new law.
Former Norman High School student is charged in rape case
A rape charge has been filed against a former Norman High School student in a case that sparked a protest by classmates of the alleged victim. Tristen Kole Killman-Hardin, 18, was charged Tuesday in Cleveland County District Court with two counts of first-degree rape of an unconscious victim. A warrant for Killman-Hardin’s arrest was issued, and he was picked up Tuesday afternoon by Norman officers, police said. He was booked into the Cleveland County jail and was being held on $250,000 bail, court records show.
Survey respondents: Addressing problems with testing first priority for Hofmeister
State Superintendent-elect Joy Hofmeister on Tuesday released the results of an unscientific poll conducted by her transition team that identified testing, teacher pay and overall funding as the top three priorities identified by more than 10,000 respondents. “The survey found that the first priority of parents, teachers, principals and superintendents is addressing problems with testing,” Hofmeister said. “We must stop over-testing our students, and instead reach a balance where assessments are aligned to the goal and inform instruction.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Upcoming Event: ‘Closing the gap’ & Alliance for Economic Inclusion
The Alliance for Economic Inclusion for Northeastern Oklahoma (“NEOK AEI”) will host their quarterly meeting this Thursday, December 4th. Kate Richey, who works for Oklahoma Policy Institute as project coordinator for Oklahoma Assets Network will present her research, ‘Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building Equity in Oklahoma.‘
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
See also: Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building Equity in Oklahoma from OK Policy.
Oklahomans planning protest over Ferguson article some are calling racist
A protest is being planned outside the weekly Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee meeting over an article their president wrote. The title of the article is “Why blacks hate cops & how blacks can be winners, not losers!“ It was written by OCPAC president, Charlie Meadows, and was meant to address the situation in Ferguson. Many were outraged when they received the article in the organizations weekly e-mail. In the article, Meadows says “The number one thing holding black folks back today is a bad attitude.” He says there is no need any more for the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Unemployment In Oklahoma Declines
Oklahoma Employment Security Commission’s (OESC) Director of Research and Analysis Lynn Gray stated that there is much good news to report regarding the 2014 Oklahoma Economic Report at a commission meeting on Tuesday. Oklahoma’s unemployment rate in 2014 is 4.5 percent, approximately 81,170 people. This shows a significant decline in comparison to last year where the unemployment rate was at 5.6 percent, approximately 101,480 people.
Drop in oil prices could cost Oklahoma jobs
A drop in oil prices could cost the state up to 1,000 jobs next year, an economist said Tuesday. The plummeting price of crude oil was apparently on the minds of many business leaders gathered for an economic outlook conference sponsored by Oklahoma State University. As economists spoke Tuesday, crude prices continued to fall to less than $68 a barrel.
Read more from The Norman Transcript.
Arvest survey shows Oklahomans optimistic about personal finances; less so about future business conditions
Oklahomans’ sentiment about their financial situation improved from June to October, but 60 percent of respondents to the most recent Arvest Consumer Sentiment Survey foresee widespread unemployment in five years. More than half (53 percent) of Oklahomans surveyed in October said their financial situation was the same as a year ago, while 19 percent said they were better off.
Tulsa police officer awaiting trial on murder charge retires, seeks lump sum pension payout
A Tulsa police officer charged in the murder of his daughter’s boyfriend retired last month and collected a lump sum pension payout of more than $160,000, records show. While a state law prevents officers convicted of felonies from collecting their monthly pensions, Officer Shannon Kepler gets to keep the lump sum even if convicted in the case, said Steven Snyder, executive director of the state Police Pension and Retirement board.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Education center opens at Wayman Tisdale Clinic
The University of Oklahoma-Tulsa Wayman Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic celebrated the opening of an education center Tuesday that will honor the clinic’s namesake as well as his foundation. Tisdale, a Booker T. Washington standout, went on to be a college basketball star at OU and played 12 years in the NBA. He was also a renowned jazz musician. In 2008, part of Tisdale’s right leg was amputated because of bone cancer and he was fitted with a prosthetic.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma should get off short list of states that haven’t banned texting while driving
Policymakers in 44 other states have figured it out. They’ve come to understand that cellphones, once a luxury, are now so ubiquitous that people of all ages feel naked if they don’t have theirs with them at all times. The policymakers also know that when people use the phones while driving, the motorists are a danger to themselves and others.
Lottery Commission Wants Legislation To Change Percentage Allocation To Education
The Oklahoma Lottery Commission hopes to propose legislation in the upcoming legislative session, pending support from legislators. The commission hopes to propose four different items, the first of which would grant relief from the 35 percent minimum mandated profit. In December of 2007, the commission tried to change the mandated profit, but was unsuccessful.
Corporation Commission Considering Wind Energy Regulations
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission on Tuesday ended its four-month inquiry into wind energy development in Oklahoma. The examination could lead to new rules, though it’s not clear what they might be or which agency would enforce them. The commission heard from vocal landowners for and against wind farms.
‘Pride Of The Plains’: National Geographic Calls Oklahoma City ‘Best Trip’ Of 2015
Last month National Geographic Traveler unveiled its annual Best Trips list online – 20 places editors say travelers have to see next year. Oklahoma City and three other American locales appear in the December/January issue on newsstands Tuesday – alongside destinations as diverse as Choquequirao, Peru, Esteros del Iberá, Argentina, and the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar.
See also: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from National Geographic Traveler
Quote of the Day
“Oklahomans expressed considerably more pessimism about the trajectory of the national economy than did their peers.”
– Russell Evans, director of the Steven C. Agee Economic Research & Policy Institute at Oklahoma City University, discussing the results of a recent Arvest survey that found the majority of Oklahomans expect widespread unemployment within five years. (Source: bit.ly/1yinmTd)
Number of the Day
62.60%
Percentage of consumers with subprime credit in Oklahoma. The US average is 56.3%.
Source: CFED Assets & Opportunity Scorecard.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
A ton of people didn’t vote because they couldn’t get time off from work
You’ve heard the news by now that turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest in any election since 1942, when voters were busy with, you know, other stuff. In short, only 36 percent of the voting-age population bothered to cast a ballot last week. A large proportion of them simply aren’t registered to vote at all. But past numbers suggest upwards of 20 percent of Americans adults were registered to vote, but couldn’t be bothered to – what’s their excuse?
Read more from the Washington Post.
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