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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.
Today you should know that the sudden firing of James Wilbanks as executive director of the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System came after trustees discovered he had granted severance packages to a dozen employees without obtaining required approval from the director of the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Republican leaders in Oklahoma who have made major changes in recent years to the state’s pension systems say they plan to push next year to put an end to the traditional pension for new state workers. The OK Policy Blog explained why state pensions are not in a crisis that would justify radical changes.
Oklahoma’s Medicaid program will have $50 million less to serve low-income residents as the federal match drops due to the state’s improving economy. Oklahoma’s high number of veterans per capita pushed the state to the 20th most affected by the government’s shutdown. The food stamp program that provides assistance to thousands of low-income families was down statewide Saturday due to a power outage at a private contractor.
Two Jenks parents explained why parents are suing to prevent taxpayer money going to private school vouchers. Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, said he may push a bill to make it a felony for any student to assault a teacher, even if the teacher was not seriously hurt. Gov. Fallin has appointed Daniel Keating, an insurance company executive and the brother of former Gov. Frank Keating, to the State Board of Education.
The Tulsa World discussed how the state’s definition of violent crime changes from law to law. An Oklahoma appeals court has ruled in six cases that documents used by the Department of Public Safety to revoke driver’s licenses following DUI breath tests did not comply with state law, raising questions about thousands of past cases. The state Board of Health approved new paperwork required for girls under 18 seeking abortions in Oklahoma.
Governor Fallin names named Secretary of State Larry V. Parman to become her secretary of commerce. AEP-PSO will purchase 600 megawatts of wind energy from facilities being developed in northwestern Oklahoma. The Number of the Day is the number of states that farm more acres of land today than they did a decade ago. In today’s Policy Note, Wonkblog explains why Rep. James Lankford’s “Government Shutdown Prevention Act” is just another poison pill that would prevent the government from reopening.
In The News
Teachers Retirement System director fired for granting unapproved severance packages
The sudden firing of James Wilbanks as executive director of the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System came after trustees discovered he had granted severance packages to a dozen employees without obtaining required approval from the director of the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Wilbanks said he was unaware of the legal requirement for approval when he signed off on the severance agreements. “I did this believing it was appropriate and that it best protected the interests of the system and all of the clients of the system,” Wilbanks told The Oklahoman.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma leaders look to change state pensions
Republican leaders in Oklahoma who have made major changes in recent years to the state’s pension systems say they aren’t finished and plan to push next year to put an end to the traditional pension for new state workers. Switching to a 401k-style retirement account for newly hired state employees has long been a top goal of many fiscal conservatives. The governor and legislative leaders in the House and Senate have endorsed such a move, although a battle undoubtedly will ensue with resistance from rank-and-file state workers.
Read more from Public Radio Tulsa.
The pension crisis is over
Oklahoma’s seven public pension systems have a combined unfunded liability of $11.6 billion as of June 30, 2012. This large number alone is often put forward to make the case for doing away with traditional defined benefit pensions for state workers. Others point to the fiscal crisis in cities like Detroit and Stockton, California, or to the size and growth of the federal debt, and draw the conclusion that a major pension overhaul is needed in Oklahoma. The alarming rhetoric obscures the real progress that Oklahoma policymakers have made in recent years to put our public pensions on sound footing.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma’s Medicaid program loses $50 million in funding
Oklahoma’s Medicaid program will have $50 million less in federal money to serve low-income residents in the coming fiscal year. The reduction in federal money is, in part, because Oklahoma’s economy has improved, health leaders said Thursday. The amount of money that the federal government provides each state for Medicaid, including Oklahoma, is based on a formula that incorporates a state’s per capita income. Gomez said before the reduction, the federal government was paying 64 cents for every dollar spent toward Medicaid, with Oklahoma paying 36 cents. But with the reduction, the federal government will pay 62 cents for every dollar.
Oklahoma ranks 20th among states most affected by government shutdown
Oklahoma’s high number of veterans per capita pushed the state to the 20th most affected by the government’s shutdown, according to a report from WalletHub, an online personal finance resource. The report takes into account not only which states have the highest concentration of federal employees and the most significant federal contracts, but also the areas in which there are large populations of people who have lost or are at risk of losing key funding from federal entities, such as students, small business owners, senior citizens and veterans.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma food stamp program back in service after outage
The food stamp program that provides assistance to thousands of low-income families was down statewide Saturday, but was restored about 9 p.m., officials said. Sheree Powell, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said she found out early Saturday afternoon that the system for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often referred to as “food stamps,” was down throughout Oklahoma. The system failure was due to a power outage at Xerox, which is the vendor for Oklahoma’s SNAP benefits program.
Parents: Public school money should only go to public schools
We believe it is important to explain the reasoning behind the recent constitutional challenge to Oklahoma’s voucher program from the perspective of two parents with children (both regular and special education students) in Oklahoma’s public schools. Our sincere perspective includes the education and future of our own children, as well as all children who attend Oklahoma’s public schools. We also believe our perspective reflects the will and the thinking of the other plaintiffs in this lawsuit all of whom are parents and, in several cases, grandparents.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
For education results to rise, an orderly process is needed
While raising standards for public schools is a good thing, there’s a right way to do it, and a wrong way. In its recent raising of standards on the Biology I end-of-instruction exam, the state Department of Education did it the wrong way. The standards were raised too dramatically, too quickly, without adequate buy-in from those involved, and final results were not available in a timely fashion for school districts to respond. In last year’s biology test, the department included more challenging questions at the same time that it had raised the minimum score for passing. The pass score was announced in August, after the test had been administered.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Senate education panel explores school discipline, charging students with felonies
A Republican state senator from Shawnee who says a lack of student discipline is one of the biggest problems facing teachers today said Thursday he may push a bill next session to make it a felony crime for a student to assault a teacher. Sen. Ron Sharp, a retired educator who taught for more than 30 years, held an interim study on the topic of student discipline before the Senate Education Committee and heard testimony from teachers and educators who says the problem is worsening.
Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix.
Governor Fallin names Daniel Keating to Education Board
Gov. Mary Fallin has appointed Daniel Keating to the State Board of Education. Keating is the brother of former Gov. Frank Keating and will represent the First Congressional District. He replaces Joy Hofmeister, who stepped down from the board. The Senate must confirm Keating’s appointment. Keating is currently the president of Summit Consolidated Group, a national brokerage and insurance company.
How state defines violent crime changes from law to law
All state Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, wanted was a simple answer to what seemed like a simple question: What constitutes a violent crime? In Oklahoma, she learned, it depends. A non-lawyer, Osborn was surprised to learn state statutes are a little hazy on the subject. Trent Baggett of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council, after some research, told her there are at least five portions of the law that might be considered violent crimes lists, but that none are explicitly labeled as such.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma court ruling could affect DUI revocations
An Oklahoma appeals court has ruled in six cases that documents used by the Department of Public Safety to revoke driver’s licenses following DUI breath tests did not comply with state law, raising questions about thousands of past cases. The Court of Civil Appeals rulings state the Department of Public Safety was told of the problem in a 1990 case. In that case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the agency’s license-revocation documentation was “fatally flawed.”
Read more from the Enid News & Eagle.
Oklahoma Board of Health approves abortion paperwork updates
On Tuesday, the state Board of Health held a special meeting and went into an hour of executive session to discuss what paperwork was necessary to create or update regarding girls under 18 seeking abortions in Oklahoma. The board voted to update a parental consent form for pregnant minors seeking abortions, adding that two attachments are required: a copy of the parent’s government-issued ID and “written documentation that establishes he or she is the lawful parent of the pregnant female.” The board also voted to create a form that a doctor performing an emergency abortion must complete.
Governor Fallin names new Commerce Secretary
Gov. Mary Fallin has named Secretary of State Larry V. Parman to lead the state Commerce Department and become her secretary of commerce. Both positions require Senate confirmation. Parman will step down as secretary of state on Nov. 1 after holding the position since March. Before becoming secretary of state, Parman served as CEO of Parman & Easterday, an Oklahoma City estate planning, elder law and business planning law firm. He also served as president of The Hawthorn Group, an Alexandria, Va.-based public affairs firm, as well as president and CEO of the Oklahoma-based financial holding firm Trencor Inc.
AEP-PSO buys 600MW of wind energy, cites ‘substantial savings’
AEP-PSO has signed agreements to purchase nearly 600 megawatts of wind energy from facilities being developed in northwestern Oklahoma and the state’s Panhandle, the electric utility announced Thursday.The 20-year agreements are subject to approval of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. American Electric Power-Public Service Co. of Oklahoma said it originally planned to purchase up to 200 megawatts of wind energy but contracted for an additional 400 megawatts after seeing extraordinary pricing opportunities that will lower utility costs by an estimated $53 million in the first year and even more thereafter.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
Private schools are not accountable to taxpayers for the use of public dollars. They do not have public meetings, open records, or publicly elected school boards. They are not required to participate in the state testing program, nor do they receive an A-F letter grade from the state Board of Education. State law requires all of this of public schools in order to account for the use of taxpayer funds.
-Melissa Abdo and Amy Vargus, who both have children in Jenks public schools, explaining why parents sued to prevent taxpayer money going to vouchers for special needs children to attend private schools (Source: http://bit.ly/18dQIoE)
Number of the Day
2
The number of states that farm more acres of land today than they did a decade ago – Oklahoma and North Dakota
Source: U.S. Census (2000, 2010)
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The GOP’s latest poison pill
The National Review’s Robert Costa reports that House Republicans are preparing a six-week debt-ceiling extension that includes Rep. James Lankford’s “Government Shutdown Prevention Act.” If Congress fails to approve a budget by the end of each fiscal year, Lankford’s bill would automatically trigger a short-term, stop-gap spending resolution. After the first 120 days, funding would be reduced by one percentage point and would continue to be reduced by that margin every 90 days. Catch the problem? The Lankford bill creates a world in which the failure to fund the government leads to automatic, across-the-board spending cuts. That’s not a world in which there are “continued incentives for Congress and the President to reach agreement on regular appropriations bills.” It’s a world in which Republicans who want spending cuts have a continued incentive to refuse to reach agreement on bills to fund the government.
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