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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.
Oklahomans who want to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 general election have until tomorrow to register to vote. The OK Policy Blog and David Blatt’s Journal Record Column discussed Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s lawsuit that seeks to take health insurance away from 55,000 Oklahomans. About six weeks into the school year, school districts across the state still have teacher vacancies. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has begun studying how to boost pipeline safety throughout the state. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration threatened to intervene if Oklahoma does not beef up its pipeline regulations.
Two news organizations are suing Oklahoma prison officials for preventing reporters from viewing portions of an execution that went awry in the spring and are asking a federal judge to stop new state execution protocols from going into effect. Only two of the nearly 1,500 inmates granted an early release by the state Corrections Department since March have returned to prison after they were set free. More than half of Oklahoma’s public college presidents went to the state Capitol to tell lawmakers not to allow guns on campus.
A House interim study once again looked at a measure to ban texting while driving, which has failed multiple times in the Legislature. Oklahoma City has launched a new smartphone app for reporting problems to the city and finding public meetings. Oklahoma has adopted emergency regulations to govern health care navigator programs that help Oklahomans find coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The OK Policy Blog previously argued that the new regulations are unnecessary and could hamper efforts to reduce the number of uninsured.
Refilling prescription painkillers will now be more difficult after new rules went into effect this week that put popular hydrocodone medications in a stricter drug class. Tulsa is hosting a drug take-back day on October 18 for people to dispose of unwanted prescription medications. Governor Fallin’s office declined to issue a state of emergency declaration requested by Rep. Mike Ritze due to “the potential spread of Ebola.” Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said that “declaring a state of emergency when no Oklahomans are actually sick would be premature.”
The Number of the Day is the drop in crude oil prices at the Cushing oil hub since mid-June. In today’s Policy Note, Vox examines why oil prices are plummeting and what that could mean for the economy.
In The News
Deadline nearing for Oklahomans who want to vote
Oklahomans who want to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 general election have until Friday to register to vote. State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax reminded potential voters of the upcoming deadline, noting there are numerous high-profile races for state and federal offices, as well as many local elections. This year’s general election marks the first time in state history that both of Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate seats will be on the ballot at the same time.
Misguided ruling could rob health care from 55,000 Oklahomans
The ruling by Oklahoma federal District Court Judge Ronald A. White that Oklahomans buying health insurance on healthcare.gov are ineligible for tax credits may have been a victory for Attorney General Scott Pruitt. But if upheld by higher courts, it would be a huge defeat for tens of thousands of previously-uninsured Oklahomans who are using these credits to purchase affordable health coverage. The good news is that the ruling rests on a misguided interpretation of the Affordable Care Act that may still be overturned.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
V is for defeat
Last week’s court ruling that Oklahomans are ineligible for tax credits if they buy health insurance through the new national marketplace – healthcare.gov – may have been a victory for Attorney General Scott Pruitt. But it’s potentially a devastating defeat for Oklahomans who are using these credits to buy affordable health coverage. It also rests on a false reading of the Affordable Care Act that may be reversed.
Read more from the Journal Record.
State looks for ways to address ongoing teacher shortage
About six weeks into the school year, some area districts still have teacher vacancies. Tulsa Public Schools, which started the year with 70 vacancies, is now at 49. Union Public Schools has nine vacancies, compared with 21 at the start of the year. Broken Arrow Public Schools is down from seven to three vacancies. Jenks Public Schools has no vacancies, with two long-term substitutes currently in the process of receiving certification. But while other area schools are in pretty good shape, officials say teacher shortage is still a problem statewide.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma Corporation Commission works to strengthen pipeline rules
Commissioners and staff at the newly empowered Oklahoma Corporation Commission on Wednesday began studying how best to boost pipeline safety throughout the state. Armed with new authority to regulate third-party contractors who work on or near pipelines, the commissioners and staff are considering other pipeline regulations that need strengthening. Federal regulators in 2012 listed Oklahoma as one of 10 states with insufficient oversight of pipeline safety. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration threatened to intervene if regulations were not beefed up.
News Organizations Seek Halt To Execution Plans
Attorneys for two news organizations suing Oklahoma prison officials for preventing reporters from viewing portions of an execution that went awry in the spring are asking a federal judge to stop new state execution protocols from going into effect. Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion Tuesday in federal court asking a judge to order prison officials to give the media more access to witness an execution.
Most Oklahoma inmates granted early release since March have stayed out of trouble
Only two of the nearly 1,500 inmates granted an early release by the state Corrections Department since March have returned to prison after they were set free, an agency spokesman told The Oklahoman. Santajuan M. Stepney was released from prison in March after serving less than half of a 10-year sentence for possession of marijuana. By mid-July, he was back in prison, this time sentenced to two years for beating his wife in Canadian County.
Oklahoma college presidents say: Don’t mess with campus gun ban
More than half of Oklahoma’s public college presidents went to the state Capitol to tell lawmakers Wednesday the ban on guns on campus doesn’t need fixing because it isn’t broken. “Placing guns on campus, except in the hands of highly trained law enforcement officers and professionals, would be a serious mistake. It would lead only to tragic results,” University of Oklahoma President David Boren said. “To put our university students, faculty and staff at risk in this way makes absolutely no sense,” he told a committee studying the issue.
House panel takes up texting while driving
Lawmakers once again will be asked to consider a measure to ban texting while driving. Rep. Terry O’Donnell, R-Tulsa, said he will carry a measure to make it a secondary offense, where a person would have to be pulled over for something else before they could be ticketed for texting while driving. Previous efforts failed to garner legislative support. Many lawmakers felt it was covered under distracted driving or opposed it on the basis that it infringed on rights.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma City rolls out smartphone app to report problems to city
Want to get after the city about that pesky pothole? Just grab your smartphone. Oklahoma City has a new app designed for the growing number of residents whose lives revolve around their mobile phones. Available for Apple and Android phones, OKC GOV makes reporting code violations and finding an upcoming meeting a breeze. Trash truck miss your house? Touch an icon to call it in. Got something to say on social media? Icons take you directly to the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. And about that pothole.
Oklahoma creates new rules for Affordable Care Act navigators
At the behest of state Insurance Commissioner John Doak, Oklahoma has adopted emergency regulations to govern health care navigator programs that are part of the Affordable Care Act. Navigator programs were created by the Affordable Care Act to help consumers understand coverage options under the law and find affordable health care coverage. Among other requirements, the new rules require navigators to undergo a background check and submit to an inspection from the Oklahoma Insurance Department at any time. Navigators also must pay the Insurance Department an annual fee of $25 to $50.
See also: Additional Navigator regulations are unwarranted, unnecessary from the OK Policy Blog.
New rules make hydrocodone painkiller prescriptions harder to refill
Refilling prescription painkillers will now be more difficult after new rules went into effect this week that put popular hydrocodone medications in a stricter drug class. Federal law rescheduled all hydrocodone combination medications from a Schedule 3 narcotic to a Schedule 2. Recent data shows that more than 100,000 Americans have died from painkiller overdoses in the last decade, and the Drug Enforcement Agency hopes the new rules will cut down on prescription drug overdoses.
Drug Take-Back Event Hopes to Spark Awareness
On October 18, individuals can clear out their cabinets and properly dispose of unwanted medications. With prescription drug overdose killing nearly two Oklahomans per day, the push for more awareness of the issue is inevitably needed. The event shadows the Safer, Stronger Tulsa Prescription Drug Summit held by Mayor Dewey Bartlett on October 17. These two events combined leave officials hopeful that the problem will decline as the year winds down.
Read more from Public Radio Tulsa.
See also: Oklahoma’s biggest drug problem isn’t what you think from the OK Policy Blog.
Fallin’s office: No need for Ebola emergency
It would be “premature” to issue the state of emergency declaration requested earlier in the day by state Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, Gov. Mary Fallin’s office said Wednesday. Ritze asked for a “catastrophic health emergency” because of “the potential spread of Ebola.” Fallin’s office rejected the need for such a declaration. “Declaring a state of emergency when no Oklahomans are actually sick would be premature,” Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said in an email.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
“They can go across the border in any direction and receive a lot more compensation, and we see a lot of people doing that.”
-Sandi Calvin, executive director of elementary education at Union Public Schools, who said Oklahoma school districts are struggling to find enough teachers who will work for “extremely low” pay (Source: http://bit.ly/ZfT0lU).
Number of the Day
16 percent
Drop in crude oil prices at the Cushing, OK oil hub since mid-June.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Oil prices are plummeting. Here’s why that’s a big deal.
The sharp drop in oil prices over the last month is arguably the biggest energy story in the world right now — with major repercussions for dozens of countries, from the United States to Russia to Iran. Ever since 2011, oil prices have stayed consistently high, hovering around $100 per barrel. But this year, they’ve dropped as much as 20 percent since June — and some analysts now think they could keep nosediving in the months ahead. So why is this happening? Partly because the United States keeps producing more and more oil, but also partly because some conflict-ridden countries are starting to pick up production.
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