Tag: Oklahoma

Local government mandates–first the good news

Nobody fears the coming of a new legislative session more than Oklahoma’s 1,900 local governments. Because they are legally “creatures of the state,” our counties, cities, and special districts are subject to the state’s complete control. The Legislature often exerts… Read more [More...]

The cliff effect: "Sorry, I can't afford that raise"

In recent years, whenever I’ve participated in forums on poverty and barriers to self-sufficiency, the single barrier raised most often and most fervently by those who work with low-income individuals and by low-income individuals themselves is the “cliff effect”. A… Read more [More...]

We get attention

Doc Hoc over at OkieFunk likes our recent recomendations about what to do to help through the fiscal crisis. Oklahomans for Responsible Government, not so much.… Read more [More...]

Coming up short – understanding the revenue shortfall

On Thursday, Treasurer Scott Meacham declared a revenue shortfall for the current budget year, FY ’09, and announced that state agencies would be required to take an across-the-board cut in their allocations for June, the final month of the fiscal… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma's new state budget–the first word

Just a day after Governor Brad Henry signed the state budget for FY ’10, Oklahoma Policy Institute released its annual budget review. And the new fiscal year, which starts July 1, promises to be an interesting one: all agencies face… Read more [More...]

Federal grants in Oklahoma–the whole picture

Federal stimulus money has been in the news nationally and in Oklahoma. It has expanded or stabilized a wide range of public services. The recently-completed state budget for FY’10 used $641 million of stimulus funding to make up for over… Read more [More...]

Appointments we can believe in

Anyone who has worked over the years to support access to health care for low-income children and families will be heartened to learn that the Obama administration has appointed Cindy Mann to lead the Centers for Medicaid and State Operations,… Read more [More...]

Cap and trade laws could change Oklahoma’s financial climate

Cap-and-trade limits of carbon dioxide emissions are burning up a lot of ink these days. Briefly, the idea is to set a limit on how much CO2 and other greenhouse gases could be created each year. Companies that create these… Read more [More...]

We're not like California–are we?

Stateline.org is an indispensable–and free–source of news and analysis on just about every aspect of state government. Last week, staff author Pamela M. Prah provided an excellent analysis on the state of California’s budget crisis and–more importantly for us–what other… Read more [More...]

State Coverage Initiative: Will consensus be enough?

Last week,  I attended a meeting of the State Coverage Initiative (SCI), an effort that has taken shape over the past two years under the leadership of Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland to develop a plan to extend health insurance coverage… Read more [More...]