Topic: Budget & Tax

Back to work for lawmakers? It depends on the Supreme Court’s definition of a revenue bill

By: David Blatt
August 10, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
NOTE: This post was written prior to the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the smoking cessation fee included in SB 845. Click here for the Court’s decision. Here is the statement from the Save Our State coalition, of which OK… Read more [More...]

Summer Rerun: Sales tax holiday is poor policy

By: David Blatt
August 3, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Note: This post originally ran in August 2016. This weekend, many Oklahomans will flock to the stores to take advantage of the state’s annual three-day sales tax holiday weekend. Since 2007, shoppers are allowed to buy clothing items under $100… Read more [More...]

Internal politics at work in ouster of Rep. Leslie Osborn (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
July 28, 2017 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. Internal legislative politics is one of the most fascinating but obscure phenomena in our representative government. It… Read more [More...]

In dispute between Republican leaders over DHS funding, here are the facts

By: Gene Perry
July 19, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s been an eventful week for the Oklahoma Legislature, especially considering they are not even in session. The week began with House Speaker Charles McCall and Majority Leader Mike Sanders blasting the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for making cuts… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma already led the nation in cuts to K-12 education. Now we lead in cuts to higher ed too.

By: Gene Perry
July 11, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
For several years now, Oklahoma has led the nation in cuts to state aid funding of K-12 schools by reducing state aid per student 26.9 percent since 2008. That’s almost twice as much as the next worst state, Alabama. The results… Read more [More...]

The Republican governor candidates competing for the ‘no-tax’ vote (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
June 30, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. Republican gubernatorial candidate Gary Richardson announced last week that he will file a lawsuit challenging… Read more [More...]

Child abuse prevention and at-home care for seniors are latest services at risk due to shrinking state government (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
June 23, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. Even with the legislature adjourned, there seems to be no dearth of activity emanating from… Read more [More...]

Highs and lows of Oklahoma’s 2017 legislative session (Part 1)

By: Gene Perry
June 12, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
At the start of session, OK Policy laid out our top priorities in the areas of budget and taxes, health care, education, criminal justice and economic opportunity. As the session developed, we achieved some victories with good bills and helped… Read more [More...]

What supporters of SQ 640 didn’t foresee (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
June 9, 2017 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. This is the first year that SQ 640 has come into play. In 1992, SQ… Read more [More...]

Kansas experiment yields valuable lessons (Guest post: Heidi Holliday)

By: Guest
// Updated: May 2, 2019
Heidi Holliday is Executive Director of the Kansas Center for Economic Growth. You’re welcome, America. Our state, Kansas, just wrapped up a 5-year long experiment in governance from which the other 49 states can now glean some important lessons. The… Read more [More...]