SQ 765: Are voters being asked to do away with DHS?

Are Oklahoma voters being asked to do away with the Department of Human Services in a referendum this November? This was not the intent of legislators in sending State Question 765 to a popular vote, but ambiguities in the legislation… Read more [More...]

State Question 766: Intangible property ballot measure would have tangible consequences

This blog post was authored by Michelle Cantrell, a tax specialist residing in Tulsa One of the six ballot measures facing voters this November is State Question 766, which asks Oklahomans whether the state should have the authority to tax… Read more [More...]

7 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Affirmative Action

One of the state questions on the general election ballot this November, SQ 759, proposes a ban on affirmative action in state employment, education, and contracting.  Ironically, supporters of the ban and SQ 759 oppose practices that are already illegal… Read more [More...]

Politics for architects, or how fewer elections can be good for democracy

This week the Senate narrowly approved a bill to change how several state officials get their jobs. Under SB622, the State Treasurer, Labor Commissioner, Insurance Commissioner, State Superintendent, and the three-member Corporation Commission would be appointed by the governor and… Read more [More...]

Hey Mikey! Raising the Rainy Day Fund cap is the one ballot measures everyone can like

Remember Mikey from those old cereal commercials? He was the picky eater whose siblings foisted a bowl of  Life cereal in front of him saying, “It’s supposed to be good for you. But he won’t eat it. He hates everything”.… Read more [More...]

Has common education been a budget priority?

One of the more contentious skirmishes in the battle over SQ 744 concerns the question of whether, in the absence of a constitutional amendment basing common education funding on a constitutionally-entrenched formula, Oklahoma’s elected officials have neglected K-12 funding. Supporters… Read more [More...]

Guest blog (Michelle Cantrell): The Case for SQ 744

In the spirit of full and vigorous debate on state policy issues, OK Policy is pleased to post this guest blog by Michelle Cantrell challenging our position on State Question 744.  Michelle is the mother of three boys in the… Read more [More...]

SQ 744: Whichever ways revenues go, education spending must go up

For anyone who thinks that balancing the state budget in the midst of an economic downturn and declining revenue collections isn’t a tough enough challenge already, just wait to see what happens if Oklahoma voters approve State Question 744. Because… Read more [More...]

These go up to 11: Sorting the State Questions on the November Ballot

Oklahoma voters have the great good fortune this November to decide the fate of no less than 11 proposed constitutional amendments on matters ranging from education funding and health care reform to judicial nominations and (we kid you not) Sharia… Read more [More...]

SQ 746: Would voter ID proposal solve a problem or create one?

Everyone would agree that the right to vote is one of the most basic and cherished freedoms in a democracy. A ballot measure facing Oklahoma’s voters in November, SQ 746, raises the question of whether protecting the right to vote… Read more [More...]