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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
This Week from OK Policy
Would legislative involvement improve state budget projections?: Attorney General Gentner Drummond is raising a troubling issue regarding the certification of funds available for appropriation by the legislature. Drummond refused to attend the Dec. 20 State Board of Equalization meeting saying he did not have confidence in the “accuracy or completeness of the Governor’s budget numbers.” Drummond pointed out last year the final certification in February increased the December estimate, which bolstered Gov. Kevin Stitt’s call for an income tax cut. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Policy Matters: New OSDE rules would harm children, undermine transparency: When we talk about education in Oklahoma, it’s not just about books, buses, or classrooms. It’s about ensuring every child, regardless of background, has access to their fundamental right to an education. But a series of proposed rule changes by the Oklahoma State Department of Education threatens to undermine that commitment and more. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
Remembering our colleague Roxanne Logan: We wanted to share with our OK Policy and Together Oklahoma communities about the death of our colleague and friend Roxanne Logan, who passed away on Dec. 30, 2024, after a short illness. Roxanne was a longtime Ardmore resident. She joined OK Policy in spring 2020 as its Southeast Regional Organizer for Together Oklahoma, which is OK Policy’s grassroots advocacy arm. [OK Policy]
Advocacy Alert: Let the Oklahoma State Department of Education know you oppose threats to education: The Oklahoma Department of Education (OSDE) has proposed changes to its administrative rules, including new enrollment requirements to collect Oklahoma students’ citizenship status. This proposed administrative change will harm Oklahoma children and discourage families from enrolling in our local schools. Use our convenient form to submit a public comment about these new rules. [Advocacy Alert]
Weekly What’s That
Administrative rules
State agencies can make rules to implement laws under procedures set out in the Administrative Procedures Act (75 O.S.,Sections 250 et seq.). Administrative rules have the effect of law.
Before becoming effective, permanent rules are subject to a comprehensive rule-making process that includes review and approval by the Oklahoma Legislature. State agencies are required to accept public comment about proposed rules and may also hold hearings. When the Legislature is not in session, agencies may enact emergency rules through special procedures, which require approval by the Governor.
Oklahoma’s official rules, rule-making notices, and executive orders are compiled in The Oklahoma Register and the Oklahoma Administrative Code by the Office of Administrative Rules, which is a division of the Secretary of State.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“We must invest more in prevention and diversion. Those investments can increase access and decrease tragedies. Delivering services in an appropriate setting improves outcomes and creates savings which can be reinvested. Oklahoma cannot afford to look away from these hard findings from the DOJ.”
– Sen. Julia Kirt of Oklahoma City, writing in an op-ed urging stakeholders not to ignore a recent U.S. Department of Justice report that found people in Oklahoma living with mental health conditions are being segregated, institutionalized and put at risk largely due to insufficient community-based services. [The Oklahoman]
Op-Ed of the Week
Opinion: Oklahoma has too many high-priority issues to be thinking about tax rebates
I have never met Harold Hamm, Greg Love, George Kaiser, David Green or Lynn Schusterman — Oklahoma self-made billionaires who pay very significant taxes. However, I do know hundreds of Oklahoma residents who are on the lower end of the tax scale. The connection between the taxpayers comes with renewed Republican discussion about tax rebates — politically charged tax rebates. A tax rebate for high income earners like the five named above would probably go unnoticed, and the small checks mailed to the thousands who don’t pay much tax would probably have little impact at the Walmart checkout.
Oklahoma has a projected $4.21 billion in unspent cash and reserves for 2025. That is a lot of money for residents living in a state ranking nationally in the top 10 for poverty and the worst place to live. Oklahoma has a population of 4 million, with a median income of about $37,000 per year with about 20% in poverty. Oklahoma ranks nationally in the top 10 of incarceration of women, residents who have been married more than three times, mental health issues, pregnant teenagers, divorce, children killed by a parent, children in foster care, poor health and obesity.
The list goes on, including the statistic that about 83% of our residents do NOT vote on school bond issues. I believe Oklahoma’s very wealthy and the majority of my medium- and low-income friends will agree that Oklahoma needs to fix some of the problems before rebating tax money. Oklahoma is in a shameful state of affairs. We need to address problems while we have the financial resources. The following are a few priorities …
[Read the full op-ed from Gary Greene of Tishomingo at The Oklahoman]
Numbers of the Day
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22.8% – Percentage of women serving in the Oklahoma Legislature, while women represent 50.3% of the state’s population. In the upcoming session, there will be 14 women serving in the 48-member Senate and 20 women serving in the 101-member Oklahoma House of Representatives. [OK Policy analysis of Senate and House membership]
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$227.5 million – Estimated state and local tax contributions by undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma during 2022. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
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43% – The individual income tax and the corporate income tax together represent about 43 percent of the General Revenue collections for the most recently completed fiscal year (FY 2024). [OK Policy]
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17% – Percentage of Oklahoma’s prison population who are serving life sentences. In 2024, there were 3,585 people in Oklahoma prisons serving sentences that include life with parole, life without parole, and virtual life sentences (sentences more than 50 years). [Sentencing Project]
- From OK Policy: OK Policy’s Criminal Justice Policy Analyst Cole Allen presented at an October 2024 interim study about how long prison sentences impact the state’s parole process.
What We’re Reading
- One place to start in delivering solutions to a divided and distrustful nation: The hyperlocal level: The rise of the digital world means that in the real world, we have more work to do than ever to solve problems. The good news is that in the remaining places where people mix and encounter those they don’t already know—whether that’s their neighborhood Main Street or downtown—the seeds of solutions already exist. At this hyperlocal level, individuals and institutions avoid ideological arguments, build trust, and do the on-the-ground work—often starting with public spaces—across the civic, nonprofit, private, and public sectors. [Brookings]
- Undocumented Immigrants Pay More Than Their Fair Share of Taxes: The reality of President-elect Donald Trump’s goal for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants is beginning to set in. Stephen Miller, Trump’s pick for deputy chief of staff, expressed plans for the administration to begin “the largest deportation operation in American history” shortly after Inauguration Day. While undocumented immigrants continue to be the incoming administration’s favorite scapegoat, we shouldn’t lose sight of one of the many ways these community members contribute to federal, state and local economies: through their tax dollars. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
- A Suspenseful New Year in Public Finance: Governors, mayors and finance officers are treading water, awaiting the outcome and impact of a new Washington regime’s vows to slash federal spending and taxes. Meanwhile, state and municipal budgeters and debt managers will need to make intelligent guesses and pay more attention to their rainy-day funds. [Governing]
- A Matter of Life: The Scope and Impact of Life and Long Term Imprisonment in the United States: One in six people in prison – nearly 200,000 people nationwide – are serving life sentences. This comprehensive 50-state report examines the prevalence and implications of life sentences across the country, highlighting the disproportionate impact of such extreme sentences on people of color and the inefficacy of punitive measures in improving community safety. [Sentencing Project]
