Weekly Wonk: Budget transparency took a step forward last year. Where are we now? | Only smash the piggy bank in emergencies | Fact checking HB 1539

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

Budget transparency took a step forward last year. Where are we now?: While it is uplifting that both House and Senate leaders have said they were committed to being more transparent in this budget process, the public needs to ensure those aren’t empty promises. Here are some key promises that legislative leaders can make and uphold to ensure a transparent budget process in the session’s home stretch. [Aanahita Ervin / OK Policy]

Policy Matters: Only smash the piggy bank in emergencies: Imagine you’re saving money in case your roof starts leaking during a storm. One day, instead of fixing the roof, you decide to hand that money to someone who already has a sturdy umbrella — and then tell your neighbors to hope the rain holds off. As irresponsible as that scenario sounds, that’s what happens when the governor and some lawmakers propose to use the state’s rainy day funds to pay for costly tax cuts, especially when those cuts mostly benefit the wealthy. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]

Now is time for long-term planning, not short-term politics (Commentary): What if you gave away the biggest tax cut in Oklahoma history, and no one noticed? That’s the reality facing the governor and the legislative leaders he’s trying to pressure to pass income tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Oklahomans. Meanwhile, everyday families would get little more than pocket change. Now, the governor is pressuring lawmakers for across-the-board income and corporate income tax cuts that would reduce those rates by half a percent. When you run the numbers, though, these cuts reward the richest 1%. [Dave Hamby / OK Policy]

Fact Check: Floor debate on HB 1539 that would implement state income tax cuts if a certain revenue amount is raised: On Thursday, April 10, the Oklahoma State Senate rushed to pass House Bill 1539. HB 1539, authored by Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, is now back in the House. HB 1539 would trigger an income tax cut of 0.25 percent in any fiscal year that had a revenue growth of $300 million cumulatively compared to a base year. OK Policy fact checked some statements made during the debate. [Aanahita Ervin / OK Policy]

Legislative committee investigating finances for state mental health agency (Capitol Update): It’s hard to know from the outside exactly how the funding picture got muddled and why mental health and substance abuse services have possibly been damaged. Publicly available information indicates that ODMHSAS has faced consistent underfunding and has sometimes utilized internal fund transfers to manage its expenses without requesting additional funding when required. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]

Lawmakers need to act to help older adults struggling to afford housing: Retirement should be a time of financial stability and a time to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of work, but for many seniors, retirement comes with housing insecurity and homelessness. Without prompt action, this worrisome trend will become more severe and more older Oklahomans will become homeless. [Sabine Brown / OK Policy]

Weekly What’s That

Attorney General Opinion

Attorney General (AG) opinions are written interpretations of existing law issued by Oklahoma’s Attorney General. They may be requested by a member of the Legislature, a district attorney, or by any state officer, board, commission or department on matters in which they are officially interested. AG opinions may not be requested by another division of government (e.g. city or school board) or by a private citizen or organization.

AG opinions are binding on public officials unless or until the opinion is set aside by a court; however, opinions that conclude a statute is unconstitutional are advisory only. The Attorney General typically will not issue formal opinions on questions relating to pending legislation or litigation.

Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.

Quote of the Week

“The governor has refused to sign it (the compact) without adding unreasonable demands that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. The nation is not trying to circumvent anything by communicating with the legislature, we’re simply engaging the only respectful partners we have to co-govern with us as sovereigns.”

-Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill spoke about the governor’s claims that the Nation wasn’t negotiating its compacts in good faith. Chief Hill responded by saying the governor was the person refusing to negotiate in good faith. [The Oklahoman]

Editorial of the Week

Who’s afraid of Oklahoma voters? The lawmakers who represent them

Oklahoma lawmakers are clearly scared to death of their constituents, and who could blame them?

After all, voters in recent years have forced our lawmakers to come face-to-face with the terrifying reality that average Oklahomans can band together to circumvent the Legislature’s will and force the passage of new progressive laws and block boneheaded conservative policies.

In short, by taking matters into their own hands by expanding Medicaid access for the working poor and reducing the state’s over-incarceration rates through criminal justice reforms, voters have repeatedly been serving lawmakers an unwanted reminder that the influence of rural Oklahoma is dwindling as the state’s population continues to shift to more politically diverse urban centers.

I can understand how that must be a scary prospect for a Republican-led governing body whose members typically take immense pride in thinking up conservative policies. And, I suspect that’s probably why lawmakers continue to monkey around with Oklahomans’ constitutionally guaranteed right to put their own proposed laws or constitutional amendments on the ballot.

It’s already an uphill battle to qualify measures for the ballot considering the enormous signature collection requirements — over 92,000 for a statutory change and over 172,000 for a constitutional amendment — and the 90-day window to gather those.

But just when you think it can’t get any worse, Republican lawmakers, led by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert and Sen. David Bullard, are telling us to hold their beer. In case you’re not familiar with the idiom, it’s what people say when they’re about to do something extremely foolish that they’ll likely regret later.

Oklahoma lawmakers are plowing ahead with a bizarre — and likely unconstitutional — scheme that seeks to disproportionately inflate the influence of rural voters at the expense of urban and suburban ones…

[Read Janelle Stecklein’s full op-ed at Oklahoma Voice]

Numbers of the Day

19% – In 2024, 19 percent of people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma were over the age of 55. [U.S. Housing and Urban Development]
25.9% – More than 1 in 4 Oklahoma adults (25.9%) has a mental illness, which is the nation’s 14th highest rate. [2021-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) via Healthy Minds Policy Initiative]
8.1% – The share of workers in Oklahoma’s labor force who are immigrants. Construction is the Oklahoma industry with the largest share of immigrant workers at nearly 1 in 5 workers (19.5%). [American Immigration Council]
11.7% – Oklahoma is projected to see monthly unemployment costs rise by 11.7% because of federal workforce cuts. This is the nation’s sixth highest projected rate. [Urban Institute]

What We’re Reading

The Biggest Challenges Facing Older Americans: Insights from the Aging Advisory Group: Adults aged 50 and older are the fastest-growing age group of those experiencing homelessness, making up nearly half of the single-adult homeless population, which is estimated to triple over the next decade. Older adults are especially vulnerable to becoming homeless, as many live on fixed incomes that are insufficient to cover the cost of housing and other expenses. [National Alliance to End Homelessness]
With Economic Risks High, Here Are Three Facts to Remember About Recessions: Though President Trump’s April 9 announcement of a 90-day pause in many planned tariffs reduced fears of an imminent economic or financial crisis, many economists continue to warn that the Administration’s chaotic and drastic tariff policies may plunge the economy into a recession. While the Administration has downplayed these warnings, suggesting that any economic pain will be “worth it,” recessions are serious events. They not only affect the economy broadly but also impose tremendous harm on the households and businesses that experience them acutely, including altering their future trajectories. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
Immigration FAQ: Immigration is among the most important economic and political issues and a main topic of discourse and debate among policymakers and the public. But misperceptions persist about many fundamental aspects of this crucial topic. This FAQ addresses essential background and facts, as well as frequently asked questions, with short answers that include relevant data and extensive citations to key sources. [Economic Policy Institute]
State Unemployment Programs Will Likely Face Budget Pressures Because of Federal Layoffs: Unlike federal employees who receive unemployment benefits paid by the federal government through the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees program, people who lose private-sector jobs rely on state unemployment insurance (UI) programs, which primarily fund benefits through state payroll taxes. As a result, any increase in UI claims will put additional financial pressure on state UI programs. [Urban Institute]