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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
Oklahoma Policy Institute condemns U.S. House passage of federal budget bill that harms vulnerable Oklahomans: The Oklahoma Policy Institute expresses deep concern over the U.S. House of Representatives’ narrow passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which immediately threatens the well-being of countless Oklahomans by slashing essential health care and food programs while creating tax shelters for the wealthiest Americans. Simply put, this bill is a transfer of wealth from America’s poor and middle class into the pockets of the nation’s richest 1 percent. [OK Policy]
The governor’s agenda isn’t a plan — it’s a power grab (Commentary): Gov. Stitt isn’t pushing to eliminate Oklahoma’s income tax because it will benefit everyday families. He’s using his political power to strong-arm lawmakers into building a legacy of cuts, regardless of the consequences. And those consequences are steep. [Shiloh Kantz / OK Policy]
Policy Matters: We know what works. Lawmakers are cutting taxes instead: Every session, Oklahoma lawmakers say the budget is too tight to spend money on services that help everyday residents. Yet somehow, they still find money for tax cuts that favor the wealthy and corporate giveaways. Over and over, they choose to hand state dollars to people and companies who don’t need it rather than investing in people who do. That’s because they aren’t prioritizing everyday Oklahomans. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
When the budget becomes a bargaining chip (Capitol Update): This year’s budget process relied on an unprecedented level of “horse trading” or “log rolling.” The budget process necessarily has an element of give and take, but it has never been as reliant on non-budget policy decisions as it has in recent sessions. [Steve Lewis / OK Policy]
OK Policy in the News
Bill putting restrictions on petition process heads to Oklahoma governor: The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday sent Gov. Kevin Stitt a measure that would make it more difficult for residents to put things on the ballot. Critics said the measure is an unconstitutional legislative power grab, while supporters said it is necessary to ensure more input from rural counties and prevent fraud. [Oklahoma Voice]
- 5 things to know about Oklahoma legislation for new parameters around the initiative petition process [News 9]
- Is Oklahoma considering a bill that would alter the validity of collected signatures in its initiative petition process? [Oklahoma Watch]
- Bill to change initiative petition process sent to Gov. Stitt [Tulsa World]
Policy Institute, Democrats disagree with Gov. Stitt over tax cut, budget impacts: Gov. Kevin Stitt said last week that an agreement reached at the Capitol to reduce the state’s tax on personal income would be “very, very significant” for Oklahomans. Democrats in the Legislature, who were not included in the budget-making process, weren’t as enthusiastic about the plan. Neither was Shiloh Kantz, executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, who said the budget skimped on spending for education, health care, roads, bridges and more and that lawmakers should have focused less on encouraging business and more on helping ordinary Oklahomans. [Tulsa World]
- Democrats raise alarm over cutting Oklahoma taxes amid D.C. budgetary uncertainty [Oklahoma Voice]
The Trouble With Triggered Tax Cuts: A number of states, including Oklahoma, have passed tax cuts that only take effect if future budget numbers are met. That may sound sensible but it hides their true costs. [Governing]
Federal changes to food stamps could cost Oklahoma nearly $500M: DHS director: Oklahoma could be on the hook for paying almost $500 million if Congress moves forward with historic plans to shift food stamp costs to states. Jeffrey Cartmell, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s appointee to head the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, discussed the potential impact during his confirmation hearing Monday before the state Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: You can’t say we’re not a Top 10 state in wacky government performances: If there are words to describe what went on in the final weeks of this year’s session, they would have to include ― Astonishing. Incredible. Unsettling. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]
Weekly What’s That
Sine die is a term for the adjournment of an assembly for an indefinite period, from the Latin “without day”. In March 1989, Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved State Question 620, a voter-initiated constitutional amendment providing that regular legislative sessions begin on the first Monday in February and adjourn sine die not later than 5:00 pm on the last Friday in May. Special sessions are also adjourned sine die but there is no set date for their adjournment.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“Then there’s the ¼ percent income tax cut. It made for a strong headline, but back home in Moore, South OKC and across Western Oklahoma, the question I hear most is simple: Why? No one has clearly explained what it means for everyday people. Maybe it’s a good idea — but most folks are still scratching their heads.”
– Former State Rep. Mark McBride, writing in an op-ed about the recent budget agreement that included across-the-board tax cuts. [The Oklahoman]
Editorial of the Week
Opinion: Oklahoma is cutting its way to poverty. Business, industry scouts will turn away.
Why does the state of Oklahoma consistently race at breakneck speed to get to the bottom? With passage of appropriations this year, we will once again prove that we are satisfied with being 45th to 50th in every measurable outcome that humans and businesses quantify.
Strong educational outcomes, mental and physical health care access, infrastructure quality ― these are what I, as an Oklahoma resident, want. It is also what people that scout for new industry locations look for, as well.
We are doing a good job with fast-food restaurants, call centers, distribution centers and convenience store locations. We are succeeding in getting businesses to move here that want low-wage workers with low expectations for health care coverage, companies that might want a state lax on environmental infractions, and companies with high risk that love extreme tort reform.
This year, with all of the uncertainty coming from massive cuts in federal spending for everything from NOAA forecasting our weather to FEMA (federal dollars pick up our tab after devastating tornadoes), to potentially massive cuts in Medicaid ― which affects the viability of keeping open hospitals, nursing homes, and subsidizing insurance for hard-working residents with jobs that do not provide it ― we still decided we needed a tax cut. Even more shockingly, it’s a tax cut with triggers to keep cutting in the future.
[Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborne / The Oklahoman]
Numbers of the Week
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603,560 – Of the more than 1 million Oklahomans who participate in SoonerCare (the state’s Medicaid program), 603,560 are children and families. An additional 164,000 qualify for coverage through their status as aged, blind, or disabled. [Oklahoma Department of Health]
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6% – If Oklahoma opted to raise tax revenues to offset the entire amount of expected federal Medicaid reduction under the current Energy & Commerce Committee reconciliation bill, the state would need to increase taxes by 6%. [KFF]
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24 – Number of Oklahoma hospitals at immediate risk of closing due to financial pressures caused by a combination of losses on patient services, insufficient revenues from other sources to offset losses, and low financial reserves. This represents more than 3 in 10 Oklahoma hospitals. Oklahoma had the nation’s second highest number of hospitals at immediate risk. [Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform]
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60.4% – Overall, 60.4% of people under age 65, or about 164.7 million people, had employment-sponsored health insurance in 2023. Employer-sponsored health insurance is the largest source of health coverage for non-elderly U.S. residents. Unlike many other nations, the U.S. relies on voluntary, private health insurance as the primary source of coverage for residents who are not elderly, poor or disabled. Employer-sponsored health insurance often results in uneven coverage, especially for those with low wages or those working at smaller firms. [KFF]
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63x – The richest 1% of Oklahomans would receive an average tax reduction of $76,500 per year under the new U.S. House’s tax plan, which is nearly 63 times larger than the $1,220 average tax reduction for Oklahomans in the middle income bracket ($43,400 and $73,500 annually). [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
What We’re Reading
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Cutting Medicaid to pay for low taxes on the rich is a terrible trade for American families: Low taxes for the rich and for corporations is the highest legislative priority of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. To get there, they are willing to cut federal programs that are utterly vital to the incomes and security of vulnerable families. These cuts will not just cause harm to individual families, they will cascade, leading to hospital closures in rural counties, higher medical debt, lower earnings from future workers who will suffer from poorer health decades from now, and could even put upward pressure on federal budget deficits in the long run. [Economic Policy Institute]
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Housing, Nutrition in Peril as Trump Pulls Back Medicaid Social Services: The pullback has led to chaos and confusion in states that have expanded their Medicaid programs, with both liberal and conservative leaders worried that the shift will upend multibillion-dollar investments already underway. Social problems such as homelessness and food insecurity can cause — or worsen — physical and behavioral health conditions, leading to sky-high health care spending. Medical care delivered in hospitals and clinics, for instance, accounts for only roughly 15% of a person’s overall health, while a staggering 85% is influenced by social factors such as access to healthy food and shelter for sleep, said Anthony Iton, a policy expert on social determinants of health. [KFF]
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Hundreds of rural hospitals are at risk of closing, threatening critical care: Hundreds of hospitals in rural parts of the United States are in danger of closing because they can no longer afford to stay open, according to a new report. A primary reason is low reimbursement rates from elderly patients’ Medicare and Medicaid coverage, which can make up most of rural hospital’s budgets. Hospitals in urban areas, meanwhile, get significantly more reimbursement from their patients who have private insurance, which tends to pay more. Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid could leave more than 8.5 million people uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and force even more rural hospitals to close. [CBS News]
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Top 10 Reasons Why Work Requirements Should Not Be Added to Medicaid: Work requirements in Medicaid risk creating unnecessary administrative burdens and increasing costs for states without achieving their intended goals. Evidence shows that these requirements often result in coverage loss for hardworking Americans, such as care givers, rural residents, people with disabilities, and older adults, who face barriers to meeting monthly documentation mandates. Programs like Medicaid already support individuals in maintaining employment by providing access to critical healthcare. [National Health Law Program]
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Analysis of Tax Provisions in the House Reconciliation Bill: National and State Level Estimates: The House of Representatives recently passed major tax and spending legislation titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” For working-class Americans, the tax cuts in the House bill are extremely modest and overall taxes would rise for these families when the impact of higher import taxes, or tariffs, are accounted for. The richest 1 percent of Americans would receive a total of $121 billion in net tax cuts in 2026. The middle 20 percent of taxpayers on the income scale, a group that is 20 times the size of the richest 1 percent, would receive half that much. The $121 billion in net tax cuts going to the richest 1 percent next year would exceed the amount going to the entire bottom 60 percent of taxpayers. The poorest fifth of Americans would receive 1 percent of the bill’s net tax cuts in 2026 while the richest fifth of Americans would receive 68 percent. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
