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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
Tax cuts now, crisis later: Oklahoma’s unsustainable budget: As usual, Oklahoma’s legislative session ended with a flurry of fiscal and budget bills in the last two weeks of the session. The legislature has one constitutional requirement every year: pass a balanced budget. In doing so, the legislature decides what they will prioritize and what will be pushed to the sidelines. This is why many consider budgets a moral document — reflecting not just dollars, but values. The Oklahoma Legislature often waits until the very end of session to complete its only constitutionally required task: passing a balanced budget. [Aanahita Ervin / OK Policy]
A Surprisingly Not Terrible Year for Criminal Justice Policy in Oklahoma: Criminal justice reform has been a long-running project of the Oklahoma Legislature. This year, legislators advanced a number of bills that will improve the criminal justice system in Oklahoma, and largely managed to avoid undoing previous work. Going into the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers should continue to prioritize building upon progress rather than tearing down policies that work. [Cole Allen / OK Policy]
Opinion: New national report shows our children are paying for lawmakers’ choices: A new national report on child well-being reads less like a rankings report and more like an indictment of Oklahoma’s political priorities. Oklahoma is ranked 46th in the nation for child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2025 Kids Count Data Book. Not in one category. Overall. Again. So why are we still 46th? Because the people in power have spent decades reducing revenue for the very programs that could have translated families’ efforts into real progress. [Shiloh Kantz / Tulsa World]
Policy Matters: Congress isn’t fighting a health care crisis, they’re creating one: After the House passed its proposed federal budget — which included deep Medicaid cuts and new work requirements — Speaker Mike Johnson defended the move by insisting there was “a moral component to what we’re doing.” It’s hard to see morality reflected here, given the bill’s projected impact: the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that up to 15 million people could lose Medicaid coverage nationwide. However, our Congressional delegation has worked overtime to deny these facts. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
SB 870 establishes strict liability for failing to report misconduct in youth detention (Capitol Update): A new law passed this session will establish stringent new reporting requirements for any employee, contractor, volunteer, or third party “working in or around” (1) a state-run juvenile facility, (2) a private contractor or group home under the supervision of the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA), or (3) any county facility which detains juveniles. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
- From OK Policy: Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma
Weekly What’s That
Work requirements are policies that oblige recipients of certain public programs to be employed or engage in work-related activities for a certain number of hours each month in order to remain eligible for benefits.
As of May 2025, work requirements are in effect for most recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and certain categories of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, primarily adults aged 18-54. For SNAP, individuals subject to the work requirement must typically engage in 80 hours a month of paid or unpaid work or participate in a work program.
Under the first Trump Administration, over a dozen states, including Oklahoma, enacted work requirements for working-age adults covered by Medicaid. However, only Arkansas implemented its requirements before a federal court deemed the work requirement unlawful in the absence of Congressional authorization. When Arkansas’ work requirements were in effect, studies found that more than 18,000 people — nearly 1 in 4 who were subject to the new rules — lost their coverage in the policy’s first seven months, primarily as a result of administrative barriers. Research finds that two-thirds of non-elderly adults on Medicaid are already working, while most others are not in a position to work since they are either disabled or have caregiving responsibilities.
The second Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans have made adding new Medicaid work requirements and stricter SNAP work requirements one of their highest priorities as part of efforts to reduce federal social spending.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“Lawmakers that argue these cuts won’t hurt babies or people with disabilities are wrong. I’ve seen firsthand how critical Medicaid is. Without it, Eli wouldn’t be alive and Adelaide wouldn’t have access to trauma-informed therapy or the surgery she needs for her breathing and hearing challenges. This isn’t political for me — it’s personal.”
– Dena Drabek, a single, working mom raising two children with complex needs, writing in an op-ed about how Medicaid has saved her children’s lives. [The Oklahoman]
Op-Ed of the Week
James Lankford says folks are ‘going crazy’ over GOP Medicaid plans. But it’s not in a good way
It’s become clear that Oklahoma’s U.S. Sen. James Lankford has apparently taken one too many sips of the spiked, D.C.-flavored Kool-Aid.
He’s either become so addicted to the ambrosia served by the Washington elites, or he’s been spending too much time cocooned in our nation’s capital to be in touch with what’s happening at home.
Because it’s clear there’s a disconnect between the Republican Medicaid propaganda he’s been spouting and the stark reality of Oklahoma’s insurance and health care systems.
Earlier this month, Lankford conducted a CNBC interview where he decided to bring up congressional Republicans’ planned changes to Medicaid that, as he put it, “everyone is going crazy over.”
Lankford was referring to the U.S. House of Representatives’ budget bill that institutes complex work reporting requirements for lower-income individuals who received health insurance coverage as part of our state’s expansion of Medicaid coverage. Oklahomans voted in 2020 to expand access to the insurance program, which relies on federal-state matching dollars, to provide health care coverage to Oklahomans ages 19 to 64 who made less than $17,800 a year as an individual, or families of four who make less than $36,600 a year.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this new work requirement would affect 18.5 million adults nationally.
The measure also allows states to implement more stringent work requirements and verification checks and disenroll people who don’t comply.
Lankford, who makes an annual salary of $174,000 and receives access to a nice package of federal health benefits, of course, couldn’t resist showing how tone deaf he is to the Oklahomans back home who are struggling to make ends meet or can’t afford health insurance…
[Read the full op-ed from Janelle Stecklein at the Oklahoma Voice website]
Numbers of the Day
- 15% – The reduction in jail bookings for Oklahoma County misdemeanor defendants who had their fines and fees waived. Removing the financial burden helped people stay out of jail and stay connected to work, housing, and their families. [Fines and Fees Justice Center]
- 18,095 – The number of eviction filings in Oklahoma County in 2024 alone. Each one represents a family facing displacement — and the ripple effects reach schools, hospitals, social services, and entire neighborhoods. [Shelterwell]
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113 million – The number of adults in the United States with an immediate family member who has been incarcerated. That’s nearly half the adult population. [Prison Policy Initiative]
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$2.04 – For every $1 Oklahoma puts into Medicaid, the federal government contributes just over two more. That match rate means Medicaid brings far more money into the state than it costs. [KFF]
What We’re Reading
- The Human Costs of Fines and Fees: Court fines and fees don’t just create financial burdens — they have lasting human costs. Research shows they can lead to job loss, housing instability, and family separation, especially for low-income individuals. When people can’t afford to pay, the consequences further entrench poverty rather than promote accountability. [Center for Justice Innovation]
- Eviction and Poverty in American Cities: Evictions aren’t just a symptom of poverty — they’re a major cause of it. Research from Yale shows that eviction significantly increases the likelihood that households will fall deeper into poverty, particularly by reducing earnings and disrupting employment. [Tobin Center for Economic Policy]
- We Can’t Afford It: Mass Incarceration and the Family Tax: A new report estimates that if incarceration rates remain at current levels, U.S. families will lose $3.5 trillion over the next decade. These costs come from reduced work hours, job loss, increased caregiving responsibilities, and financial strain from phone fees, commissary contributions, and travel expenses. It’s a clear reminder that the financial fallout of incarceration extends far beyond prison walls — its economic toll ripples through the lives of spouses, children, and caregivers. [FWD.us Education Fund]
- How Does Medicaid Benefit States?: Medicaid benefits states not just by expanding health coverage but by improving economic and health outcomes overall. Research shows it reduces medical debt, supports better health and financial stability for enrollees, and improves school performance among children. For states, it brings in matching dollars, reduces hospital uncompensated care costs, lowers state spending on behavioral health and public health programs, and helps stabilize rural hospitals — all while supporting thousands of health care jobs. [Commonwealth Fund]
