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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
Fact Sheet for SQ 844: Amending Certain Tax Revenue Reimbursements: SQ 844 would allow the Legislature to change how it reimburses local schools and communities for certain manufacturing property tax exemptions. This question will be on the ballot statewide on August 25, 2026. [Aanahita Irani Ervin / OK Policy]
Fact Sheet for SQ 846: Voter ID Requirement Amendment: SQ 846 changes the Oklahoma Constitution to require proof of identity for all voting methods; lawmakers are responsible for setting the rules for what counts as proof. This question will be on the ballot statewide on August 25, 2026. [Cole Allen / OK Policy]
Know what’s on your ballot before you vote | SQ 844 & SQ 846 Townhall: The Aug. 25 election is your chance to help shape Oklahoma’s future. Before you head to the polls, join the Oklahoma Policy Institute for a free, nonpartisan town hall that will explain the statewide ballot measures and answer your questions. The free event will be held 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, at the Mayflower Congregational UCC Church, 3901 NW 63rd Street in Oklahoma City. RSVP for the in-person event here, or it will be live-streamed on OK Policy’s YouTube channel. [OK Policy]
Policy Matters: Dignity is the foundation of a stronger Oklahoma: Too often, when some folks — including too many politicians — talk about public assistance, they lead with suspicion rather than compassion. They ask if families have done enough to deserve help, rather than how we can support them as they get back on their feet. They see food assistance, child care, rental help, and health care as rewards for good behavior, not as ways to invest in people. But people should not have to earn dignity. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
What didn’t make Oklahoma’s 2026 House interim study list? (Capitol Update): Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, announced last Friday which interim studies he had approved for the 2026 interim and the committees they were assigned to. Hilbert approved 92 of the 120 studies requested by House members and denied 28. There are several reasons that the Speaker might not approve a requested study, including not wanting to elevate a certain issue, the expense incurred in holding multiple committee hearings during the interim, or other concerns. Here are a few of the studies that were denied. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
OK Policy in the News
Did nearly 80% of registered voters sit out for State Question 832?: Yes. Of the 2.4 million registered voters in Oklahoma, only 630,488 cast votes for State Question 832; this means that about one in four registered voters voted on SQ 832. [Oklahoma Watch]
In Depth: Breaking down Oklahoma State Question 844 (video): State Question 844 asks Oklahoma voters to decide on changes to the state’s property tax policies, but the ballot language can be confusing. FOX23’s Rick Maranon sits down with a nonpartisan policy expert to break down what the measure would do, the arguments for and against it, and what voters should know before casting their ballots. [Fox 23]
Upcoming Opportunities
OK Policy & Together OK are bringing the voices of your community to the Capitol: This summer, we’re hosting listening sessions in towns and cities across the state to provide an opportunity for the public to have conversations with our fellow Oklahomans about issues that matter most in their communities. By hearing directly from residents, we can better advocate for state policies that reflect your priorities. Sessions are free and open to the public, and participants will be compensated for their time (in-person events only). [Learn More]
Weekly What’s That
Sales tax holidays are designated periods of time when states allow for the purchase of certain items to be exempted from the sales tax. Since 2007, Oklahoma shoppers are allowed to buy clothing items under $100 free of state and local sales tax during a three-day period beginning at 12:01 AM on the first Friday in August and ending at midnight on the following Sunday. The cost of the holiday in lost state tax revenue was $8.5 million in FY 2024, according to Oklahoma Tax Commission estimates.
Eighteen states had sales tax holidays on the books in 2025, with most, like Oklahoma’s, timed to coincide with the start of the school year. They tend to be popular with consumers, who often flock to stores to take advantage of sales timed to coincide with the holiday. However, sales tax holidays are criticized by tax policy experts from across the ideological spectrum — for example, the Tax Foundation and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy — as costly gimmicks that primarily shift the timing of sales while creating substantial administrative burdens and costs for retailers and state revenue departments.
- Oklahoma’s 2026 Sales Tax Holiday is next weekend, August 7–9.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“I think it’s a little disingenuous to say, ‘Well, we shouldn’t have to give them that money,’ because the local district didn’t get to say, ‘We want to waive those property taxes or not waive them.’ (The five-year property tax exemption for manufacturers) is a state program. And there was a commitment when that state program was created to hold the taxing entities harmless for that.”
– Pryor Public School Superintendent Lisa Muller, talking about the impacts of SQ 844 that will be on the ballot on Aug. 25. SQ 844 would let the state legislature change the way it pays back local schools and communities for some manufacturing property tax exemptions. School and city leaders across the state are concerned that lawmakers might not fully cover the local revenue lost through this program. [KOSU]
Op-Ed of the Week
Opinion: Here’s why we should pay attention to the Oklahoma State Chamber’s annual survey
These days it feels increasingly easy to ignore survey results given the bombardment of people attempting to survey everything from most popular video games to most livable cities.
But I find myself hopeful that Oklahomans will pay attention to the 2026 findings of the State Chamber’s annual Oklahoma Business Roundtable survey.
This year’s survey of Oklahoma’s business leaders highlights the growing need for conversations between business leaders, educators and researchers. And, it lays out a roadmap for how those could set the stage for “win-win” solutions for both economic growth and provide meaningful learning to prepare students for the 21st century.
Mark Funke, president of the Business Roundtable, said that “business leaders in the state clearly see education as the foremost issue.” He said that 89% of respondents “agreed the state should prioritize funding for education outcomes, particularly in elementary reading and math.”
Getting into the details, 91.5% of survey participants agree that Oklahoma’s CareerTech system does a good job preparing students for the workforce, and 76.8% say that universities do a good job preparing students for the workforce.
But not surprisingly, a huge majority find that high schools are falling short in preparing students for the workforce.
When unveiling the survey, Funke said that nearly half of those surveyed said “workforce recruitment and retention is their greatest obstacle to increased profitability and growth.”
Access to high-quality schools at all levels would improve those recruitment and retention rates. And, a major key to getting there is to create public schools that prepare for success in the 21st century.
That requires schools that teach critical thinking and learning how to learn. It requires mentorship. It requires schools that bring kids out into diverse communities and brings a full range of adults into schools.
It requires shared cultures that enhance both an Oklahoma workforce environment that attracts and retains innovators and public schools that provide holistic, thoughtful, and innovative learning environments. [John Thompson / Oklahoma Voice]
Numbers of the Week
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25.9% – The share of Oklahomans ages 65 to 72 who were still in the workforce as of 2023. That amounts to more than 100,000 older adults continuing to work past traditional retirement age. [United States Census Bureau]
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$21.85 – The hourly wage needed for an Oklahoman to afford a modest 2-bedroom rental at fair market price. [National Low Income Housing Coalition]
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4.9% – Increase in Oklahoma’s age-adjusted death rate from 2015 to 2025, which was the nation’s third highest during this period behind New Mexico and Iowa. Public health officials are concerned that increases may reflect the effects of past health care expansion efforts that are threatened by today’s Trump administration moves to curtail Medicaid expansion and cut funding for rural hospitals. [Stateline analysis of Center for Disease Control data]
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12x – The difference between initial bail for a DUI arrest in Woods County ($250) and Sequoyah County ($3,000). [Oklahoma Watch]
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$8.53 million – Estimated cost of Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday weekend. The local sales taxes that would have been collected during the weekend are reimbursed to cities and counties from other state sales tax revenues. Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday is scheduled for Aug. 7-9. [Oklahoma Tax Commission]
What We’re Reading
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More U.S. Residents Are Working Past Retirement Age: A growing share of older Americans are remaining in or re-entering the workforce — driven largely by financial pressures such as inadequate retirement savings and rising living costs, particularly in urban areas. This shift has intensified alongside population aging, creating new demands on job markets, health systems, and public supports. Policy solutions should focus on shoring up retirement security through strengthened savings programs, affordable health care for seniors, and employment opportunities that respect older workers’ needs and contributions. [The Pew Charitable Trusts]
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Housing needs by state: Oklahoma: Across Oklahoma, there is a shortage of rental homes affordable and available to extremely low income households (ELI), whose incomes are at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income (AMI). Many of these households are severely cost burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing. Severely cost burdened poor households are more likely than other renters to sacrifice other necessities like healthy food and healthcare to pay the rent, and to experience unstable housing situations like evictions. [National Low Income Housing Coalition]
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Preventing Voter Intimidation by Federal Agents at the Polls: In May, when President Trump was asked whether he would send National Guard troops or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to polling locations during the midterm elections, he responded that he would “do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections; we have to have honest elections.” Several of his officials and allies have made similar comments in recent weeks and months. While no public information suggests that the federal government currently plans to deploy armed law enforcement agents to the polls in November, these statements appear designed to sow fear among voters. [Brennan Center for Justice]
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Inside Bail Reform: Six Core Components of Safe, Fair, and Effective Pretrial Policy: Across the United States, states and localities have taken significant steps to create safer, fairer pretrial systems through policies broadly termed “bail reform” – newly referred to by opponents as “cashless bail” policies. In the face of political attacks and misinformation, it’s more important than ever to understand what these reforms truly look like. This explainer demystifies the term “bail reform” and outlines the components of effective pretrial policies. [The Bail Project]
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Ineffective Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark: Lawmakers in many states have enacted “sales tax holidays” to temporarily suspend the tax on purchases of clothing, school supplies, or other items. While lawmakers often tout sales tax holidays as a way to benefit everyday households, especially as household budgets continue to be squeezed by inflation, this approach falls short of alleviating the regressive nature of sales taxes on low- and middle-income households and tends to bolster political profiles with a highly visible but short-lived tax cut in lieu of more meaningful, permanent reform. Instead, the holidays arbitrarily reward people with specific hobbies or in certain professions while simultaneously reducing state revenues and creating administrative burdens. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
