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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
Immigrants power Oklahoma’s economy. State Question 832 can ensure they earn fair wages.: Like all Oklahomans, immigrants face ever-rising costs of living. Yet wages have not kept pace, and unique challenges around immigration status often compound the struggle of making ends meet — all the more difficult for low-wage residents earning at or near the minimum wage. Next year, however, voters will have the opportunity to change that with State Question 832. [Gabriela Ramirez-Perez / OK Policy]
- From OK Policy: SQ 832: Information and Resources
Policy Matters: Policies are driving doctors out of Oklahoma: Oklahoma ranks among the lowest in the nation for physicians per capita. The shortage of specialists is particularly stark. Policies that impose financial, regulatory, or political hurdles make it harder for physicians to remain here. They drive health care professionals out-of-state and leave families desperate for care. I know this because it’s my family’s reality. [Shiloh Kantz / OK Policy]
Petition seeks constitutional amendment to guarantee every idea a vote in the Oklahoma Legislature (Capitol Update): With SQ 839, any ill-considered idea that an individual legislator wanted to make law could get a public legislative vote. The legislators who take on the responsibility of killing the bill with their public vote would be subject to the wrath of its supporters. Under current constitutional and legislative rules, the committee chairman simply sets aside the idea and proceeds to other matters. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
OK Policy in the News
Some of Oklahoma’s largest cities aren’t enforcing state’s anti-camping law: After a crackdown on Tulsa homeless encampments, confusion remains over who can enforce an Oklahoma law that makes it illegal to camp on state property. Operation SAFE drew widespread criticism from advocates and some city officials who say the quick nature of the operation only displaces individuals with no plan or added resources to help them. It takes time to build trust with the homeless population and to help individuals secure stable housing, said Sabine Brown, senior housing policy analyst at the nonpartisan think tank Oklahoma Policy Institute. [The Frontier]
- From OK Policy: Bulldozers won’t solve homelessness (Commentary)
Weekly What’s That
The Legislature created the Rate Preservation Fund in 2019. Money in the fund is directed for use by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to maintain reimbursement rates to Medicaid providers when the state’s FMAP — Federal Medical Assistance Percentage — decreases. The Health Care Authority may also request that money in the Rate Preservation Fund be transferred to other agency funds. Deposits to the fund are entirely at the discretion of the Legislature.
The Rate Preservation Fund started FY 2022 with $33 million and received deposits over the course of the year to bring its balance to $595 million in FY 2025.
The Rate Preservation Fund is one of three state reserve funds, along with the Rainy Day Fund and the Revenue Stabilization Fund.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“Immigrants are overrepresented in low-wage industries, which are essential jobs that all Oklahomans rely on. It is indefensible that people who keep our state running are still paid wages that are far too low to support themselves and their families.”
– Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, immigration policy analyst for OK Policy, in a recent article urging Oklahoma voters to pass SQ 832 to raise state’s minimum wage — a crucial step in helping all workers, including immigrants, build stability and security. [OK Policy]
- From OK Policy: What you need to know about the minimum wage in Oklahoma
Editorial of the Week
Make no mistake about it, Gov. Stitt’s choice of a replacement for Walters — temporary though it may be — will likely be the most consequential decision he will make during his eight-year term in office. It will overshadow the tax reductions the governor has made his top priority and — if he makes a good choice — will help his quest to make Oklahoma a Top Ten state. Educational improvement is that important.
[Read the full editorial at The Oklahoman.]
Numbers of the Week
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82% – In Tulsa’s annual Point in Time count of people experiencing homelessness, 82% of respondents said their homelessness began in Oklahoma, and 75% said it began in Tulsa, underscoring the need for local systems of care and prevention. [Housing Solutions]
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23 – The number of rural hospitals in Oklahoma at immediate risk of closing, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. In total, 47 rural hospitals statewide are considered at risk. Facilities in immediate danger have faced multi-year financial losses without adequate support, while others survive only through limited funding that offsets some losses. [Oklahoma Watch]
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17 % – Immigrants account for 17 percent, or $3.3 trillion, of the U.S. economic output (GDP), even higher than their share of the population. [Immigrant Research Initiative]
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$717 – When adjusted for inflation and enrollment, Oklahoma’s per-pupil funding has decreased by 16 percent since 2008. Each student receives $717 less today than they did in 2008. [Oklahoma Policy Institute]
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$1 billion – Federal agencies hit hardest by shutdown-related furloughs turned to temporary staffing firms to fill the gaps. Some advocates argue this could help reduce the size and cost of government. But an analysis showed that during the two years after a recent shutdown, federal agencies spent about $1 billion more on contractors than they saved in payroll. [The Conversation]
What We’re Reading
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The Public Health Implications of Housing Instability, Eviction, and Homelessness: Housing instability is a public health crisis that causes and exacerbates health problems, erodes communities, and drives health inequities. Families grappling with housing uncertainty experience physical and mental health challenges from elevated rates of childhood and chronic disease and mortality to stress, depression, anxiety, and suicide. Those who lack stable housing are more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, substance use, food insecurity, and violence. The ripple effects of housing instability extend far beyond individual households, making it difficult for residents to invest in their homes, relationships, and neighborhoods, thereby disrupting the fabric of entire communities. [Network for Public Health Law]
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A Closer Look at the $50 Billion Rural Health Fund in the New Reconciliation Law: The new reconciliation law creates a five-year, $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program intended to help states stabilize rural hospitals and providers as Medicaid funding is reduced. Half of the funding will be distributed equally among participating states, while the rest will be based on rural population size, number of facilities, and hospitals serving low-income patients. While the program offers flexibility and short-term relief, it is temporary and narrower in scope than the long-term Medicaid cuts it is meant to offset, raising concerns that many rural communities will still face significant gaps once the funds expire. In addition, CMS retains broad discretion over criteria and distribution, and the law lacks strong transparency requirements, leaving uncertainty about how much support states and providers will ultimately receive. [KFF]
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Immigrants Pay Taxes But Are Excluded from Many Benefits: There is so much misinformation about the role immigrants are playing in the American economy, let’s lay at least this one issue to rest. Immigrants pay taxes. In fact, only one group of people in this country pays Social Security taxes but will not see any benefit from it: people who are undocumented. Same for Medicare. Same for unemployment insurance. [Immigrant Research Initiative]
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U.S. investment in public education is at risk: Public K-12 education in the U.S. is under serious threat: rising voucher programs, state budget austerity, and federal pressures are undermining resources at a time when research strongly supports higher spending per pupil — especially in high-poverty districts — for reducing achievement gaps. States governed by Republican trifectas are spending significantly less per student, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, widening funding shortfalls and threatening school adequacy. While additional federal aid temporarily boosted school resources during the pandemic, that relief is set to fade—making it urgent for policymakers to return to sustained investments in public education rather than letting funding drift downward. [Economic Policy Institute]
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New Data Show Trump Administration’s Illegal, Targeted Withholding of Funds: Newly released federal data provide evidence of the Trump Administration’s illegal withholding of fiscal year 2025 funding that Congress approved and the President signed into law in March, ahead of a critical September 30 deadline to use these funds. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
