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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
New Report: Oklahoma enacted one of the five biggest tax cuts for millionaires in 2025: Oklahoma lawmakers this year passed an income tax cut that, when fully implemented, will be one of the nation’s most significant income tax cuts for millionaires, according to a new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. [ITEP & OK Policy]
Policy Matters: Help wanted – Leadership from Oklahoma’s delegation: Congress has shut down the federal government, and Oklahomans are paying the price. Across the state, federal employees are being told to stay home or work without pay. Food assistance is about to stall for families. Veterans waiting on benefits are caught in limbo. Small businesses that rely on federal loans are twisting in the wind. Meanwhile, amid the chaos, Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation has stayed nearly silent. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
Opinion: Oklahoma’s founders warned against concentrated power. We should listen: The framework for Oklahoma’s system of government contains a healthy distrust of concentrated power. When our founders drafted our state constitution, they saw what happened in other states when one officeholder or party could wield all the power. They designed a government full of checks and balances, where citizens — not politicians — would have the final say. Yet, in recent years, Oklahoma lawmakers have drifted from this founding principle. [Shiloh Kantz / The Oklahoman]
Statement: Moving the needle on Oklahoma’s youth justice reform: Media reports this weekend revealed troubling conditions in the state’s Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh (COJC) and the subsequent resignation of the Director of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs. In response to these events, the following are comments from OK Policy’s Youth Policy Analyst Jill Mencke, who co-authored a 2024 report – Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma – that recommended reforms that could create impactful and transformative change for youth. [OK Policy]
Justice demands proportionality in child abuse laws (Capitol Update): Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee — chaired by Sen. Brent Howard, R-Altus — held a three-hour interim study exploring Oklahoma’s “Failure to Protect” statutes. The study was led by Sen. Todd Gollihare, R-Bristow. The Oklahoma statute, 22 O.S. 843.5, provides a parent or caretaker may be charged with child abuse or neglect, “enabling” child abuse or neglect, or both, even though they were not the person who abused the child. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
OK Policy in the News
Dobrinski says new ICE detention center in Watonga will benefit community; others disagree.: A new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility with capacity for more than 2,100 detainees is scheduled to open in Watonga in early 2026. A second may be on the way in Sayre. “CoreCivic profits from incarcerating our loved ones and exploiting rural towns,” the Oklahoma Policy Institute said. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Weekly What’s That
The Rainy Day Fund (formally known as the Constitutional Reserve Fund) was created in 1985 in response to a dramatic revenue downturn. It is designed to collect extra funds when times are good and to spend those funds when revenues cannot support ongoing state operations.
Money flows in to the Rainy Day Fund when revenue is more than estimated. Any General Revenue Fund collections beyond 100 percent of the estimated amount must be deposited into the Rainy Day Fund. In addition, if corporate income tax collections for the upcoming year are projected to be above the five-year average, 25 percent of the surplus is deposited in the Rainy Day Fund (the remainder goes to the Revenue Stabilization Fund). There is a cap on the Rainy Day Fund set at 15 percent of the current revenue estimate for the General Revenue Fund.
The Constitution (Article X, Section 23) allows the Fund to be spent in four instances:
- Up to 3/8ths to make up for a shortfall in the current year’s collections.
- Up to 3/8ths if General Revenue collections for the upcoming year are forecast to be less than the current year’s collections.
- Up to 1/4 through the appropriations process for an emergency.
- Up to $10 million on tax incentives for at-risk manufacturers.
The RDF had reached a record balance of $806 million at the end of FY 2019, but the Legislature made substantial withdrawals in the 2020 session to deal with budget shortfalls resulting from low oil and gas prices and the Covid-19 pandemic. It received a deposit of $312 million at the end of FY 2021, some $109.5 million from surplus corporate income tax collections over the course of FY 2022, and $575.7 million at the end of FY 2022. These deposits brought the RDF balance to just over $1.05 billion at the start of FY 2023, which equaled its constitutional cap of 15 percent of General Revenue collections. The RDF received an additional $222.9 million deposit at the end of FY 2023 and a $24.7 million deposit at the end of FY 2024, bringing its balance to $1.3 billion at the start of FY 2025.
During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers used some state savings to cover the costs of services for FY 2026, which started on July 1, 2025. To start FY 2026, the state savings accounts included $1.33 billion in the Rainy Day Fund, $425 million in the Revenue Stabilization Fund, and $561 million in the Rate Preservation Fund, bringing total state savings to $2.31 billion at the beginning of FY 2026.
[Chart showing historical trends for state savings, as of July 1, 2025]
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“What could be more fiscally irresponsible than refusing to use emergency funds during an actual emergency? What’s the purpose of a rainy day fund if not for moments like this? When nearly 700,000 Oklahomans face food insecurity, is that not precisely the rainy day we’ve been saving for?”
– Christy Taylor, an Oklahoma taxpayer who advocates for the responsible use of the state’s rainy day fund, criticizing Governor Stitt’s refusal to use those funds to support SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. [The Oklahoman]
Op-Ed of the Week
For years, Oklahoma has talked about second chances. But for many people leaving incarceration, that “second chance” comes with a hefty price tag.
When someone can’t keep pace with their fines and fees, they face license suspension, re-arrest or even more jail time, further burdening them financially and piling even more onto their already suffocating mountain of debt.
Fines and fees should be used to hold people accountable, not hold them down. By modernizing the system, Oklahoma is reducing unnecessary barriers that keep people stuck in poverty. [Rep. Tammy West / The Oklahoman]
Numbers of the Week
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51.8% – The share of eligible people in Oklahoma who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in 2022, down from 53.1% in 2016. Nationally, eligible pregnant people and children ages 1–4 are most likely to miss out on WIC’s proven benefits, which include improved pregnancy outcomes and stronger health and developmental outcomes for children. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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307,989 – The number of Oklahomans who signed up for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace during the 2025 open enrollment period. The ACA created these marketplaces so people without job-based insurance could buy affordable health plans, often with subsidies to lower their monthly costs. [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services]
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$5,500 – The average additional annual cost to families of adding a child to a household, according to federal poverty guidelines. Yet even as multigenerational households grow and more grandparents take on caregiving roles, programs like Social Security and TANF largely exclude them from support. [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation]
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9% – Estimated share of veterans in Oklahoma who receive food assistance via SNAP. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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13.7% – The share of rural households receiving SNAP benefits, compared to 11.4% of households in metropolitan areas. [U.S. Census via The Daily Yonder]
What We’re Reading
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WIC Works: A Cost-Effective Investment in Improving Low-Income Families’ Nutrition and Health: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program delivers strong returns on investment by improving maternal and child health — such as reducing preterm births, increasing birth weights, and promoting better nutrition — while concurrently lowering long-term medical, educational, and productivity costs. Its benefits extend beyond health, contributing to better early development and school readiness. Maintaining and expanding WIC is one of the most fiscally sound ways to support low-income families and strengthen public health outcomes. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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Changes in Health Care Spending and Uncompensated Care under Enhanced Tax Credit Expiration for Marketplace Coverage: ACA premium tax credits are subsidies that lower monthly insurance costs for people buying coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. If the enhanced credits expire, millions could lose access to affordable coverage, leading to a sharp drop in health care spending as more people go uninsured and use fewer covered services. At the same time, hospitals, physicians, and other providers would face a surge in uncompensated care costs when uninsured patients still seek treatment but cannot pay. These shifts would strain already fragile health systems and threaten access to care, particularly in communities with limited resources. [Urban Institute]
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Improving Social Security for children and young adults in need: The Social Security system, a major component of the U.S. safety net, could do more to support children and young adults in evolving family contexts. Introducing a caregiver benefit for low-income grandparents raising grandchildren and restoring student benefits for dependents of deceased or disabled workers would fill key gaps — especially where child welfare systems fall short. Funding these reforms by eliminating less targeted child benefits for retirees would recapture resources for more urgent needs. Through these adjustments, Social Security could become a more equitable, accessible support mechanism for today’s diverse families. [Brookings Institution]
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SNAP Helps 1.2 Million Veterans With Low Incomes, Including Thousands in Every State: About 1.2 million veterans live in households that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). Thousands of veterans in every state — who may be unemployed, working in low-paying jobs, or have disabilities — use SNAP to supplement their low income to put food on the table for themselves and their families. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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Halt in SNAP Benefits Will Hurt Millions of Rural Families: The pause in food stamp benefits that will hit Saturday, November 1 will disproportionately hurt rural families. Other groups that will be more affected by the Trump administration’s freeze on benefits are households with children and residents of the core counties of the nation’s larger urban areas. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is halting because Congress has not approved a spending bill and the Trump administration, unlike previous administrations, has refused to use contingency funds to keep the program running during the government shutdown. [The Daily Yonder]
