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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
What Oklahomans need to know about expiring ACA premium tax credits: Since 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made health insurance more accessible by creating online Marketplaces where people can compare plans and qualify for help paying monthly payments (aka premiums). That financial help comes through “premium tax credits” (PTCs) — federal subsidies that lower the cost of coverage for people who don’t get insurance through work. [Kati Malicoate / OK Policy]
Raising the minimum wage in Oklahoma is pro-growth: Oklahomans working full-time jobs should be compensated enough to afford food, shelter, and basic necessities. Since the 1980s, wages have stagnated for middle-wage workers and decreased for low-wage workers, while very high-income earners have seen significant increases. As a result, income inequality in the United States has skyrocketed since then. Raising the minimum wage can reduce poverty by helping the most vulnerable Oklahoma workers afford basic life necessities, improve the state’s economic productivity, and ensure corporations pay their workers a decent wage so companies are not subsidized by the rest of the economy. [Aanahita Ervin / OK Policy]
- From OK Policy: SQ 832: Information and Resources and What you need to know about the minimum wage in Oklahoma
Fried Okra Podcast: Shutdown Side Effects: A new episode of Fried Okra features Oklahoma Policy Institute Executive Director Shiloh Kantz breaking down how the federal government shutdown could affect Oklahoma’s public school communities. We talk about what a shutdown really means for schools, families, and educators, and what Oklahomans should be watching in the weeks ahead. [Oklahoma Education Association] | [Spotify] | [Apple Podcasts]
Charter school facilities take center stage in interim study (Capitol Update): Recently, the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee — chaired by Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid — conducted an interim study looking at potential funding and the authorization process for charter school facilities in Oklahoma. The committee was told demand for charter schools exceeds availability in the state — and that the most frequent cause for slower growth of charter schools is lack of funding for facilities and the authorization process. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Policy Matters: Better laws in Oklahoma begin with better listening: In Oklahoma, public participation in lawmaking is often treated as a special event rather than a function of democracy. Each fall, when the Legislature shifts into “interim study” season, lawmakers invite experts — and sometimes citizens — to discuss issues that need deeper exploration. In theory, it’s meant to be a reflective pause in the legislative process. In practice, it can lack genuine dialogue about what’s working and what isn’t. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
OK Policy in the News
Oklahoma leaders call for special session to fund food assistance program: Some Oklahoma leaders are asking the governor to call a special session to provide emergency state funding for food assistance programs during the federal government shutdown. The “rainy day fund,” otherwise known as the constitutional reserve fund, was created to collect surplus revenue to spend in select circumstances. The fund is capped at 15% of the current estimate for the state’s general revenue fund, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan Tulsa-based think tank. [Oklahoma Voice]
Broken Promises and Broken Ceilings: Renters Discover Oklahoma’s Weak Tenant Protections: Oklahoma Policy Institute’s housing senior policy analyst, Sabine Brown, said that demands for repairs often land new, formerly out-of-state tenants on the curb. [Oklahoma Watch]
Weekly What’s That
In addition to premium tax credits, some lower-income individuals may also be eligible for subsidies to cover the out-of-pocket costs of certain health insurance plans.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 enacted a series of enhancements to the premium tax credit that increased the amount of the credit and made it available to more households, including by expanding eligibility to households above 400 percent of poverty if premiums exceed 8 percent of their household income. These enhancements are set to expire after 2025 if Congress does not extend them.
In 2024, 92 percent of marketplace enrollees, or 19.7 million people, qualified for premium tax credits.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“Congress is gridlocked, and too many Americans have lost faith that we can work together. But here’s the truth: Democrats and Republicans can sit down, listen to one another, and find common ground, especially when it comes to lowering health care costs.”
– Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), calling on Congress to come together to preserve the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits and resolve the government shutdown. In their bipartisan proposal, the lawmakers outlined a temporary extension of the enhanced credits with both a sunset period and an income limit for high earners. [The Hill]
- From OK Policy: Help wanted – Leadership from Oklahoma’s delegation
Op-Ed of the Week
Opinion: If we give in to political fatigue, we will become cowards. Don’t give up
I have friends who live in the netherworld of despair, disenchantment and discouragement. They view the partisan politics of chaos and throw up their hands, vowing to stop reading the news and stay off social media. But their cocoon of withdrawal comforts little. Reality seeps in around the edges. Most of all they feel powerless to contribute in any meaningful manner.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Speak up. Some have the instinct to avoid conflict when political untruths are told. Don’t surrender to silence. Respectfully set the record straight, and if you don’t know the facts, investigate them and be prepared to respond next time.
- Join up. When I led nonprofit organizations people sometimes asked me how they could start a nonprofit. I’d tell them “Don’t. Find a group that’s doing something close to what you want to do and join them.” Strength is found in numbers when the numbers are good people.
- Step up. Run for office even if you’ve never done it before. You’re literate; you’re reading this column. You can figure it out and when you can’t, ask questions. If being a candidate seems a bridge too far, support a candidate you believe in. Don’t just give a donation. Give your time.
Numbers of the Week
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$306.5 million – Annual revenue that could be provided to Oklahoma programs and services if the state enacted a 4% Wealth Proceeds Tax based on the federal Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT), which applies to the proceeds or profits generated by the wealth holdings of high-income households. The federal NIIT was implemented in 2013 to fund health care reforms and address disparities in the tax treatment of earned income from work versus passive proceeds derived from wealth. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
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40th – Oklahoma’s ranking among U.S. states in the 2025 Best States to Work Index. The index evaluates wages (40% of the score), worker protections (35%), and rights to organize (25%), based on laws and policies in effect as of July 1, 2025. [Oxfam America]
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22 million – The number of Americans who receive premium tax credits (PTCs) to help pay for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. These federal subsidies make coverage more affordable for people who don’t get insurance through their employer. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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94% – The share of Oklahoma voters who are effectively barred from signing initiative petitions under new county-level signature caps. For statutory initiatives, campaigns can only collect signatures equal to 11.5% of the last gubernatorial vote in each county; for constitutional initiatives, the cap rises to 20.8%. Note: SB 1027 remains under legal challenge, and its future is still being decided in the courts. [Oklahoma Policy Institute]
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86% – The share of nonworkers in the U.S. who are children, elderly, disabled, or students. Together, these groups make up the vast majority of people not in the workforce, while only about 2% fall into the unemployed or other categories. [People’s Policy Project]
What We’re Reading
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The Wealth Proceeds Tax: A Simple Way for States to Tax the Wealthy: The federal tax code offers a shovel-ready definition of passive proceeds derived from wealth—such as capital gains, dividends, interest, and certain business profits—that states can use as the starting point for levying their own Wealth Proceeds Taxes on wealthy families. These taxes have the potential to raise considerable state revenue. If all states enacted a modest 4 percent Wealth Proceeds Tax, for instance, state revenues would rise by more than $45 billion a year. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
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Southern policymakers leave workers with lower wages and a fraying safety net: Workers across the U.S. South endure lower wages, limited access to employer-provided benefits like health coverage and pensions, and little paid leave — a result of an economic development model that has historically prioritized cheap labor over worker well-being. Changing this dynamic requires lifting the minimum wage, expanding access to core workplace supports, and strengthening collective bargaining rights to rebalance power toward workers. [Economic Policy Institute]
- From OK Policy: Raising the minimum wage in Oklahoma is pro-growth
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Health Insurance Premium Spikes Imminent as Tax Credit Enhancements Set to Expire: The enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) under Affordable Care Act help nearly all marketplace enrollees afford coverage by capping their premium contributions relative to income. If these enhancements expire at the end of 2025, millions of people will face much higher insurance premiums — across age groups, income levels, and states — and many may drop coverage altogether. The resulting enrollment loss among healthier individuals will raise risk pools and drive further premium increases, risking a cascade of cost pressures for both households and the health-insurance market. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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When Voters Pass a Ballot Measure, Does the Legislature Have the Right to Kill It?: State legislatures increasingly have the legal authority to override or repeal voter-approved ballot measures — especially when those measures are enacted as statutes rather than constitutional amendments. Some courts have pushed back, ruling that legislative changes must be narrowly tailored and respect the will of voters. In response, reform efforts are shifting from direct repeal to making it harder to qualify future measures — raising signature requirements, imposing tougher thresholds, or altering ballot access rules. Safeguarding initiative power may require constitutional protections or stricter limits on legislative interference to ensure voter decisions endure. [Governing]
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The Simple Math of Poverty: Poverty in wealthy societies stems fundamentally from four structural realities: income is distributed only to workers and capital owners; capital ownership is highly concentrated; a significant share of the population is not working at any time; and nonworkers are unevenly clustered across households. Together, these dynamics create predictable income gaps that persist across families. Addressing poverty effectively requires shifting how income is shared — such as through universal dividends or social wealth funds — and strengthening public income supports that reach nonworking groups like children, the elderly, students, and caregivers. [People’s Policy Project]
