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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
Passing Dental Therapy Legislation in Oklahoma: Offering Essential Services in Underserved Areas (Guest Article): As the 60th Oklahoma Legislative Session begins in 2025, legislators will have the opportunity to consider dental therapy legislation that would expand needed essential dental services for rural, tribal, and underserved communities throughout the state. Public health advocates and community members are encouraging all key stakeholders to consider this health policy issue through an ethical and equitable lens. [Dr. Mark Woodring / OK Policy Guest Article]
State Senate names committee chairs (Capitol Update): Another step toward the beginning of the 60th Legislature occurred last week when Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, named committee chairs and rounded out the remaining members of the Senate leadership team that had not been announced. Committee chairs control the destiny of bills assigned to their committees because they set the agenda for committee meetings, which carries the discretion to determine which bills will get a hearing. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Policy Matters: Government works best when we work together: Too often, we hear the phrase: “Government is the problem.” This sentiment feeds cynicism and fuels division. But let’s take a moment to reflect on what government is—and isn’t. Government isn’t some faceless, malevolent entity plotting to ruin your life. It’s made up of our friends, neighbors, and sometimes even ourselves. It’s the teacher helping your child learn, the firefighter running toward danger, and the health inspector ensuring your favorite restaurant is safe. These people dedicate their days—and often their nights—to serving our community’s needs. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
Weekly What’s That
Legislative Service Bureau
The Oklahoma Legislative Service Bureau (LSB) is a nonpartisan legislative agency responsible for producing all computer and information processing services for members and staff of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate.
LSB operates the Oklahoma Legislative Information Service, which processes legislative measures. This includes the production of bills, resolutions and amendments, the transfer of measures for printing, and the preparation of measures for codification. The service provides current information on the status of measures throughout the legislative session and provides each chamber with the information necessary for legislative and congressional reapportionment.
The agency has a $22.6 million budget in FY 2024, which is more than a four-fold increase in its appropriations compared to FY 2009. Its budget was increased by $4.6 million, or 205 percent, in FY 2017, part of which included the transfer of salaries for legislators and legislative staff to LSB. LSB received a $1.7 million increase in FY 2020 to fund the new Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), a $5.3 million increase in FY 2022, and an $8.5 million increase in FY 2023 before receiving a flat budget for FY 2024. Its budget was decreased by $8.0 million for FY 2025 due to the removal of one-time funds intended for IT modernization.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“We’ve got one in five kids living in poverty in Oklahoma. It’s a hard stop. We shouldn’t focus on anything else until we focus on these needs because we’ve been starving them. This and housing are the two things that are most likely to get people out of poverty. Those two things really do help people get on their feet.”
-Shiloh Kantz, OK Policy’s Executive Director, speaking about budget priorities lawmakers should be considering for the upcoming legislative session. [The Oklahoman]
Op-Ed of the Week
Opinion: I served time in prison. People like me need more help to succeed in Oklahoma.
I thought my criminal record would haunt me for the rest of my life.
I served time for credit card fraud. Upon being released, I was saddled with fines and fees from my case. I worked two jobs to help cover those added costs. Like so many who return home from prison, I was stuck in a perpetual cycle of poverty.
In this upcoming legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers should prioritize reducing court debt and eliminating unnecessary roadblocks so returning residents can rejoin their communities effectively.
When I left prison, I faced numerous obstacles that made it harder to successfully reenter society, including restrictions that had no bearing on public safety.
In addition to weighty fines and fees, the mental and emotional stress of reentry took a toll. Constantly thinking about the next court payment, on top of paying rent and buying groceries on little income, can be taxing on any person’s health. Paying court costs while trying to support my family often meant spending more time away from my kids. I worked nights and weekends and still struggled to make ends meet.
Some people may not even know how to locate their total court costs. This was my story. I had no idea I owed over $700 when I applied for a pardon years after I thought I had satisfied all my obligations.
I never had trouble finding a job before prison. But even after I served my sentence and tried to show that I’d changed, I was held back at every turn.
My story, like so many others, begs the question: What can be done so others don’t encounter the same issues I did when I was released?…
[Read the full op-ed from Joy Block-Wright at The Oklahoman]
Numbers of the Day
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74 – All 74 smaller counties in Oklahoma—those with employment below 75,000—reported an average weekly wage below the national average of $1,390. Dewey County reported the highest average weekly wage, $1,253. McIntosh County ($694) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]
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47.3% – Just about half of minimum wage workers (47.3% nationally) are working that job as full-time employment. [Bureau of Labor Statistics via OK Policy] | From OK Policy: What you need to know about the minimum wage in Oklahoma
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29% – Nearly 29% of people imprisoned in Oklahoma who sought parole from January through November 2024 received a favorable recommendation, up from 24% in 2023. [Oklahoma Watch]
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1 in 6 – More than 1 in 6 (18.7 percent) of Oklahomans of two or more races lived in poverty, according to 2023 Census data. The state’s overall poverty rate was 15.9 percent, which was the nation’s sixth highest. [OK Policy analysis of U.S Census data]
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1 in 6 – More than 1 in 6 (18.7 percent) of Oklahomans of two or more races lived in poverty, according to 2023 Census data. The state’s overall poverty rate was 15.9 percent, which was the nation’s sixth highest. [OK Policy analysis of U.S Census data]
What We’re Reading
- A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality: Data from a variety of sources contribute to a broad picture of strong growth and shared prosperity during the early postwar period, followed by slower growth and greater inequality since the 1970s. Within these broad trends, however, different data tell slightly different parts of the story, and no single data source is best for all purposes. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
- Nearly half of U.S workers will live in states with at least a $15 minimum wage by 2027: Policymakers and voters throughout the country have all recognized the need to set minimum wages at $15 or more. Further, the strong consensus of high-quality minimum wage research is that increasing the minimum wage increases workers’ earnings without increasing unemployment or other significant negative economic effects. Unfortunately, there are still state lawmakers who are choosing to deny higher pay for workers in their states. [Economic Policy Institute]
- Lawmakers grapple with post-Covid budget deficits: Fiscal Year 2026 is set to be a lean one for many states, as revenues stabilize after a Covid-era boom and lawmakers reckon with recent tax cuts and spending increases that now look less affordable. [Pluribus News]
- House Republican Bills Deeply Cut Programs That Help Low-Income People and Underserved Communities: Fiscal year 2025 started on October 1, but its funding under a stopgap continuing resolution runs out on December 20, 2024. Policymakers are debating whether to finalize 2025 appropriations during lame duck or when the new Congress convenes early next year. When policymakers finalize these bills, they should reject those approved by the Republican majority on the House Appropriations Committee as a guidepost. Those bills would lead to deep cuts in a range of important programs, including those that provide key services to people with low incomes and underserved communities. Rather, policymakers should work from the bipartisan bills passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which would better meet the nation’s needs. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
- State Rundown: Some States Cast Away Fiscal Responsibility as They Plan for 2025: The 2025 legislative season will be here before we know it, and state lawmakers have begun unveiling their priorities and proposals. Unfortunately, despite stagnating revenue growth, many lawmakers continue to push for deep, regressive tax cuts – often before the full impact of previous tax cuts is felt. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy]
