The Weekly Wonk: Roadside cameras won’t reduce the number of uninsured drivers

the_weekly_wonk_logoWhat’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

Policy Analyst Courtney Cullison wrote about the state’s plan to reduce the number of uninsured drivers – using roadside cameras to catch and ticket uninsured cars won’t result in more drivers buying insurance. Intern Lydia Lapidus shared a story about one nonprofit’s work to end hunger in Oklahoma schools.

Executive Director David Blatt argued in his Journal Record column that the Affordable Care Act is still very much alive despite many recent attempts to kill or undermine the law. Steve Lewis’s Capitol Update tackled the proposal to allow local school districts to generate increased local funding for schools without losing state funding – it’s a potentially dangerous idea that would likely result in significant inequities across the state.

OK Policy in the News

The Lawton Constitution used OK Policy data for a story about a local poverty-fighting initiative. Information from Policy Director Gene Perry’s blog post about SQ 640 was used by Joe Hight in his column for the Journal Record. Blatt spoke with the Journal Record  for their piece on the budget compromise plan presented by the Step Up Oklahoma coalition.

Upcoming Opportunities

Tickets are still available for the 2018 State Budget Summit, featuring keynote speaker Vanessa Williamson of the Brookings Institution and a host of key Oklahoma policymakers. Click here to get your tickets and join us on January 25th ate the Downtown/Medical Center Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City. We look forward to see you!

Weekly What’s That

Initiative Petition

Oklahoma citizens have the right to initiate statewide legislation via ballot measures, or State Questions, in the form of either statutory or constitutional amendments. After an initiative petition is drafted, it goes through a lengthy process which can include various legal challenges. To qualify for the ballot, a citizen-initiated statutory amendment requires signatures of registered voters equal to 8 percent of the votes cast at the last general election for the Office of Governor, while a constitutional amendment requires 15 percent. Read more about initiative petitions here.

Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.

Quote of the Week

“Some state employees have not had a pay raise in 11 years. I imagine the business leaders who developed this plan would never let that happen in their own businesses. We understand the need to raise teachers’ salaries and it should be a top priority. Equally important is the need to support core services by raising state employee pay.”

– Oklahoma Public Employees Association Executive Director Sterling Zearley, reacting to a budget plan put forth by a group of Oklahoma business leaders on Thursday (Source)

 

Editorial of the Week

Mike W. Brose, Tulsa World

With the passage of State Questions 780 and 781, Oklahomans declared the enormous cost of warehousing non-violent offenders in jails and prisons must stop. People with untreated mental illnesses and addictions who are non-violent offenders should be provided criminal justice system oversight as they receive community-based treatment. All of this, if fully funded, is far more effective for individuals and far less expensive to the taxpayer.

Numbers of the Day

  • $160,279.49 – One year cost to the state for one chronically homeless man in Oklahoma City.
  • 7.42 – OK’s infant mortality rate per 1,000 births 2013-2015, 9th worst in the nation.
  • 38.5% – Percentage of Oklahoma households with adjusted gross income less than $25,000 in 2015.
  • 9.938 – Number of children age 0-17 in foster care in Oklahoma in SFY 2016
  • 3,705 – Number of sexual discrimination complaints in the workplace made by Oklahomans from FY 2009-2016.

See previous Numbers of the Day and sources here.

What We’re Reading

  • Research Says Juveniles Need Their Own Miranda Rights [Governing]
  • The Myth of the Playground Pusher [Reason]
  • Choosing Between Squalor Or The Street: Housing Without Government Aid [NPR]
  • The Great, Overlooked Tax Policy for Getting People to Work [Atlantic]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Courtney Cullison worked for OK Policy from 2017 to 2020 as a policy analyst focused on issues of economic opportunity and financial security. Before coming to OK Policy, Courtney worked in higher education, holding faculty positions at the University of Texas at Tyler and at Connors State College in eastern Oklahoma. A native Oklahoman, she received an Honors B.A. in Political Science from Oklahoma State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. with emphasis in congressional politics and public policy from the University of Oklahoma. While at OU, Courtney was a fellow at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center. As a professor she taught classes in American politics, public policy, and research methods and conducted original research with a focus on the relationship between representatives and the constituents they serve.

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