Articles
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Education
Marijuana tax could pay for school buildings
Oklahoma schools with limited or no local property tax funding would receive marijuana tax revenue to help cover building costs under legislation approved by a Senate committee on Wednesday.Ray Carter | February 13, 2020
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Lawmakers advance funding transparency measure
Attempting to build on reforms enacted last year, members of a Senate committee voted Wednesday to require increased public reporting on the use of federal funds by state and local governments in Oklahoma.Ray Carter | February 12, 2020
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
Bill would save state money, then give savings to tribal governments
Oklahoma state government could generate millions of dollars in savings by cost-shifting Medicaid costs to the federal government, but half of state government savings would then be given to tribal governments under legislation approved by a Senate committee on Monday.Ray Carter | February 11, 2020
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Education
Senate leader: Tax-credit scholarships help kids who ‘lack opportunity’
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat said this week the Senate is prepared to increase the cap on Oklahoma’s tax-credit scholarship program, throwing his support behind a proposal highlighted by Gov. Kevin Stitt in his State of the State address.Ray Carter | February 11, 2020
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Law & Principles
Environmental extremism harms the poor, speaker warns
Because his father worked for the U.S. State Department, Calvin Beisner spent part of his childhood in Calcutta, India. Walking down Calcutta streets as a child gave him a close look at true poverty, and the experience continues to shape his view of many environmental debates today.Ray Carter | February 11, 2020
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Health Care
Funding Medicaid expansion through hospital fees draws opposition
The Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program (SHOPP), a state fee assessed on hospitals’ net patient revenue that operates much like a traditional income tax, has been touted as a way to fund Oklahoma’s state share of Medicaid-expansion costs.Ray Carter | February 10, 2020
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Law & Principles
Voters may get chance to pass lawsuit reform
To address problems created by an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling issued last year, state voters could be given the opportunity to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to cap noneconomic damages under legislation awaiting a vote this session.Ray Carter | February 7, 2020
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Good Government
Study bolsters Stitt’s call for workforce reform
In his State of the State speech this week, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he wants to gradually make all positions in state government “at will” jobs, much like those at most private-sector companies. A new study from the State Chamber Research Foundation shows the state of Georgia has successfully handled a similar transition.Ray Carter | February 6, 2020
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Education
Trump, Stitt both support tax-credit scholarships
President Donald Trump urged Congress to advance a federal tax-credit scholarship program during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, just one day after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt urged state lawmakers to expand Oklahoma’s version of the same program.Ray Carter | February 5, 2020
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Education
Will 2020 see union reform?
Proposed legislation would give teachers the right to negotiate independently with a school district employer. Another proposed bill would allow teachers to vote periodically whether to keep their union, look for a new union, or do without union representation altogether.Ray Carter | February 5, 2020