Articles

Some important reforms passed this session, including enrollment audits and work requirements for Oklahoma’s expensive Medicaid program. Yet other programs proved just how slippery is the status quo when it comes to avoiding common-sense cost savings.

Drawing on political science and practical experience, OCPA distinguished fellow Andrew Spiropoulos, a law professor who served as the chief policy advisor for Oklahoma’s Speaker of the House, recommends how to make the legislature an engine of good law and an effective vehicle for enacting the majority’s policy agenda.

The Oklahoma Department of Health and TSET have important missions and do some critical work. But is that enough? Does that mean they get a pass?

Since 2015, annual taxes and other revenue taken from Oklahomans has increased by $1.1 billion – Oklahomans’ personal income taxes are up at least $185 million annually just since 2016.

Since the first public revelations last fall that the Oklahoma State Department of Health had suddenly and surprisingly run out of money, some people inside and outside of the agency have claimed the reason was budget cuts. The true story is slightly different.

In 2015, House Bill 1748, authored by state Sen. Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) and state Rep. Tom Newell (R-Seminole), required Oklahoma state agencies to publicly report not only the amount of federal funding they receive but also the strings attached to that money. The measure passed overwhelmingly in both chambers but was vetoed by Gov. Mary Fallin.

This is Sunshine Week, an annual reminder that “consent of the governed” means informed consent. Why is government transparency important? Let’s start at the beginning.

Many often use the level of state revenues at the beginning of this current decade as the reference point to show just how much Oklahoma’s revenues have declined. It may seem odd to remember a time when many in the state of Oklahoma were struggling through the worst recession since 1929 as an enviable time, but it is true the state government revenues were reaching records highs.

More exercise, fewer fibs, a better diet, and abandoning what doesn’t work – individual Oklahomans have New Year’s resolutions, so why not state government? Here are four suggestions.

From its origins to our celebrations, Christmas is about relationships and communities. In the United States today, and here in Oklahoma, we face questions about both.