Articles
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Education
Schools’ lobbying raises open-records concerns
In addition to raising concerns about government accountability and indirect funneling of taxpayer dollars to political campaigns, schools’ use of contract lobbyists may also reduce government transparency and sidestep open-records laws.Ray Carter | August 22, 2019
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Health Care
Medicaid expansion touted as boon for ex-convicts
When advocates discuss expanding Oklahoma’s Medicaid welfare program, they typically suggest beneficiaries will be financially struggling individuals. But this week’s meeting of the legislative Healthcare Working Group focused on a very different group of expansion beneficiaries: People who have just re-entered society after being convicted of crimes that sent them to prison.Ray Carter | August 22, 2019
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Budget & Tax
Oklahoma tribes enter Arkansas market despite higher taxes
Tribal governments have objected to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s suggestion that fees paid by tribes to state government should be boosted higher than the current 6-percent rate on slot machines. Yet, at the same time, three Oklahoma tribes are seeking to open casinos in Arkansas where the gambling tax rate is as high as 20 percent.Ray Carter | August 22, 2019
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Education
School officials defend use of contract lobbyists
In the last school year four Oklahoma districts paid nearly $200,000 combined to contract lobbyists despite already spending thousands more for membership in other organizations that formally lobby on their behalf. Officials at two of those districts defend the use of contract lobbyists, saying statewide organizations are not always well positioned to advocate for specific schools.Ray Carter | August 21, 2019
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Education
Four schools spend six-figure sum on contract lobbyists
Four school districts—Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Bixby, and Jenks—spent nearly $200,000 combined in taxpayer funding on contract lobbyists during the 2018-2019 school year, records show.Ray Carter | August 21, 2019
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Budget & Tax
LOFT Oversight Committee debates how to measure effectiveness
Members of the Oversight Committee for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) voted Tuesday to begin the process of hiring a director for the newly created office, but much of the meeting was spent discussing a more fundamental question: How can officials best measure the effectiveness of LOFT without making it subject to undue political influence?Ray Carter | August 20, 2019
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Health Care
Oklahoma officials prepare for federal Medicaid cuts
In the last few years, the federal match for state dollars spent on Medicaid in Oklahoma has increased by a dramatic rate. But officials don’t expect that to last, and are preparing for future cuts in federal funding.Ray Carter | August 19, 2019
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Health Care
Health care committee leaders say group’s work is bigger than Medicaid
The leaders of a legislative working group examining Medicaid expansion say the group’s goal is to dramatically change Oklahomans’ health outcomes—and concerns about government expense should be put aside for now.Ray Carter | August 15, 2019
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Education
Approaching her third sobriety birthday, Mission Academy graduate looks to the future
Mission Academy, operated by the nonprofit Teen Recovery Solutions, is one of some 44 similar schools nationwide, bent on reclaiming young people long lost to drug and alcohol addiction.Mike Brake | August 15, 2019
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Health Care
Lawmakers told behaviors to blame for most of Oklahoma’s health problems
Members of the Healthcare Working Group, a bicameral special committee studying potential expansion of Medicaid to able-bodied adults, were told Wednesday that personal behaviors are more to blame for many of Oklahoma’s low health rankings than a lack of insurance coverage.Ray Carter | August 15, 2019