Articles
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Budget & Tax, Education
Democrats attack bills, then vote for them
House Democrats decried portions of this year’s budget plan on Thursday, but then voted for bills they said either provided insufficient funding or misspent money.Ray Carter | May 23, 2019
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Budget & Tax
OCPA comments on 2019 legislative session
Staff | May 23, 2019
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Criminal Justice
Bail bill rejected in House
Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives rejected legislation Wednesday that would have allowed more criminal suspects to be released from jail without bail after critics said it would lead to more crime and the bill’s author admitted he did not know how much the measure would increase taxpayer costs.Ray Carter | May 23, 2019
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Budget & Tax
Democrats’ anti-savings argument: People are ‘dying’
Urging lawmakers to spend rather than save money, Democrats painted an apocalyptic picture of Oklahoma’s future if government spending is not increased further.Ray Carter | May 22, 2019
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Budget & Tax, Education
Lawmakers vote to junk April 1 school-funding deadline
A seldom-obeyed law mandating passage of a public school budget by April 1 may soon be a thing of the past. House Bill 2769, which repeals the funding deadline, has passed both chambers of the Legislature and is headed for the governor’s desk.Ray Carter | May 22, 2019
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Budget & Tax, Education
Democrats call for dramatic education spending increase
This year’s state appropriation for K-12 schools was above $3 billion for the first time ever. It’s now estimated K-12 schools will have received a $638 million increase in appropriations in just two years, including money for an average combined two-year pay raise of $7,320 for teachers.Ray Carter | May 22, 2019
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Education
In education funding, appropriations don’t tell the whole story
Non-appropriated revenue has accounted for more than 64 percent of new education revenue every year since fiscal year 2006. This revenue has grown from $3.4 billion to $4.1 billion when adjusted for inflation. While state appropriations have remained relatively flat other sources of revenue have grown. Local revenue sources have grown 36 percent since 2006.Curtis Shelton | May 21, 2019
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Budget & Tax
Department of Health finances defy budget critics’ claims
Legislative Democrats have argued state government should not set aside $200 million into savings, as provided for in the Republican-authored budget. Instead, Democrats say the money would be better spent at agencies. But in making that case, Democrats have chosen an odd agency to champion.Ray Carter | May 20, 2019
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Budget & Tax
Total state revenue collections hit record high
Total gross receipts collected in April 2019 were $1.58 billion—an increase of 12.7 percent, or $178 million, from the same month in the prior year. The General Revenue Fund (GRF) grew 25.5 percent from the same month the previous year, collecting $509 million.Curtis Shelton | May 20, 2019
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Health Care
Budget plan shows challenges of existing Medicaid program
Even as debate continues over expanding Oklahoma’s Medicaid program to include many able-bodied adults, details of this year’s budget agreement show the state continues to struggle to cover the costs of the existing program, which primarily serves those with severe disabilities, pregnant women, and low-income children.Ray Carter | May 20, 2019