Articles
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Budget & Tax
Fixing future budgets
Some expenses are unpredictable. Will the transmission go out next month? Or, will it keep going for years? Other costs are predictable based on behavior. Keep grinding the gears and the transmission will fail.Jonathan Small | March 2, 2018
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Criminal Justice
Unlocking Oklahoma: Criminal justice reform in 2018
It’s been nearly two years since the passage of State Questions 780 and 781, but legislative work toward reforming Oklahoma’s justice system lags behind the progress made at the ballot box.Cody Ray Milner | March 1, 2018
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Budget & Tax
Off the top, off the charts
Total state appropriations and total state spending are not the same thing. Conversations about the state budget and how much agencies have to spend often focus on a number near $7 billion. This number is only appropriations, not total spending.Curtis Shelton | February 28, 2018
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Higher Education, Criminal Justice
FBI monitoring Chinese-run Confucius Institutes
The FBI is concerned that an arm of the Chinese government has a major presence on more than 100 American college and university campuses, including the University of Oklahoma, according to recent testimony before a U. S. Senate committee.Mike Brake | February 27, 2018
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Budget & Tax, Education
Proposal would raise teacher pay, tame the bureaucracy
State Rep. Tom Gann (R-Inola) has proposed a bill that will fund a teacher pay raise with investment income derived from the assets managed by the Commissioners of the Land Office (CLO).Andrew C. Spiropoulos | February 23, 2018
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Budget & Tax
Too much state revenue?
State revenue keeps rising. This is good news for many Oklahomans, but not for those wanting higher taxes.Jonathan Small | February 23, 2018
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Budget & Tax
After Step Up plan fails, OKCPS urges employees to contact lawmakers
The acting superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools used the district’s taxpayer-funded email system to urge teachers and other staff members to lobby state lawmakers in the wake of the failure of the Step Up Oklahoma tax increase/teacher pay plan, OCPA has learned.Mike Brake | February 22, 2018
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Budget & Tax
Will cigarette tax revenues go up in smoke?
Headlines often give the game away when it comes to agenda-driven journalism. Such is the case with “Somebody says” headlines, where the “somebody” is invariably pushing a point of view shared by the reporter.Trent England | February 21, 2018
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Good Government
More federal funds increases need for transparency
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.Curtis Shelton | February 16, 2018
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Budget & Tax
A better plan
It’s easy for insiders to support tax increases – much easier than it is for low- and middle-income families and small businesses to pay higher taxes. That’s why this week the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs offered a revenue and reform plan. Our plan even received the endorsement of former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn.Jonathan Small | February 16, 2018