Articles
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Law & Principles
Ruling reaffirms state power to prosecute crimes within tribal boundaries
A federal judge has rejected the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s request to bar Oklahoma prosecutors from charging American Indians who are not members of the tribe for crimes committed within its historic reservation, which includes much of Tulsa.Ray Carter | November 10, 2025
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Education, Law & Principles
School-produced illiteracy crisis gets Oklahoma lawmakers’ attention
Oklahoma’s fourth-grade reading levels are among the worst in the nation. It appears our state lawmakers are beginning to take notice.Jonathan Small | November 10, 2025
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Backers of Oklahoma open-primary plan tout California as model, success story
Supporters of State Question 836, which would replace Oklahoma’s party primaries with a single “open primary” where all candidates appear on one ballot, tout California’s system as a model.Ray Carter | November 7, 2025
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma food-stamp numbers raise fraud concerns
Federal audits estimate that more than 10 percent of Oklahoma’s SNAP payments go to unqualified recipients, a rate that could saddle the state with up to $226 million in annual penalties under a new federal law.Ray Carter | November 4, 2025
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Law & Principles
OCPA defends Oklahoma’s anti-racism law before federal appeals court
OCPA’s Center for Law & Liberty has filed a brief in federal court defending Oklahoma’s anti-racism law, House Bill 1775. The law, passed in 2021, prohibits teaching that one race or sex is inherently superior or that individuals are inherently oppressive because of their race or sex.Ray Carter | November 4, 2025
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
OCPA urges fraud review of state SNAP benefits
OCPA President Jonathan Small today called on state officials to conduct a thorough review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Oklahoma, noting that public data suggests a significant amount of fraud may be present.Staff | November 4, 2025
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Law & Principles
‘Open primaries’ backers supported Marxist candidate for president
After “10 years of conversations and organizing in the Sooner State,” out-of-state activists with a history of radical-left politics—including ties to a Marxist presidential candidate—are trying to bring California’s election system to Oklahoma.Ray Carter | November 3, 2025
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Law & Principles
Oklahoma lawmakers seek to boost retiree benefits without undermining pension reforms
After reforms that transformed Oklahoma’s public pension systems from some of the nation’s weakest to among the healthiest, lawmakers are now debating how to responsibly boost retiree benefits to keep pace with inflation.Ray Carter | October 31, 2025
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Law & Principles
Oklahoma’s commonsense petition reforms are clearly constitutional
A pending Oklahoma Supreme Court case will decide whether it’s legal to require initiative-petition campaigns to gather signatures from across the state rather than relying solely on urban centers.Jonathan Small | October 30, 2025
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Law & Principles
‘Quit fixing it, you’re only making it worse’: The case against the California ‘top two’ election system
Reforms designed to weaken political parties have consistently failed to deliver on their promises. The California “top two” election model, for example, has not increased voter turnout and has not reduced polarization.Rick Farmer, Ph.D. | October 28, 2025