Articles
-
Budget & Tax, Economy
Current and former city officials warn SQ 832 could mean higher taxes
Current and former local officials warn that State Question 832 would force cities and towns to raise taxes, hike utility rates, or slash services to keep up with spiraling payroll costs and the inevitable revenue hits from business closures and job losses.Ray Carter | May 5, 2026
-
Budget & Tax
Oklahoma Senate panel advances plan to redirect tobacco-settlement funds
Oklahoma lawmakers are moving to give voters a say in redirecting a portion of the state’s $2.2 billion Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, citing decades of poor health outcomes despite heavy TSET spending.Ray Carter | April 23, 2026
-
Budget & Tax, Education
Democrat lawmakers blast Oklahoma school-choice cost, support bigger tax break for gambling losses
Legislation to raise Oklahoma’s school-choice tax-credit cap by $25 million sparked fierce complaints from opponents who said the program drains state revenue—yet those same critics voiced no concern when approving a different bill that hands gamblers more than $25 million in tax breaks.Ray Carter | April 20, 2026
-
Budget & Tax
TSET failure shows need for reform
We don’t need to endure another quarter-century of failed spending schemes by unelected bureaucrats to know it’s time for TSET to change course.Jonathan Small | April 20, 2026
-
Budget & Tax, Health Care
OCPA: Time to send Medicaid expansion to voters
With the cost of Medicaid expansion exploding, lawmakers should send two state questions to voters that would allow for financial adjustment when needed.Staff | April 8, 2026
-
Budget & Tax
OCPA: Voters should get a chance to reset TSET
After a quarter-century and billions of dollars with virtually no elected accountability, the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), and the special interests that created it and agitate for it, have not produced any meaningful impact on smoking or health outcomes in Oklahoma.Staff | April 7, 2026
-
Budget & Tax
TSET’s expanding budget spurs debate on accountability, mission creep
Oklahoma’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust has quietly grown into a $2.09 billion public fund. As TSET’s budget and ambitions expand, lawmakers warn the trust has drifted far beyond its original mission.Curtis Shelton | April 7, 2026
-
Budget & Tax, Health Care
Reform bills advance as Medicaid expansion threatens Oklahoma budget
With Medicaid expansion costs ballooning and warnings that a future shift in the federal match could saddle Oklahoma with an extra $1 billion a year, a state Senate committee has overwhelmingly approved two measures that would let voters reconsider the 2020 expansion.Ray Carter | April 7, 2026
-
Budget & Tax, Health Care
Oklahoma budget leaders say Medicaid expansion threatens school funding
Oklahoma lawmakers say the soaring price tag of Medicaid expansion for able-bodied adults has become a budgetary time bomb. Two proposed ballot measures would give lawmakers room to reform the program.Ray Carter | April 6, 2026
-
Budget & Tax
Oklahoma’s TSET under scrutiny as reports question effectiveness, administrative costs
With Oklahoma lawmakers advancing measures to repurpose TSET earnings, the state is now openly debating whether the trust’s mission still makes sense a quarter-century after its creation.Ray Carter | April 6, 2026