Articles
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Health Care, Law & Principles
Stitt acts after Oklahoma Senate stalls immigration-verification bills
Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order requiring Oklahoma agencies to tighten immigration-status checks for welfare programs. The order mirrors legislation that passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.Ray Carter | May 7, 2026
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Law & Principles
U.S. Supreme Court declines tribal income-tax case, leaving Oklahoma ruling intact
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling that all Oklahomans—including tribal citizens living on lands considered “reservation” after the McGirt decision—must pay state income tax.Ray Carter | April 7, 2026
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Education, Law & Principles
Oklahoma bills expanding teacher-group access clear both chambers
The Oklahoma Legislature has approved two bills aimed at ensuring all teacher associations can engage with school districts during contract meetings. The proposals also allow teachers to withdraw from an association at any time.Ray Carter | March 26, 2026
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Education, Law & Principles
Oklahoma House advances bill requiring schools to show instructional spending before bond elections
Oklahoma lawmakers have advanced legislation requiring school districts to tell voters exactly how much of their funding goes to classroom instruction before asking for approval of new bond projects.Ray Carter | March 24, 2026
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Law & Principles
What SQ 832 gets wrong about real people
Proponents of SQ 832 may believe they’re promoting fairness, but they’re overlooking the fragile economics and personal choices that keep many of Oklahoma’s small businesses alive. The unintended damage could be lasting.Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. | March 9, 2026
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Law & Principles
House lawmakers vote to prevent illegal aliens from using welfare
By a margin of more than four to one, members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have approved two bills that will make it harder for illegal immigrants to obtain taxpayer-funded welfare benefits in Oklahoma.Ray Carter | February 26, 2026
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Law & Principles
Foreign billionaire’s money backs minimum-wage effort?
A group accused of helping move foreign money into U.S. ballot campaigns has quietly pumped $50,000 into Oklahoma’s State Question 832—the measure that would tie Oklahoma’s minimum wage to the cost of living in expensive cities.Jonathan Small | February 23, 2026
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Law & Principles
Oklahoma House panel advances measures mandating immigration verification for welfare
Two bills to bar illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded welfare benefits have cleared committee and are headed to the Oklahoma House floor. One Democrat lawmaker countered that the bills may deter illegal immigrants from seeking welfare benefits for family members.Ray Carter | February 19, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma’s ‘path to zero’ income tax survives first test in legislature
A proposal to repeal Oklahoma’s “path to zero” income-tax law—an automatic trigger that reduces rates whenever state revenues surge—failed in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on a 2–9 party-line vote.Ray Carter | February 16, 2026
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Law & Principles
OCPA urges opposition to income-tax bill
OCPA President Jonathan Small urged lawmakers to oppose Senate Bill 1302, by state Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City. The bill would repeal the state law that has placed Oklahoma’s income tax on the path to repeal by requiring that a portion of strong future revenue growth be partially returned to taxpayers through strategic reductions in the income-tax rate.Staff | February 16, 2026