Lunchtime Links | May 8

May 8, 2018

Staff

Here's what our policy experts are reading today (Links do not constitute endorsements).

The McCarville Report: Fallin signs bill requiring able bodied Medicaid recipients to meet work requirements

Governor Fallin Monday signed legislation that directs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a waiver that institutes work requirements for Medicaid.

House Bill (HB) 2932 by Rep. Glen Mulready and Senator Adam Pugh is a measure requested by the governor. It is part of a suite of bills related to employment, training, and education client engagement for recipients of public assistance programs.

The Oklahoman: Last bills of 2018 session awaiting governor's action

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin will now have to decide whether to sign bills that deregulate firearm possession, address the addiction epidemic and guarantee religious adoption services can remain selective about their clients.

The end of Oklahoma's legislative session left Gov. Mary Fallin with more than 100 bills to consider, all adopted in the final week lawmakers were at the Capitol. She has 15 days from the time she receives the bills to sign or veto them. Bills that are not signed by May 19 cannot become law, a process known as a pocket veto.

Muskogee Politico: More money, more problems

It’s been busy lately, so you may not have noticed that the state of Oklahoma received $71 million from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

Of that amount, the Oklahoma attorney general received a little over $4 million. The state general fund collected a little over $13 million.

The real winner was the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET). TSET received a little more than $53 million. Don’t worry; they’ve got a safe place to keep it. They will add that $53 million to the $1.1 billion they are already sitting on.