Tuesday, May 22, 2018

3 resources to understand what happened in this year's Legislature

Oklahoma Policy Institute

Friend,

For the state legislature, this year was one of the most tumultuous in our state's history. Much happened in a short time, from special session and the passage of a revenue bill that finally broke years of gridlock to the teacher walkout and unprecedented involvement of thousands of advocates converging on the Capitol. Besides these huge developments for the state budget and education funding, lawmakers took consequential votes affecting SoonerCare and the criminal justice system for years to come.

To help you understand what just happened and what it means for Oklahoma going forward, we've published several new resources in the last couple weeks:

  • On the OK Policy Blog, Bill Watch: This year in #okleg offers an overview of what happened with all the major bills that we followed this session.
  • In a new episode of our podcast, the OK PolicyCast, our staff talks about what it felt like being at the Capitol before, during, and after the teacher walkout, as well as what happened in criminal justice and health care policies this year.
  • The FY 2019 Budget Highlights report includes key bullet points about the new state budget, five charts showing budget trends and facts, and an interactive table with appropriations for every state agency over the past decade.

Now as Oklahoma moves from the legislative session to election season, we'll keep putting out reliable information to inform the debate and advocate for policies that help all Oklahomans to succeed. Coming soon, we'll share fact sheets for all of the state questions on the ballot this year (our fact sheet on the medical marijuana state question, SQ 788, is already available here).

Along with these new resources, our Online Budget Guide, Legislative Primer, and What's That glossary are always available to help you understand how our state government operates.

We hope all of these resources will help you to make informed decisions at the ballot box and speak out with a knowledgeable voice about the issues facing Oklahoma!
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