In The Know: Lower-wage workers report skipping meals, taking out loans for food and rent | Western Heights audit notes legal fees, superintendent fight | Department of Corrections refuses to release body camera footage

In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2025 Subscribe // View web version (current and archived) ~50%   Nearly half of Americans said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation difficult to afford, according to a recent poll. More than a quarter of respondents, 27 percent, said they have skipped a medical check-up because of costs within the last two years, and 23 percent said they have skipped a prescription dose for the same reason. [Politico] The missing piece in the affordability debate   Today's affordability debate focuses almost entirely on prices, as if the only way to make life affordable is to make things cheaper. But that approach misses the bigger picture. Affordability depends on both prices and wages. The roots of today's affordability crisis actually lie not in recent price spikes, but in the long-term suppression of workers' pay. [Economic Policy Institute] "What I had to pay was $280 this year per month, and then when I did the calculations in the application, it said that for my continued policy, it would be over $1,200."    -Alicia Jarman, a mental health care provider in Oklahoma, said skyrocketing premiums have forced her into the difficult decision of getting rid of her health insurance. [KFOR] From OK Policy: What Oklahomans need to know about expiring ACA premium tax credits Oklahoma News   Lower-wage workers report skipping meals, taking out loans for food and rent: The Federal Reserve's quarter-point cut to its benchmark interest rate Wednesday should make it slightly cheaper to borrow money for a new car or business expansion, but it doesn't provide relief to the millions of U.S. workers struggling to stay financially afloat. [The Journal Record]   State Government News   Department of Corrections Refuses to Release Body Camera Footage: The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has spent millions on body cameras with the stated goal of increasing transparency, but is refusing to release recordings to the public.  [Oklahoma Watch]   Oklahoma utility regulators decline to reconsider OG&E's latest case: Two consumer groups asked the Corporation Commission to reopen a case they say will lead to high utility rates for customers. [KOSU]   Oklahoma insurance commissioner unveils policy proposals to address rising homeowners rates: After months of talk of skyrocketing homeowners insurance rates, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready announced the policy proposals he and a lawmaker intend to pursue when the 2026 legislative session begins in February. [The Journal Record]   Proponents refile petition to end some Oklahoma homeowners' property taxes: Supporters of an effort to gradually eliminate property taxes have withdrawn and refiled their initiative petition. [Oklahoma Voice] From OK Policy: Eliminating property taxes would devastate crucial local services Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: National Guard troops, Corporation Commission recusal refused, campaign finance website and more (podcast): The panelists talk about Gov. Stitt approving the deployment of 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. and Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett refusing to recuse himself from an OG&E case. They also discusses Stitt setting a special election to fill the seat of an OKC Democrat to coincide with next year's election dates and a delay by the Ethics Commission to launch a website to monitor campaign finances. [KOSU]   Opinion: Looking for work? Meet leader behind Oklahoma's job connection system: Much of the remaining unemployment is attributable to a skills mismatch, which means jobs are available, but people don't necessarily have the skills to fill those jobs. The state official most directly responsible for finding ways to resolve this mismatch is Trae Rahill, CEO of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) and its "job board" on the web at EmployOklahoma.gov. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]   Opinion: When ideology meets property taxes in Oklahoma: For some lawmakers, property taxes are Exhibit A that big government is somehow treading on them. No apparent recognition that property taxes pay for the roads and bridges we travel. The schools our children attend. The emergency services that come to our rescue when involved in a traffic accident, when shots are fired, when a loved one suffers a heart attack or when the house is ablaze. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record] From OK Policy's Shiloh Kantz: Property tax revenue builds the foundation for our communities Federal Government News   US Senate hits stalemate on solution to spiraling health insurance costs: The U.S. Senate in long-anticipated votes failed to advance legislation Thursday that would have addressed the rising cost of health insurance, leaving lawmakers deadlocked on how to curb a surge in premiums expected next year. [The Oklahoman] Edmond woman shares harsh reality of failed ACA vote, ending subsidies [KFOR] Rare US House bipartisan vote advances bill rejecting Trump federal-worker bargaining ban: The U.S. House agreed Wednesday to consider a bill that would void President Donald Trump's executive order that strips collective bargaining rights for roughly 1 million federal workers. [Oklahoma Voice]   Opinion: Does Rep. Stephanie Bice endorse recent Trump actions? She's not saying: It won't do Democrats much good to keep highlighting what they consider to be Trump's misdeeds unless they push Republican members of Congress — all of whom will be up for reelection next year — to defend Trump's actions. [William C. Wertz / The Oklahoman]   Voting and Election News   Two Republican candidates head to runoff in House special election: A special Republican primary election for House District 35 will head to a runoff after no candidate earned a majority of the votes. Dillon Travis and Mike Waters will face off in the special runoff election on Jan. 13. [Oklahoma Voice]   Oklahoma Democrat, Libertarian parties miss deadline to open primaries: Independent voters will not be able to cast their ballots in any of Oklahoma's upcoming political primaries. Both Democrats and Libertarians missed a deadline to send the Oklahoma State Election Board notice that their parties would allow independents to vote in their primaries. Republicans have historically had closed primaries. [The Oklahoman]   Oklahoma independents can still vote on minimum wage hike during June primary: Supporters of increasing the minimum wage said Thursday that independents can still vote on the issue when it appears on the June primary ballot. [Oklahoma Voice] From OK Policy: SQ 832: Minimum Wage Increase | Information and Resources Education News   'Little to no direct benefit to students': Western Heights audit notes legal fees, superintendent fight: More than four years after the State Board of Education and a community petition requested an audit of Western Heights Public Schools, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released findings Thursday that detailed the district's decision to defend a embattled former superintendent and board chairman during a dispute with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. [NonDoc] Audit of Western Heights schools finds millions wasted on legal fees, superintendent costs [Oklahoma Voice] Audit of Western Heights School District shows 'problematic' findings [The Oklahoman] Audit of Western Heights schools details "problematic" spending under former leadership [KOSU] Students, professors, and alumni call out OU in Fulnecky fallout: Students, professors, and alumni are calling out the University of Oklahoma this week after a student claimed religious discrimination with her essay. [KFOR]   MacKenzie Scott gives $16M to 2 private trade colleges in Tulsa: Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott's three-week gift-giving spree to Oklahoma colleges and universities now has touched two private trade colleges, becoming the 10th and 11th higher-education institutions this year to receive a gift from Scott. [The Oklahoman] MacKenzie Scott donates millions to two Oklahoma trade schools, Connors State College [Tulsa World] 11 Oklahoma colleges, universities get multimillion-dollar gifts from billionaire MacKenzie Scott [KOSU] Two Tulsa technical colleges on receiving end of $16M gift from MacKenzie Scott [Tulsa Flyer] Opinion: A retention program can help OK schools, but not by itself: For years, most Oklahoma elementary schools have embraced "social promotion," passing students to the next grade whether or not they've mastered the material. Many Oklahomans assume that retaining a student — "holding them back" — does more harm than good. But there are good reasons to support a statewide retention policy, if it is designed well. [Adam Tyner / The Oklahoman]   Opinion: Reading gaps need early solutions, not late consequences: Teachers have always known which students will struggle long before any third-grade test. In pre-K and kindergarten, we can clearly identify who is not developmentally or academically ready for elementary school. Yet Oklahoma continues to act as if reading failure suddenly appears in third grade when, in reality, the roots were visible three years earlier. [Niah Spriggs / The Oklahoman]   Health News   Tulsa County unlocks $870K for local addiction recovery programs: The Tulsa Board of County Commissioners signed off on spending close to a million dollars on addiction support programs. At the Dec. 8 meeting, commissioners approved $870,000 worth of funding for Tulsa-based addiction recovery programs. [Tulsa Flyer]   Criminal Justice News   BLMOKC leader T. Sheri Dickerson indicted for $3.15 million alleged fraud: A federal grand jury has indicted The Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson, co-founder of Black Lives Matter OKC, for allegedly diverting $3.15 million from the organization toward her own personal use. [NonDoc] Oklahoma City Black Lives Matter leader indicted on embezzlement, money laundering charges [KOSU] Housing & Economic Opportunity News   As 2025 concludes, Tulsa Housing Authority still without audits for 2021-2024: Members of the Tulsa Housing Authority Board declined to comment today on the agency's multi-year audit backlog after their final scheduled meeting of 2025. The 20-minute meeting provided no substantive update on THA's longstanding audit backlog, which nearly derailed tax credit applications for a key north Tulsa housing development last month. [NonDoc] Tulsa Housing Authority's mandatory audits are 4 years past due. Its president won't talk about it. [Tulsa Flyer] Changemakers: This is how Tulsa students would solve homelessness and food insecurity: More than 300 students across Tulsa and Union Public Schools spent a semester identifying problems in their communities and trying to make meaningful change with the Changemakers program. [Tulsa Flyer] Oklahoma homeless youth handbook now available online [Public Radio Tulsa] Economy & Business News   The Wildcatter and Trump: An Unusual Duo Reshapes U.S. Energy: Not long ago, it seemed as if Mr. Hamm and his allies in the oil industry were losing. They were deeply out of favor in Washington — and on Wall Street — shunned for contributing to climate change and failing to deliver the returns investors wanted. But with Mr. Trump back in power, Mr. Hamm is, too. [New York Times]   Community News   Historic hub of NAACP Youth Council is set to reopen after restoration: Civil rights pioneer Clara Luper and a local youth council often met in her home to plan their strategy, but a stand-alone gathering space was eventually acquired for such sessions. That structure became known as the Freedom Center and it has been recently restored through an extensive effort. A ribbon cutting for the newly refurbished center is set for Friday morning. [The Oklahoman]   Shannon Warren remembered as role model who brought people together: The idea of regularly gathering people from different faith backgrounds together for afternoons of dialogue and fellowship might have seemed daunting to some, but Shannon Warren saw the value of such assemblies and refused to be intimidated. [The Oklahoman]   Local Headlines OTA condemns final parcel for first phase of Norman turnpike as construction set to begin next month [KFOR] Long-awaited Black Wall Street Square development to kick off construction Friday in north Tulsa [The Oklahoma Eagle via Tulsa Flyer] Work begins on The Hilltop, 106-unit affordable housing complex in north Tulsa [Tulsa World] You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail. In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Support Our Work with a Donation Contact Oklahoma Policy Institute 907 S. Detroit Ave #1005 Tulsa, OK 74120 United States  918-794-3944 | info@okpolicy.org okpolicy.org    Connect with us:   If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.

In The Know: Oklahoma’s data center boom Is about to hit the grid — and your power bill | Child care group sues state over termination of subsidies for school-age kids | Property tax revenue builds the foundation for our communities

In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2025 Subscribe // View web version (current and archived) Policy Matters: Property tax revenue builds the foundation for our communities   Property taxes don't pay for your house — they fund the services that keep your neighborhood thriving. Some Oklahoma lawmakers want to end property taxes, but zeroing out this revenue would undermine essential services every Oklahoma family and community depends on. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record] 996   The number of immigrants arrested in Oklahoma from February to October 2025 who had no criminal convictions or pending charges. That's nearly one-third of all ICE arrests in the state during this period. [Deportation Data Project] Mass Deportation: Analyzing the Trump Administration's Attacks on Immigrants, Democracy, and America   The Trump administration's mass-deportation agenda dismantled long-standing immigration protections by stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of people, expanding deportation powers, and curtailing due-process safeguards. Aggressive enforcement tactics and unprecedented funding heightened fear in immigrant communities and pulled federal agencies into expanded policing roles with limited oversight. These actions weakened democratic norms, eroded civil liberties, and destabilized families, workplaces, and local communities nationwide. Without meaningful checks, the long-term civic and social consequences are profound. [American Immigration Council] "The Trump administration, including the president himself, needs to make it crystal clear that ICE is not some extra-legal enforcement squad. It is subject to the same laws followed daily, and usually respectfully, by local and state police officers, county sheriffs and their deputies and law enforcement personnel of all kinds in this country."   — The Oklahoman editorial board, criticizing ICE's pattern of overreach and urging the Trump administration to publicly affirm the agency's legal boundaries. The piece emphasized that ICE must respect due-process protections and the presumption of innocence. [The Oklahoman] TONIGHT: Community Insights to Action: Altus   December 11, 2025 | Thursday | 6:00 p.m. Altus Public Library | 421 N Hudson St, Altus, OK 73521   OK Policy hosted listening sessions across Oklahoma to hear directly from residents about the challenges and opportunities in their communities. Now, we're going back — this time to share what we heard and turn those conversations into action. At our Community Insights to Action meetings, attendees will review local and statewide data, discuss key takeaways from the listening sessions, and learn practical ways to advocate for change in their communities and across the state. All Oklahomans are invited to join the conversation and help shape a stronger future for Oklahoma. Register for Altus Stay tuned in January!   We're excited to share that starting in January 2026, we'll begin offering advocacy trainings in communities across the state for anyone who wants to get more involved. Whether you're taking your first step into advocacy or you've been doing this work for years, we would love for you to join us and help strengthen the movement for a better Oklahoma. Subscribe to Together OK Updates Oklahoma News   Oklahoma's data center boom Is about to hit the grid — and your power bill: Big tech companies have plans to build more than a dozen data centers in Oklahoma to keep up with increased computing needs from artificial intelligence. Some will require enough electricity to power entire cities. Oklahoma's two largest utility companies are investing more than a billion dollars in new sources of power to keep up with demand and plan to pass on some of the cost to residential customers. [The Frontier]   State Government News   Should voters have final say in lawmaker pay? Rep. proposes new plan: A state representative from Le Flore County in southeastern Oklahoma says he will file legislation for the 2026 session that would let voters decide on future pay raises for lawmakers. [The Oklahoman]   Judge says wrongful-termination suit against Ryan Walters can proceed: An Oklahoma County judge is allowing a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by an Edmond woman against former state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education to continue. [The Oklahoman]   Blackburn tapped to lead Oklahoma tourism agency: Gov. Kevin Stitt has appointed a new head of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation. Amy Blackburn, who served as Oklahoma Department of Commerce marketing and communications division director, will become the latest executive director of the agency. [Oklahoma Voice]   Oklahoma Turnpike Authority awards $97M for what will be state's longest bridge: The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Board on Tuesday, Dec. 9, awarded $97 million to construct the first project for the East-West Connector Turnpike, which is part of the agency's $8.2 billion, 15-year ACCESS Oklahoma program. The bridge will connect Interstates 44 and 35, running between Portland Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. [The Oklahoman]   Federal Government News   US Senate GOP rolls out health care plan that fails to extend premium subsidies: U.S. Senate Republicans announced Tuesday they will hold a vote on their own health care proposal later this week to counter a Democratic bill that would extend enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans for three more years. [Oklahoma Voice] Senate to vote on partisan health care bills, which are expected to fail [KOCO] US House GOP promises vote on reducing health care premiums, but few specifics disclosed: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson committed Wednesday to hold a vote next week on a package of bills that he said would lower health insurance premiums for hundreds of millions of Americans, not just those enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans. [Oklahoma Voice]   Federal government adds six more states to restrict some foods from SNAP: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Wednesday that she has signed six additional state waivers restricting what can be purchased with food aid benefits. The announcement means more of the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits will face government restrictions on their grocery purchases, a policy shift critics say represents unprecedented federal intrusion into personal food choices for low-income families. [The Journal Record]   Stitt Calls Out Trump Over Cuts to Wind Energy Projects: In one of his first executive orders this year, President Donald Trump directed a federal review of existing onshore and offshore wind projects to determine whether their leases should be terminated or amended. Under the directive, the Trump administration canceled wind energy projects across the country and stopped issuing new leases. [Oklahoma Watch] Gov. Stitt criticizes Trump's efforts to halt wind energy projects [KOSU] US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela coast, Trump says: The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid a monthslong buildup of military forces surrounding the country, President Donald Trump confirmed on Dec. 10. [USA TODAY via The Oklahoman]   Democrats turn up the heat on Hegseth over Caribbean boat strike that killed 2 survivors: Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday escalated their demands that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth publicly release an unedited video of a controversial follow-on strike by U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea that killed two shipwrecked survivors. [Oklahoma Voice]   Editorial: ICE owes an apology to the OU professor it illegally jailed: President Donald Trump's pledge to seek out those criminals and deport them, focusing on "the worst of the worst," is a sensible approach to a problem that many administrations, Republican and Democratic, have failed to address. But in practice, the deportation effort has revealed a haphazard, racist and frequently cruel and often legally dubious approach, much of that attributable to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE. [The Oklahoman Editorial Board]   Tribal Nations News   OU researchers propose solution to Indian Health Service underfunding: The federal government has a trust responsibility to fund Indigenous health care. But the Indian Health Service (IHS) has long been underfunded by it. StateImpact's Jillian Taylor and OPMX's Sarah Liese spoke with June Zhao, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health,  about her recent research, which explores a solution that could help increase and sustain IHS funding. [StateImpact Oklahoma & OPMX via KGOU]   Muscogee Nation proposes requiring 1860s census verification to enroll Freedmen: The Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board filed its first monthly status report with the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court on Dec. 5, which outlines how the board is attempting to implement the court's order to admit Freedmen descendants as citizens. [NonDoc]   Voting and Election News   Oklahoma Democratic Party primaries closed to independents following 'miscommunication': The Oklahoma Democratic Party is challenging what it says is a decision by the Oklahoma Election Board to close the party's primaries. The Oklahoma Election Board on Wednesday issued a press release saying no party notified the agency by deadline that it wanted to open its primaries. As a result, all party primary elections will be closed to the over 487,900 registered independent voters in the upcoming elections. [Oklahoma Voice] OK Democratic Party 'blindsided' by closed primary elections in 2026 [The Oklahoman] Oklahoma State Election Board announces closed Democratic primaries, despite Dems' intentions [OPMX via KGOU] Oklahoma Democratic Party challenges the State Election Board on closed primaries [KFOR] Oklahoma Democrats call its closed primary decision an 'error' [News 9] Oklahoma primaries to remain closed for 2026-27 elections, no parties allow Independents [KFOR] Education News   Oklahoma higher ed committee lacks power to effectively police free speech, advocate says: A state board tasked with investigating free speech violations on Oklahoma university campuses must have increased enforcement power to properly protect people's constitutional rights, one advocate said. But leaders of the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee said the body doesn't need more power beyond its advisory role when it comes to enforcing changes in free speech policy or investigating violations. [Oklahoma Voice]   Criminal Justice News   Could fuzzy budget get OK County jail in financial and legal trouble?: The Oklahoma County jail is again open to liability for costly emergency inmate medical expenses, and left operating with an irregular budget that could land it in legal trouble. [The Oklahoman]   Tulsa city councilors approve $26.25 million payment to man wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years: City councilors on Wednesday night approved a resolution authorizing the city to pay $26.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man wrongfully convicted of first-degree rape in 1991. [Tulsa World]   Housing & Economic Opportunity News   Child care group sues state over termination of subsidies for school-age kids: A group of Oklahoma child care providers sued the Oklahoma Department of Human Services on Tuesday in an attempt to stop the termination of child care subsidies for school-age children. [Tulsa World] Child care providers demand answers, transparency from OKDHS in advisory meeting [KFOR] OID, Oklahoma lawmakers team up on on new bills to protect homeowners: The Oklahoma Insurance Department and state legislators on Wednesday announced a package of legislation designed to increase consumer protections and provide relief from rising homeowners insurance premiums. [The Oklahoman]   Local Headlines Tulsa youth saw mental health issues spike after COVID. This program aims to address that. [The Oklahoma Eagle via Tulsa Flyer] Broken Arrow leaders want to build a new airport. They're studying what it will take. [Tulsa Flyer] You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail. In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Support Our Work with a Donation Contact Oklahoma Policy Institute 907 S. Detroit Ave #1005 Tulsa, OK 74120 United States  918-794-3944 | info@okpolicy.org okpolicy.org    Connect with us:   If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.