SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2025 |
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The Weekly Wonk will be on hiatus while our offices are closed for the winter break, and will return Sunday, January 11. |
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OK Policy comments on revenue numbers estimated during December 2025 Board of Equalization meeting The Oklahoma Board of Equalization estimated $8.35 billion of funds available for the Governor's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027, which starts on July 1, 2026. These early estimates indicate how much lawmakers may have available to appropriate next session but are not a guarantee. While the overall revenue projections indicated a modest increase next year, in reality this suggests Oklahoma lawmakers will face a nearly flat budget when inflation and population growth are taken into consideration. [Aanahita Ervin / OK Policy] | |
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| Why raising the minimum wage is a win for Oklahoma's youth When people talk about raising the minimum wage, the focus is usually on adults trying to support households. But higher wages don't just matter for older workers — they matter for youth. Whether we're talking about young adults navigating their first jobs or kids whose parents and caregivers are struggling on low wages, the minimum wage directly shapes youth outcomes across an entire generation. [Jill Mencke / OK Policy] |
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| OK Policy's Top Publications from 2025 As 2025 comes to a close, we're highlighting OK Policy's most impactful publications of the year. From in-depth research and data-driven analysis to timely commentary grounded in community experience, these 10 pieces show how evidence-based policy can strengthen Oklahoma's economy, communities, and quality of life. Explore the work that helped inform debates, challenge assumptions, and push our state toward a more equitable and prosperous future. [OK Policy] |
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| 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. |
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"A catastrophe [is] headed our way like a tsunami, and a disaster potentially fatal to many in a state already burdened by one of the highest rates of poverty and poor health in the nation." — The Oklahoman editorial board, warning that allowing the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire would trigger massive premium increases and push tens of thousands of Oklahomans out of coverage. [The Oklahoman] |
What Oklahomans need to know about the federal fight over health care subsidies: Approximately 300,000 Oklahomans who rely on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace for health insurance are being left in limbo as federal lawmakers scramble to address rising insurance premium costs, with enhanced premium tax credits set to expire at the end of the year. [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU] Trailer Park Owner Hikes Rents, Forces Tenants Into Rent-to-Own Deals: Tenants who live in Lee's Tulsa-area trailer parks have a decidedly less luxurious existence. They're struggling with toilets that won't flush, lights that won't turn on, rain that falls through ceilings, and, now, higher rents. It is very common for bigger landlords and property investors to form an LLC, said Anthony Flores, research director of Oklahoma Policy Institute. The anonymity provided by LLCs can make it harder for tenants to identify and contact the true owner of the properties. [Oklahoma Watch] |
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H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) House Resolution 1 (H.R. 1) – called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" by its supporters – is a sweeping federal law that makes major, nationwide changes to dozens of domestic policy areas, Medicaid (SoonerCare), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), workforce programs, federal taxes, and administrative rules. It is a single bill that bundles together a large number of policy changes that would normally pass as separate pieces of legislation. The bill became law in July 2025. For public benefit programs, H.R. 1 creates new federal requirements that states must follow. The law establishes work requirements for Medicaid and tightens work rules in programs such as SNAP and TANF, which means a larger share of adults must now meet activity requirements to stay enrolled. These changes primarily affect low-income adults – including people with unstable work schedules, limited transportation, or chronic health conditions – who may have difficulty meeting documentation requirements even when they remain eligible. Beyond safety-net programs, H.R. 1 touches a wide range of federal systems. It changes how certain federal taxes are calculated, restructures elements of the administrative state, and imposes new federal rules on agencies that oversee health care, education, and economic programs. Some provisions reduce federal oversight, while others shift new responsibilities to states, often without additional funding. Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here. |
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Opinion: Proposed federal shift on homeless services poses new challenges for Oklahomans Many Oklahomans and individuals across the country may soon find themselves in need of a place to call home as nonprofit and community leaders scramble to shift resources and find new funding for housing programs that have been cut drastically and suddenly by the federal government, despite decades of research that support their use. The policy change, announced in a 128-page notice issued in November by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), marks a generational shift away from a "Housing First" approach supported for decades by HUD's own data. "Housing First" is grounded in the idea that housing provides a foundation for addressing other issues, including substance use disorder or mental health treatment needs. Managing health conditions, medication and employment assistance is made easier when an individual has a safe, secure place to store their belongings. Research has long shown that this model helps individuals maintain autonomy, empowering them to achieve stability on their own terms. By contrast, "Treatment First" requires individuals to earn housing by participating in a predetermined treatment program. It also provides challenges for social service providers, who must locate an individual whose campsite may be transient from one night to the next. HUD has long promoted the Housing First model, based on evidence that it offers greater long-term housing stability when compared to the "Treatment First" model, especially among people experiencing chronic homelessness. The Housing First approach is particularly beneficial for individuals with a variety of vulnerabilities, including veterans, which have seen a 55.6% decrease in homelessness since 2010, and people with a history of substance use, mental illness challenges, domestic violence, and chronic medical conditions. The approach is good for taxpayers too, as successful Housing First programs save money as a result of shorter stays in hospitals, residential substance use programs, and prisons while decreasing interaction with police and other emergency services. But in November, HUD issued a memo mandating a shift in resources by placing a 30% cap on the amount of money communities can spend on long-term housing programs. Key to Home, the public-private partnership that oversees Oklahoma City's network of homeless service providers, reports that the city spends approximately 77% of its allocated Continuum of Care funding on housing initiatives. The majority of those funds go to permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals with disabilities, supportive housing for those with mental health challenges and rapid rehousing projects for families. These programs will have to adapt to meet the new federal requirements or lose funding altogether. [Rachel Bradley / Oklahoma Voice] |
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44% - The share of workers paid the federal minimum wage or less who were under age 25 in 2023. While young workers made up only about one-fifth of hourly paid workers overall, they accounted for nearly half of minimum wage earners, highlighting how heavily low wages fall on younger people. [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics] 3x - The federal government spends more than three times as much on tax benefits for homeowners and real estate investors as it does on rental assistance for low-income households. Far more public dollars go toward reducing homeownership costs and supporting development than toward helping renters with the lowest incomes maintain stable housing. [Urban Institute] $1.1 trillion - The amount cut from Medicaid and ACA marketplaces under the Republican megabill enacted on July 4, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The law's provisions will strip health coverage from millions, raise costs for millions more, impose work requirements and red tape that block eligible people from enrolling, and take coverage away from most categories of immigrants living lawfully in the U.S. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities] 52% - Research finds 52 percent of people in American families don't have the resources to cover what it really costs to live securely in their community. [Urban Institute] |
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Youth subminimum wages and why they should be eliminated: Youth subminimum wages allow employers to pay workers under age 20 significantly less than the standard minimum wage for up to 90 days, costing young workers thousands in lost earnings. These lower wage tiers disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic youth, deepening racial income disparities and reducing financial stability for already vulnerable groups. Evidence shows that eliminating subminimum wages would boost earnings for millions of young workers without harming employment, while simplifying the wage system and strengthening labor market equity. Removing these age-based wage exceptions can help ensure fairer pay and broader economic opportunity for all young workers. [Economic Policy Institute] How Does the Federal Government Support Housing?: The federal government underwrites homeownership and rental stability for millions by providing direct subsidies, tax incentives, housing vouchers, and guarantees that reduce the cost of housing and promote access. These supports include home-purchase incentives, rental assistance for low-income households, and flexible funding for development and preservation of affordable housing. Despite this broad role, current federal funding falls short relative to escalating housing needs — placing pressure on states, localities, and private markets to fill the gap, which many cannot do sustainably. Prioritizing effective use of these tools means aligning them with housing affordability, targeting the most vulnerable households, and ensuring that policies scale with the scope of need. [Urban Institute] Health Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Law: The "One Big Beautiful Bill" makes sweeping changes across Medicaid, the ACA marketplace, Medicare, and Health Savings Accounts — designed largely to curb federal health spending. Key Medicaid changes include tighter eligibility checks, new work or cost-sharing requirements for certain low-income adults, and restrictions on how states can use provider taxes, which could shift more costs to states and beneficiaries. Premium tax credits under the ACA are set to expire — raising marketplace costs for many — and Medicare provisions affect drug negotiation, physician payments, and long-term care. Taken together, these reforms are projected to raise the number of uninsured Americans by millions and reduce federal health outlays by over $1 trillion over the next decade. [KFF] Trump Administration, Congressional Republicans Are Worsening Affordability Challenges in Many Ways: Recent policy decisions by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans have raised living costs for many families by increasing prices for groceries, housing, health care, education, and energy while cutting or shrinking key safety-net supports like SNAP, Medicaid, and rental assistance. These changes disproportionately burden low- and moderate-income households that already spend most of their income on basic needs. Higher tariffs on food and home construction materials, reductions in health coverage subsidies, and student loan repayment changes further squeeze household budgets and access to essential services. Without reversing these measures, affordability challenges are likely to worsen for millions of families struggling to make ends meet. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities] |
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What's up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know. |
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