Quote of the Day | December 21, 2018

“The point they are trying to make is, ‘Work is good, period.’ With no qualifications. It is the same reasoning involved in going from ‘work can have beneficial health effects’ to saying slavery is good. It’s the same reasoning.”

-University of California Professor Paula Braveman, who objected to the way that her research was cited in Oklahoma’s application for a Medicaid work requirement, which exclusively targets very poor parents and caregivers [Source: State Impact Oklahoma]

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Quote of the Day | December 20, 2018

“There was a lot of legislation that actually puts us on a much stabler footing and more sound, balanced budget. We do have economic growth, which is always good, also, but the majority of it, yes, was by legislative action.”

-House Appropriations Chair Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, pointing out that much of Oklahoma’s projected revenue growth next year would not exist without recent tax increases [Source: Tulsa World]

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Quote of the Day | December 18, 2018

“We want fewer people in prison, but we still have a problem of people coming out of prison and not having the opportunity to rebuild their lives.”

-Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City, who has authored a bill that would create a pilot program to offer inmates post-release education and rehabilitation services. [Source: NewsOK]

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Quote of the Day | December 17, 2018

“I would not be at all surprised to see (Medicaid expansion) on the ballot in the near future. There’s always been a bit of a gulf when it comes to the popularity of Medicaid expansion within the Legislature and its popularity with state residents. Even when the Affordable Care Act was polling badly, the Medicaid expansion part polled pretty well.”

-Carly Putnam, Policy Director at the Oklahoma Policy Institute [Source: NewsOK]

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Quote of the Day | December 14, 2018

“You’re very much dependent on the state to be able to maintain a livelihood. If we’re going to grow an economy, health care and education – we’ve just got to get it right.”

-Dr. Dwight Sublett, incoming president of Oklahoma’s Academy of Pediatrics, speaking about the importance of increasing Medicaid provider reimbursement rates to continue health services in rural Oklahoma [Source: Journal Record]

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Quote of the Day | December 13, 2018

“Our state’s elected leaders have repeatedly described the raise as only the first step in much-needed education investment, and this new report reinforces why we must stay the course of improving support for public education. Surrounding states are continuing to devote more resources to education, and we’re playing catch-up.”

-Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, on a report showing that Oklahoma remains about $1,121 behind that regional per-student spending [Source: Tulsa World]

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Quote of the Day | December 12, 2018

“In the midst of the downtown Oklahoma City progress and success, the fading 13-story, 27-year-old structure stands as a testament of our failure. And each year we don’t do something about it, it becomes even more unseemly and the cost of replacing it increases.”

-Journal Record columnist Joe Hight, writing about the Oklahoma County Jail [Source: Journal Record]

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Quote of the Day | December 11, 2018

“I don’t think it’s an accident they proliferate in low socio-economic and African American communities. That proliferation makes it more difficult for the full-service, healthy stores to set up shop, and operate successfully.”

-Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, speaking about her efforts to limit the growth of dollar stores and bring a healthy grocery store to north Tulsa [Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance]

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Quote of the Day | December 10, 2018

“I said, ‘This insurance won’t kick in until next year.’ She said, ‘Well, then I’m going to have a broken arm until next year, because I can’t afford it.’ That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”

-Andrea Chica-Rodriguez, a health insurance navigator at the Latino Community Development Agency, on why she is urging people to sign up for insurance on healthcare.gov before the open enrollment deadline of Dec. 15. [Source: NewsOK]

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Quote of the Day | December 7, 2018

“That needs to be something that’s regularly done so we won’t have a huge deal every 10 or 20 years.”

-Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso, calling on the Legislature to implement long-term pay increase plans for teachers. [Source: Journal Record]

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Quote of the Day | December 6, 2018

“I don’t have to go back this time. I get to go home with you guys.”

-Juanita Peralta, speaking to her 4 children after her sentence of 15 years for simple drug possession was commuted. Peralta was among 23 Oklahomans highlighted by a campaign to help some of those serving excessive prison sentences for low-level offenses. Gov. Fallin commuted sentences for 21 of those Oklahomans on Wednesday. [Source: Tulsa World]

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Quote of the Day | December 5, 2018

“You might catch a train from Oklahoma City to Edmond and then you may get a shuttle or a scooter or something like that to go to UCO.”

-John Sharp, Deputy Director of the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, speaking about efforts to create a regional public transit system for the OKC metro area. Sharp said residents may one day be able to get around without a car. [KGOU]

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Quote of the Day | December 4, 2018

“I think it should be a priority. I think making it easier to vote is in everyone’s best interests.”

-Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd, who said she is preparing legislation to extend the time allowed for early voting in Oklahoma. [Source: Oklahoma Watch]

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Quote of the Day | December 3, 2018

“It’s very encouraging to see that State Question 780 is working as intended. Oklahoma’s experience shows that we can have both less crime and less punishment if we pursue smart criminal justice reform.”

-Ryan Gentzler, director of Open Justice Oklahoma, which just released a report showing the number of felony cases with simple drug possession charges dropped from nearly 19,000 in FY 2017 to under 5,000 in FY 2018, while the number of felony cases with property crime charges dropped from about 13,000 to about 9,000 [Source: NewsOK]

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Quote of the Day | November 26, 2018

“If we have a kiddo that has experienced trauma and we don’t know about it, that student is sitting in class dealing with a lot of feelings and thoughts, maybe feeling alone. And if we have a staff member who just pays that extra attention, they don’t feel so alone.”

-Teri Bell, executive director of student support services for Oklahoma City Public Schools, speaking about a partnership with Oklahoma City police officers who will notify the district when they encounter a child who has experienced a traumatic situation [Source: NewsOK]

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Quote of the Day | November 21, 2018

Too many resources in our city can only be accessed by those in a position to work a program, a barrier to receiving shelter. Simply put, they require too much of guests who cannot see beyond relief from the elements, let alone be in a position to make a commitment to sobriety or provide identification. We are shattering that barrier by ensuring there are low barriers to securing shelter on the coldest of nights.

-Adam Luck, CEO at City Care, on the importance of providing adequate shelter to those in need on cold weather nights. [Source: NewsOK]

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Quote of the Day | November 20, 2018

Six 12 hour shifts with a day off equals 72 hours or more being worked in a 144 hour period. That is still extremely unsafe for these officers.

-Jackie Switzer, executive director of Oklahoma Corrections Professionals, on the impact of mandatory 12-hours shifts for Oklahoma prison guards due to understaffing. [Source: The Frontier]

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Quote of the Day | November 19, 2018

“I will be the youngest member of the legislature, and people are excited about that. I thought there would be a lot of push back, but quite the opposite. People were very excited that someone as young as I am was throwing their hat in the ring.”

-Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, on being the youngest member of the Oklahoma legislature. [Source: Norman Transcript]

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Quote of the Day | November 16, 2018

“Prosecutors wield tremendous power, and they are wielding it to send more people to prison than ever before — and Oklahoma already incarcerated people at higher rate than any place in the world.”

-Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform Executive Director Kris Steele, speaking about a new report that shows some prosecutors in Oklahoma appear to be circumventing the intent of State Question 780 by sending more people to prison [Tulsa World]

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Quote of the Day | November 15, 2018

“Oklahoma does have a vision care crisis, and for the better part of a decade, we as a state have not done much about it. … While I imagine those who do not believe in this crisis could easily blow holes in my unscientific analysis, they likely have not done what I have done. They have not begged vision professionals to volunteer their weekends; they have not turned away scores of low-income patients after an event’s capacity is met; they have not worked health care’s proverbial “back doors” to help dozens of newly diagnosed glaucoma or cataract patients; they have not held sobbing senior citizens as they wept tears of joy upon seeing a grandchild’s face for the first time.”

-NonDoc Editor in Chief William W. Savage III, calling on Oklahoma legislators and optometrists to take action to address Oklahoma’s gaps in access to vision care following the narrow defeat of SQ 793 [NonDoc]

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