Legislative leaders reach budget agreement
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The leaders of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and state Senate announced Monday (May 4) they have reached a budget agreement. Although lawmakers faced a $1.3 billion shortfall, the budget agreement cuts far less thanks to $866 million obtained from savings and by redirecting money from state pension systems, among other things.
Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat said “circumstances with the oil-and-gas revenue, and also with the global pandemic” made this year’s budget process more challenging than what lawmakers typically face.
“This budget that you will see today represents hours and hours and months and months of work and a constantly shifting amount,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “Originally, we were thinking we were going to be $200-and-some-odd million dollars down, then $400-and-some-odd million down, and then the Board of Equalization met and gave us a $1.3 billion number.”
“A year ago, nobody anticipated the COVID-19 situation that we would face today that has disrupted our state’s economy,” said House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka.
The state budget agreement will spend $7.7 billion, which is $237.8 million, or 3 percent, less than the fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget. Even with the reduction, lawmakers said this year’s state budget will still be among the largest in state history.
Most of this year’s budget hole was filled by drawing down state savings, redirecting money spent outside the appropriations process (primarily funding currently used to shore up state pension systems), and taking money from agency revolving funds.
According to a release issued by legislative leaders, the state will still have $600 million available in savings funds and through apportionment reforms and other flexibility measures to stabilize the FY 2022 budget when they reconvene next year. In addition, they noted agencies typically have close to $1 billion in agency-specific reserves at their disposal throughout every fiscal year.
Under the announced budget plan, money currently earmarked for state pension systems, which is provided separately from state-appropriated funds, will be redirected to K-12 public schools. House Appropriations & Budget Chairman Kevin Wallace said the money now allocated for pensions will be reduced 25 percent for each of the next two years. In the subsequent five years, lawmakers said they would increase pension apportionments again to make up for the lost revenue.
For example, the plan will redirect $73.1 million from the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement Dedicated Revenue Revolving Fund and instead place that money into the Education Reform Revolving (“HB 1017”) Fund, which pays for K-12 public schools. Another $38.8 million will be taken from the apportionment given to the Oklahoma Firefighters Retirement, Police Pension, and Law Enforcement Employees Retirement Systems and redirected to the “1017” public school fund.
Another $180 million will be redirected from the state’s Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety (ROADS) Fund, which pays for road and bridge repair, and sent to public schools. The plan would then replace that road money through the issuance of $200 million in bonds.
“It is something that we did as a Legislature years ago—and I speak in the editorial ‘we’—and said we’ve got to help the pension systems,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah. “Today, we need to help education.”
While lawmakers have debated whether to provide a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to state retirees, that was not part of the budget agreement, although lawmakers said that idea remains under consideration. If approved, a COLA would further reduce state pension systems’ funded status.
While the K-12 public school system’s appropriation will be reduced 2.5 percent, or $78 million, Rep. Wallace noted the state has received nearly $161 million for the K-12 system that will more than offset the reduced state appropriation. Another $39.9 million in federal funding has also been provided to the governor, which may also be used for some K-12 expenses.
“Not counting the governor’s $39.9 million, education will have approximately a 2.69 percent increase in state-and-federal funding over last year,” said Wallace, R-Wellston.
While the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money is technically to be used for COVID-19 expenses, an Oklahoma State Department of Education official recently noted (https://ift.tt/2zeTyAl) the federal law allows the money to be used for any activity deemed necessary to maintain the operation and continuity of services in a school district. She said that category is so broad it “could be applied to just about anything” and the requirement that the money be used for COVID-19 response is therefore “a bit of semantics because of the broad flexibility that is given for the funds.”
At the same time, public schools may reap significant savings due to the current shutdown of physical schools, particularly for things like transportation and utility costs. It is estimated (http://www.ocpathink.org/post/how-will-schools-spend-federal-covid-funds-no-one-knows)
(https://ift.tt/35xIISh) those savings could be as much as $300 million statewide, providing additional funding outside the appropriated budget.
Under the budget agreement, most agencies will see a 4 percent reduction in state appropriations, although some agencies saw larger cuts. A handful of agencies will receive appropriation increases with the largest such increase being a 13 percent bump given to the Oklahoma Election Board due to the cost of running this year’s elections amidst COVID-19 restrictions. The Department of Tourism and Recreation, and the office of the attorney general, each received 12 percent increases to their appropriated budgets.
In a statement, House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, called the plan “one of the most disappointing budgets in my legislative career.”
She objected that officials did not rely more on federal CARES Act funding to plug budget holes. Officials with the office of Gov. Kevin Stitt have said federal restrictions on much of that funding prevent the use of those funds for non-COVID-19 issues. Virgin accused Stitt of “playing political games during a pandemic.”
NOTE: This story is reposted with permission. It first appeared here (https://ift.tt/2SDW0aD). A veteran journalist, Ray Carter is director of the Center for Independent Journalism, based at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.
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The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus plan. The measure passed in recent weeks provides emergency assistance for individuals, families, and businesses that are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What might not be fully realized is that citizens with disabilities are included in this act’s important benefits, as well.
Extra funding mechanisms are allowed for housing of people with disabilities, money for independent living centers and non-profits that support citizens with disability and which can apply for federal small business loans.
It is clear that many people with disabilities — including those receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits — qualified or will qualify for $1,200 in cash payments from the government as part of the relief package. Some questions arise, naturally. With the help of Ellyn Novak Hefner, our “go-to” expert in such matters, here is the answer to a question many have asked.
QUESTION: If a citizen who has a disability receive a stimulus check, will it affect their benefits if they go over the asset limit?
The answer is “no”. But there are some details about how long you have to spend the stimulus checks and an option of where to deposit the stimulus checks.
ABLE Act is an excellent program and a wise place to deposit stimulus checks.
As detailed in earlier stories for The City Sentinel, in Oklahoma we have OKSTABLE. Any person who receives a government stimulus check, and is eligible to have an OKSTABLE Account, may deposit the stimulus funds into this account (subject to the applicable contribution limits) as a clearly prudent way to protect their benefits.
STABLE Accounts give people with special needs more independence and financial security. OKSTABLE Accounts are made possible by the federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (“ABLE”) Act. STABLE Accounts allow individuals with disabilities to save and invest money without losing eligibility for certain public benefits programs, like Medicaid or SSI.
Oklahoma;s STABLE accounts are based on a working and highly effective (and prudent) program that first developed in Ohio.
“Oklahomans with disabilities have a great opportunity to use the OK STABLE Program to help manage their federal economic recovery payments,” Treasurer McDaniel said. “Money in a STABLE account is sheltered from asset limit calculations and can be used for a wide range of needed purchases to enhance their quality of life.”
Some more information on Stimulus funds and OKSTABLE:
* They will not be directly deposited by the federal government into the STABLE Account, but can be transferred from the account where the stimulus is deposited into STABLE Account at the discretion of the STABLE Account beneficiary or Authorized Legal Representative (ALR)
* All of the tax advantages of the STABLE Account remain in place for any contributions made into the OKSTABLE Account, including stimulus funds deposited into a STABLE Account.
* For those who will be receiving a personal stimulus from the federal government, consider placing those funds into an OKSTABLE Account.
To be clear: The CARES ACT does not include every child. The bill doesn’t provide any kind of payments to children over the age of 16 who are still claimed as dependents by their parents. Even if those children file their own taxes, if they are claimed as a dependent by a parent they will receive no stimulus payment, nor will their parents receive one on their behalf. The current language also excludes rebates for dependents with disabilities of any age.
Like everyone in our country, people with disabilities will need to determine how best to manage the funds they receive from the stimulus funding of the CARES Act.
“Placing these funds in a STABLE Account is a great way to protect and use these funds whether it is in the short-term or the long-term” explained Doug Jackson, Deputy Director of the national STABLE Account program.
Jackson continued, “Protecting stimulus funds is just one more way to use a STABLE Account to save, invest, and spend money without impacting public benefits programs like Medicaid and SSI.”
Call or email Ellyn Novak Hefner to learn more about Special Needs Planning and the OKSTABLE account contact her at: ellynhefner@financialguide.com or 405-640-9408.
Go to the resources section at OKSTABLE.org to view a useful and to-the-point webcast about this topic with Oklahoma state Treasurer Randy McDaniel, Doug Jackson from Ohio STABLE and Ellyn Novak Hefner from Mass Mutual Oklahoma.
www.City-Sentinel.com
OK STABLE, CARES Act and Adults with disabilities Click on the headline to read the full article at Site Articles
Even in the midst of this hideous pandemic, the conflict in Kashmir continues unabated.
Whoever dies --- civilians, soldiers, or militants --- people are killed, women are widowed, and so many children orphaned.
One could – without directly comparing this conflict to the novel coronavirus – call the struggles in and around Kashmir a kind of slow-motion pandemic.
An Associated Press estimate on Sunday stated that since 1989 nearly 70,000 people have died violently in the tension and conflict centered in or around my beloved native land.
That statistical nugget was found in the concluding words of a news story about a hostage-taking, an Army assault to free the captives, and a total of seven more deaths – five in the Indian Army, and two rebels.
And in the days just before that, two Indian soldiers died in a separate skirmish, a Pakistani soldier was killed and three civilians on either side of the India/Pakistan border lost their lives in what reporters designated “another bout of fighting.”
As long as Indo-Pakistan relations remain strained, not only will the solution of the Kashmir question recede further and further into the background, but even the peace in the subcontinent will hang by a thin thread.
This situation is obviously fraught with disastrous consequences not only for India and Pakistan but also for the rest of South Asia.
Kashmir is a small place. One might designate it a tiny speck which could be wiped out of existence as all this violence swirls. There is more to Kashmir than that, of course, yet it is important to look at this question in the broad perspective and urge a settlement accordingly.
We want a lasting and peaceful settlement of this question, and the people cannot be ignored. Therein, I have always emphasized, lies honor, peace, and progress for all concerned.
What a grace, a blessing, it could be for all the people of the region to open – or perhaps to reopen – to hopes of decades not so long ago, when colonialism faded but had not yet been replaced by resurgent ethnic and religious antagonisms.
A conflict can never be tri;u solved by resorting to war. If Pakistan thinks it can destroy India by war, that is ludicrous. Similarly, if India thinks it can annihilate Pakistan, it is equally foolish.
The results of conflict are fresh in our minds this day.
#Handwara
NOTE: Dr. Nyla Ali Khan’s essays appear frequently in newspapers and on websites around the world, including in The City Sentinel newspaper and on CapitolBeatOK, an independent news website. This reflection is expanded from an earlier post. A native of Kashmir, she recently became a citizen of the United States.
Amid the hideous pandemic, praying wise souls will avoid ‘another bout of fighting’ Click on the headline to read the full article at Site Articles
Oklahoma City - On Tuesday, May 5 at 1:30 p.m., a federal district court will hear Glossip, et al., v. Gross, in which attorneys will argue whether the state of Oklahoma provided an incomplete execution protocol on February 13. At that time, state officials announced that it would use the same three drug cocktail that was used five years ago in the two botched executions in Oklahoma.
Judge Stephen P. Friot will preside over the hearing at the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, William J. Holloway, Jr. United States Courthouse, 200 NW 4th Street, Courtroom 401, in Oklahoma City.
The new protocol (https://ift.tt/2Su5sNU)
retains the use of midazolam in a three-drug protocol, which has contributed to a number of problematic executions across the country, including the execution of Charles Lockett.
Attorneys representing Oklahoma death row prisoners contend that “the protocol lacks the details about execution personnel training necessary to assess whether the revised protocol addresses the issues that led to the use of an unauthorized drug in the execution of Charles Warner (January 15, 2015), which was almost repeated before Richard Glossip’s execution (September 30, 2015) was halted at the last minute.
The state disclosed in October 2015 that the wrong drug (https://ift.tt/3b48leN) was used in Warner’s execution, in contravention of the state’s lethal injection protocol.
A November 2015 poll by The Oklahoman (https://ift.tt/3daiNm8) found
that over half of Oklahomans supported the state's moratorium on carrying out executions.
In March 2016, a bipartisan group of prominent Oklahomans formed the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission (https://ift.tt/2yq3K3s). According to The City Sentinel (https://ift.tt/1Rovjju), an independent newspaper based in Oklahoma City, the Commission was to conduct “the first-ever independent, objective and thorough review of the state’s entire capital punishment system.” The City Sentinel endorsed then, and has repeated since then, the moratorium on executions.
The death row prisoners’ previous litigation challenging Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol was administratively closed in 2015 pursuant to a Joint Stipulation (https://ift.tt/2YyUque) between the prisoners and the state.
At the hearing this coming Tuesday (May 5), attorneys for the prisoners will argue that the state’s “Notice of Protocol” (https://ift.tt/2Yr8SEP), does not comply with the 2015 Joint Stipulation.
Among the concerns, attorneys will argue that Oklahoma Department of Corrections has not provided specific protocols and training for staff carrying out executions, denying prisoners “a full and fair opportunity to address all constitutional issues.” (Reply Brief, page 9 – https://drive.google.com/file/d/11HNNhxes8g4S0d4cOVzyPK0mOoouFQiZ/view).
As the Reply Brief notes, death row prisoners “should not be subject to execution by surprise.” Prisoners will further argue the Department of Corrections has not provided satisfactory notice that it can comply with the express terms of the execution protocol to ensure humane and constitutional executions in the future.
“Transparency and careful judicial review are the only ways to ensure humane, constitutional executions,” said Federal public defender Dale Baich, one of the attorneys for the death row prisoners. “But the courts cannot review procedures that don’t exist, and Oklahoma’s new protocol has a placeholder promising future plans where the plans should be. Rather than articulate substantive training requirements and other necessary procedures, the state’s Notice essentially says, ‘We’ll get around to that. Trust us.’
To attend the hearing, check the court website (https://ift.tt/3f7Ax3z) for the most current information about COVID-19.
Editor’s Note: It has been some time since a CapitolBeat compilation of citations for this important case. Adapted from reporting for The City Sentinel, helpful links for this matter include:
* Death Row Plaintiffs’ Motion to Reopen Action Which Was Administratively Closed (Filed February 27, 2020) can be accessed here: (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SgBeFSfVMoihczeSiEFbvfoDgXmogWfd/view).
* Death Row Plaintiffs’ Motion to Enforce (https://ift.tt/3d4MBAw) the Terms of the Court's Order Granting Joint Stipulation (Filed March 12, 2020).
* Oklahoma’s Response to Plaintiffs’ Motion (https://ift.tt/2xxQH5m) to Enforce the Terms of the Court's Order Granting Joint Stipulation (Filed April 2, 2020).
* The Death Row Plaintiff’s Reply (https://ift.tt/2Su5up0) in Further Support of Their Motion to Enforce the Terms of the Court's Order Granting Joint Stipulation (Filed April 9, 2020):
For more information, contact Tristin Aaron, Deputy Director at Capital Litigation Communications Project, at 718-938-4078 or tristinaaron@gmail.com.
www.City-Sentinel.com
Federal Court in Oklahoma to hold May 5 hearing on return to “risky and incomplete” lethal injection protocol used in previous botched executions Click on the headline to read the full article at Site Articles
Rediscovering the need for social interaction, and why it’s so important:
Through direct contact or indirect contact like seeing what others or doing on social media platforms like Facebook.
Social relation or social interaction is any relationship between two or more individuals. In my opinion it’s another form of communication used to connect.
In November of 2019 I was invited to an adaptive deer hunt hosted by the Bar Circle F New Discoveries Hunt just outside of Jay, Oklahoma -- during the crossbow hunting season.
This was only my second time ever going hunting. I am not a die-hard fan of killing animals but I understand that throughout our history animals have been used as a source of food to survive.
I was excited to get away from the hustle and business of life to unplug and spend time with some good friends who I do not get to see or hangout with as much as I would like because we are all so busy living or trying to make a living. Attempting to crossbow hunt for the first time was fun, it was new; something different, a new challenge!
I saw some deer even took a few shots but did not successfully bring home any deer meat or deer jerky that I had heard so much about.
What I think we all found out was how much we all needed to reconnect, catch up and just joke, laugh, and enjoy our time together. Hunting takes patience, skill, and being quiet for long periods of time. During that time you have a lot of time to think and reflect about life, decisions made in your past and decisions that you need to make in your future.
Why am I sharing this hunting trip and experience with readers of The City Sentinel?
Well, in light of the Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 as it’s called; I have been stripped of the freedom, and choice to do things that I like with others. And, I am realizing how I have taken that for granted. Being socially responsible and listening to the medical experts and Oklahoma state and federal leaders, I understand the need to practice social distancing. The outbreak of this epidemic I dare say caught us all off guard and has changed how we function and live our daily lives.
The new normal of social distancing has its Pros and Cons that we are all starting to discover for ourselves as we get through this epidemic.
There is a small percentage of our population of people who do not care to have any social interaction with other people. I know that I am not part of that group. I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, business associates, and acquaintances.
So now that we have the time or more time (for a little bit longer), let’s use it.
Reach out to an old friend, classmate, service member, or senior and check up on them. There is no telling how that could lift someone’s spirits from just having a conversation.
I would like to thank the Bar Circle F New Discoveries Hunt, and host John Fields and Family, Lance Fields, Jose Rivera, and Larry Mendenhall for organizing the first annual adaptive hunt for individuals with disabilities.
We each would all like to thank and acknowledge LL Sporting Good Store and L & L Outdoors for their equipment and sponsorship of our hunt.
The Bar Circle F plans to continue this hunt annually in the future to give disabled individuals an opportunity to get out, try something new or different, and embrace the camaraderie of reconnecting socially with their peers and nature.
NOTE: Willis Washington is an ADA ICC Compliance Inspector and Certified Aging in Place Specialist also known as CAPS and has completed levels I, II, & III with the Oklahoma State Homebuilders Association and currently works for A to Z Commercial and Residential Inspections. He was recently accepted into the Oklahoma University Graduate School Degree Program to become a Regional City Planner. This analysis first appeared in The City Sentinel newspaper’s April print edition, where his stories are printed frequently. To read his March print edition story, go here https://ift.tt/3aRMgQk . And, check out his introductory essay at The City Sentinel newspaper here: https://ift.tt/2YrMNGf .
The Importance of Social Interaction: Each one, teach one Click on the headline to read the full article at Site Articles
Oklahoma City – There was tumult in Indian Country last month, blended with timeless assertions of relevance from tribes that often get left out of the power games in Washington and Oklahoma City.
The Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the Comanche Nation garnered headlines with a separate peace with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt -- an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation who has jousted with the powerful Chickasaw and Cherokee and allies. The pacts drew outrage from the powerful tribes and their frequent ally, Attorney General Mike Hunter.
John Shotton of the Otoe-Missouria and William Nelson, Sr. of the Comanche struck charitable notes, saying in a joint press release: “We respect the Governor and the Attorney General, who both have a track record of supporting tribal sovereignty. We believe the compact language is consistent with both positions as it says event wagering will be permitted only ‘to the extent such wagers are authorized by law.’”
Yes, sports book is not presently allowed in Oklahoma, so they won’t “engage in such gaming under the express language of the compacts. … There is absolutely nothing unlawful about entering into a compact that guides the parties’ behavior and expectations in contemplation of potential future events.”
More politically powerful tribes have expanded gaming at every opportunity. Oklahoma’s dominant tribes offered tournament blackjack games when poker and card games were otherwise specifically outlawed. Approvals for event wagering in the compact will trigger "to the extent authorized by law" meaning when proper approvals are in place. Why can’t smaller tribes push a little?
CapitolBeatOK and The City Sentinel defended the Comanche and Otoe-Missouria position while reporting recent events. Their aspirations are legitimate and the only path forward for smaller tribes against the Chickasaw-dominated juggernaut. For decades, every close call in Oklahoma’s Indian Country has favored Big Tribes over smaller players.
That era, driven by malfeasance at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, may be ending.
While the state A.G. maneuvers and defenders of the status quo complain, credit Gov. Stitt and his team for a better deal with small tribes, and for the people of Oklahoma.
The Comanche Nation, with about 17,000 enrolled members, is headquartered outside of Lawton. Comanche once were nomadic, with lands stretching across several states.
The Otoe-Missouria operate from the north-central part of the state, in Red Rock, with about 3,288 members. Their first reservation was in Nebraska and Kansas.
Each tribe has long asserted rights beyond their modern restrictions. The Comanche continue a legal battle against the powerful Chickasaw over the latter’s construction of a controvesial Red River casino, at a location the Comanche assert is properly theirs.
* * *
Though Oklahoma’s first COVID-19 case wasn’t identified until March 6, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services (CPNHS) was ready.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN), headquartered in Shawnee, deserves credit for aggressive moves to combat the novel coronavirus that has transformed American culture in the last two months.
CPN Chief Medical Officer George A. Vascellaro, D.O., and Dr. Kassi Roselius, M.D., M.P.H. have focused tribal energy on fighting the virus since before Day One. They have worked with the CPN human resources and emergency management directors, Tribal Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett and Vice-Chairman Linda Capps.
CPN officials partnered with the Pottawatomie County Health Department for drive-through testing. Chairman Barrett said tribal health services “have been ahead of the COVID-19 preparedness curve and will remain so in the months ahead.”
Rocky is always quotable, and usually right. CPN leadership “has done everything in its power to care for patients’ essential medical needs while guarding the safety of patients, employees, families and the community. We will continue to be vigilant and do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
This is a “shout out.” Well done, Rocky – and all. Can’t wait for the sequel.
NOTE: Patrick B. McGuigan is publisher of The City Sentinel newspaper, and founder of CapitolBeatOK, an online news service. He has frequently covered Indian Country, nationally and in Oklahoma. He won first place in diversity journalism (2012) from the Society of Professional Journalists, Oklahoma professional chapter, for his coverage of the late Archie Hoffman’s efforts to regain control over Cheyenne & Arapaho lands near Fort Reno, in western Oklahoma.
COMMENTARY – An Editor’s Notebook: Tumult and Timeliness in Oklahoma’s Indian Country Click on the headline to read the full article at Site Articles |
Pat McGuiganThe dean of all Oklahoma Journalism, Mr Patrick McGuigan; has a rich history of service in many aspects of both covering the news and producing the information that the public needs to know. Archives
September 2021
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