(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said Friday that Jerry Winchester, executive director of the state Tourism and Recreation Department, resigned and the state is suing a restaurant vendor that had a contract with the department.

A report released by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency raised questions about excessive spending by Swadley's Bar-B-Q, which had contracted with the department to operate restaurants at state parks.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation is probing the contract. The House of Representatives is also conducting its own investigation, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, announced Thursday.

"We are committed to getting to the bottom of this," Stitt said at the news conference. "And I think we can all agree that the most important things are protecting the taxpayers and shining a light on any corruption or any bad actors."

The OTRD ended its contract with Swadley's earlier this week. The restaurants are now empty.

"All the renovations that were done at the different restaurants across the state are now the state's property," Stitt said. "Those restaurants are move-in ready and we're excited to get them reopened."

Stitt said that Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell will take an even "more involved" role in OTRD.

The governor said he was receiving questions about his possible relationship with Brent Swadley, the restaurants' owner.

"Let me be clear. I do not have any sort of relationship with Brent Swadley," Stitt said. "I don't know Brent Swadley. I have no involvement in this contract."

Stitt said he could not answer any questions due to the ongoing lawsuit.

Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, who is chairing the House committee investigating the contract, called Winchester's resignation a positive first step.

"The former director will still be called to testify before our committee, and we look forward to full cooperation from him, the executive branch and all other parties that will be receiving requests for testimony and documents," Martinez said in a statement.

(The Center Square) – Oklahoma's unemployment insurance tax system remains the best in the nation, according to a report.

The state has ranked number one for its unemployment insurance tax on the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index since 2019.

Unemployment insurance taxes are less widely understood compared to other familiar taxes like individual, corporate, sales and property taxes, says Janelle Cammenga, one of the authors of the report. However, this less understood tax remains impactful for a state's overall business climate, according to Cammenga.

Money is raised for unemployment insurance benefits by taxing employers through a joint federal-state social insurance program. The taxes employers pay depend on how old a business is, its layoff history and other factors, Cammenga said.

The report determined least-damaging unemployment insurance tax systems are the ones that stay close to the federal taxable wage base, which is $7,000 per employee, have low minimum and maximum tax rates on each rate schedule, and avoid charging surtaxes or making benefit add-ons.

Systems deemed more difficult and "harmful" were those with high minimum and maximum rates with wage bases far above the federal level of $7,000 per employee, and have complicated experience formulas and charging methods, plus surtaxes or benefit add-ons.

According to the report, Oklahoma does a good job of avoiding these practices.

"Oklahoma ranks first in the nation for its unemployment insurance tax structure, as the state applies low tax rates to a relatively low wage base," Cammenga told The Center Square. "It also has a simpler experience formula and charging method than many other states, and has not complicated its system with benefit add-ons or multiple surtaxes. Oklahoma's wise unemployment tax structure ensures that the state's unemployment system is funded, but does not overburden businesses that are already hurting."

Other states that scored best for their unemployment insurance tax systems were Florida, Delaware, Missouri, Louisiana and Mississippi. States the report said had the worst structured systems were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Idaho, Maryland and Nevada.

The Tax Foundation's report also ranked states based on other taxes levied in order to give a broad view of how well states structure their tax systems. The report's authors said this was in order to provide a road map for improvement.

Oklahoma ranked 26th overall after comparing five key taxes: corporate, individual, sales, property, and unemployment insurance. The state ranked 10th for its corporate tax, 30th for its individual income tax, 37th in sales taxes and 28th for property taxes, according to the report.

(The Center Square) – Fourteen attorneys general, led by Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri, have sued the Biden administration for altering immigration policies established by Congress related to the immigration asylum process. They sued the same day Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a separate lawsuit against the administration in federal court in Texas over the same policy.

Attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Carolina joined the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana Lafayette Division.

They are asking the court to halt an administrative rule change that will dramatically transform the asylum and parole process, facilitating the release of more illegal immigrants into the country.

The Department of Homeland Security proposed the Interim Final Rule in late March. Unless halted by the courts, it’s set to go into effect May 31.

The rule change “largely removes federal immigration judges from the asylum review process and instead gives asylum officers within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unprecedented authority to grant asylum to migrants outright,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. “The new rule not only violates federal laws and bypasses Congress but also drastically erodes asylum integrity safeguards.

“This is nothing more than a radical attempt to set up a system that encourages illegal immigration and undermines the rule of law,” Brnovich added.

Louisiana Attorney General Landry said President Joe Biden is prioritizing non-citizens over Americans with his immigration policies.

"He is once again undermining the rule of law and jeopardizing the safety and security of our country," Landry said. "This rule will make an already porous border even easier for drugs, human traffickers, and sexual predators to cross."

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review David Neil, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Troy Miller with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Tae Johnson, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ur Jaddou, Chief of U.S. Border Patrol Raul Ortiz, and their respective agencies, are named as defendants.

DHS and the Department of Justice argue the changes were proposed “to improve and expedite processing of asylum claims made by noncitizens subject to expedited removal, ensuring that those who are eligible for asylum are granted relief quickly, and those who are not are promptly removed.”

One key change includes authorizing asylum officers to review and rule on asylum applications. Under the law, asylum cases are only adjudicated by immigration judges within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Due to existing court backlogs, the process for hearing and deciding asylum cases takes several years. Once it’s implemented, DHS and DOJ argue the process will be shortened to several months for most asylum applicants.

“The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has long needed repair,” Mayorkas said when announcing the rule change last month. “Through this rule, we are building a more functional and sensible asylum system to ensure that individuals who are eligible will receive protection more swiftly, while those who are not eligible will be rapidly removed. We will process claims for asylum or other humanitarian protection in a timely and efficient manner while ensuring due process.”

Garland said the new rule will ensure that immigrants who seek asylum are processed fairly and more quickly.

“It will help reduce the burden on our immigration courts, protect the rights of those fleeing persecution and violence, and enable immigration judges to issue removal orders when appropriate,” Garland said.

The Republican AGs argue the changes violate the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Homeland Security Act, the Secure Fence Act of 2006, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

“President Biden seems intent on erasing any semblance of control at our southern border, unleashing one disastrous and dangerous immigration policy after another,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said. “Continually incentivizing illegal immigration, as he has done time and again, makes it easier for cartels to smuggle drugs across the border and up to states like Montana.”

The Biden administration also wants to halt Title 42 enforcement effective May 23, though a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against that decision in a separate legal battle. Title 42 is a health authority put in place by former President Donald Trump that allows border agents to quickly expel immigrants seeking asylum during a health emergency sych as the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the administration's repeal of Title 42 enforcement isn’t halted by the courts, the new asylum changes would go into effect eight days later, the attorneys general point out, causing “a massive increase in illegal immigration and non-meritorious asylum claims.” The timing would cause “an exponential increase in illegal border crossings,” they argue, which will “stack a crisis upon a crisis.”

Texas and Missouri also argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday asking it to require the administration to fully reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, or “Remain in Mexico” policy.

The United States is in a period of historic inflation. The consumer price index rose by 8.5% over the 12 months ending in March 2022, the fastest increase in over four decades. Though it is not keeping pace with inflation, income is also on the rise in the United States.

Personal income per capita in the United States increased by 7% in 2021, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Based on the latest population data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey and annual income data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, per capita income in the United States is $64,478.

It is important to note that income per capita includes not only wages and salaries, but also Social Security and other government benefits, dividends and interest, profits from business ownership, and other sources.

In Oklahoma, per capita income stands at $53,658, lower than the national figure and the eighth lowest among states.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers with a bachelor's degree earn about 65% more each week than those with no education beyond high school. Perhaps not surprisingly, states with higher than average income often also have better-educated populations, and Oklahoma is no exception. An estimated 26.1% of the state's 25 and older population have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 32.9% of all Americans in the same age group.

RankStatePer capita income in 2021 ($)Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher (%)1Massachusetts$83,81544.52Connecticut$82,88840.03New Jersey$78,01840.74New York$77,67237.55California$76,17634.76Washington$74,05436.77New Hampshire$73,79637.68Maryland$70,72940.99Colorado$70,55941.610Illinois$66,86035.511North Dakota$66,79830.712Alaska$66,74530.013Minnesota$66,74036.814Virginia$66,43039.515South Dakota$65,90129.316Wyoming$65,34028.217Pennsylvania$64,90132.318Rhode Island$64,15635.019Nebraska$63,38132.520Florida$62,37630.521Vermont$61,73439.722Oregon$61,69134.423Texas$61,53430.724Hawaii$61,30233.625Delaware$61,17932.726Nevada$60,41825.527Kansas$59,77133.928Wisconsin$59,46130.829Montana$58,94433.130Utah$58,67434.731Maine$58,49932.532Iowa$57,75229.333Indiana$57,06827.234Ohio$56,99028.935Georgia$56,77732.236Tennessee$56,51728.237Michigan$55,97930.038North Carolina$55,91732.039Idaho$55,67128.740Missouri$55,55629.941Arizona$55,07530.342Louisiana$53,96224.943Oklahoma$53,65826.144South Carolina$53,08829.045Arkansas$51,38623.846Kentucky$51,23825.047Alabama$50,06526.248New Mexico$49,76428.149West Virginia$47,17021.350Mississippi$44,95222.8

(The Center Square) - An Oklahoma House committee will begin public hearings next month concerning vendor agreements between the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (OTRD) and Swadley's Bar-B-Q after a report alleged taxpayer funds were misused.

The report released in March by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency showed excessive spending as a result of the contract. OTRD announced Monday it was terminating its lease contract with the company "due to suspected fraudulent activity and questionable business practices."

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, announced the committee's formation on Thursday.

"Law enforcement's job is determining if laws were broken," McCall said in a news release. "This committee's job is determining if laws need to change to protect against future abuses of resources by state agencies."

The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation is probing the contracts at the request of Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, according to a report in The Oklahoman. Prater has also asked State Auditor Cindy Byrd to investigate the matter.

McCall appointed 15 representatives to the committee, which he said is tasked with getting a 'full explanation for the taxpaying public."

Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, is chairing the committee.

"The contract alone reeked from top to bottom, and continuing revelations about the activities surrounding it have been even more troubling," Martinez said in a statement. "There have been too many incomplete, inconsistent answers to legitimate questions about how millions of tax dollars were spent."

Martinez said he is talking with senators about joining them in the investigation.

The committee will subpoena witnesses, Martinez said in a news conference Thursday. When asked if that list would include Gov. Kevin Stitt, Martinez said, "We are going to go where the evidence leads us. If it leads us down that path then we will have that conversation."

Stitt issued a statement after the news conference.

"I have called for more audits than any other governor in state history and welcome the Legislature joining me to protect the taxpayers and shine a light on any kind of corruption or bad actors involved in state government," Stitt said. "The state does business with more than 4,600 companies and I welcome a review of each one to provide maximum transparency for Oklahomans."

Martinez said "it's concerning" that OTRD Executive Director Jerry Winchester still has his job.

"I think there are a lot of things seemed very questionable and a lot of questions need to be asked and answered," Martinez said. "Whether or not Executive Director Winchester is still employed at the Department of Tourism, this committee will ask him to come and we want to hear his side of the story and hear exactly what happened."

The restaurant issued a statement on its Facebook page earlier this week.

"From the beginning, every aspect of the Foggy Bottom Kitchen project has been directed and approved by state officials," the statement said. "We stand by our team and all that we have done to benefit the people of our beautiful state."

(The Center Square) - Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill prohibiting nonbinary identifications on birth certificates.

The law, which took effect immediately, requires birth certificates to be designated male or female only.

"People are free to identify however they'd like to, but our official state documents need to include factual information, including the correct biological sex designation," said Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair. He sponsored the bill in the Senate. "I'm glad Oklahoma is leading the nation on this issue and making it clear that we are following the science – not just the social whims of some in this country."

The bill, signed by Stitt on Tuesday, was condemned by Freedom Oklahoma, an advocacy group for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

"Banning birth certificate corrections would put them in an impossible position, where the gender marker on their birth certificate wouldn't match those on the other identifying documents," said Nicole McAfee, the group's executive director. "This legislation would make nonbinary, Two Spirit, gender diverse, and intersex people more likely to be falsely accused of fraud and denied jobs, loans, and apartments simply because of non-matching identification.'

Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, said, "It's important we have truth and clarity about the biological sex of individuals on Oklahoma birth certificates."

"This in no way hinders an individual from expressing themselves as they wish in society, but it gives law enforcement, medical practitioners and others accurate information about the people they are called upon to serve," said Dills, who sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives.

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma challenged its lack of jurisdiction in criminal cases involving non-Indians on Native American lands before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The case is one of several related to the McGirt vs. Oklahoma decision handed down by the Supreme Court in 2020. In that case, the court ruled that states and local governments have no jurisdiction to prosecute crimes on tribal lands per agreements between the tribes and the federal government made years ago. The federal government has the sole prosecuting authority, according to the ruling.

The case presented to the Supreme Court Wednesday involved the conviction of Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, a non-Indian convicted of child neglect involving his stepdaughter, who is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, according to court records.

A lower court overturned the conviction and said the state did not have jurisdiction because it happened on tribal land. Kannon Shanmugam, who argued the case for Oklahoma, said the situation presents unique challenges for the state in prosecuting crime.

"The law enforcement issue are very real," Shanmugam said to the court. "As recently as earlier this week you had the principal FBI agent in Oklahoma conceding that there are whole categories of crimes, by our estimation thousand of crimes that are going unprosecuted because the federal government, which has sole jurisdiction over this category of cases simply has been unable to prosecute them."

Edwin S. Kneedler, deputy solicitor general for the Department of Justice, said the prosecution of major crimes has not been dropped but are in the "que." Congress is also proposing more funding for federal law enforcement and prosecutors, Kneedler said.

"The court should not rearrange this established jurisdiction or regime because of this moment in time in Oklahoma because it would unsettle jurisdictional arrangements throughout the country," Kneedler said.

Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General John O'Connor were in Washington for the argument.

"McGirt has ripped Oklahoma apart," Stitt said in a Twitter post. "We need one set of rules and equal protection under the law."

O'Connor said after the hearing a win for Oklahoma is a win for Native American crime victims.

"Right now, we have two sets of rules when Indians are victimized, those that apply when perpetrator is non-Indian and a different set of rules when the perpetrator is Indian," O'Connor said. "On the ground in eastern Oklahoma, we have victims without justice and crimes without punishments. The federal government is leaving thousands of tribal victims of crime in eastern Oklahoma without justice."

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in the summer. The hearing was the last one for Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring from the court.

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma ranked 2nd in the nation for its pre-K access for 4-year-olds and met nine of 10 national quality standards presented in a new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).

The annual survey of state preschool policies used data from the 2020-2021 school year to evaluate child enrollment, funding, staffing and quality standards. It found six states, including Oklahoma, were already serving at least 70% of their population of 4-year-olds with state preschool, Head Start and special education prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oklahoma launched its Early Childhood 4-year-old program in 1980 and became the second state in the nation to offer pre-K for all 4-year-olds in 1998 with 100% of school districts participating, according to the Oklahoma Department of Education.

Overall enrollment nationally went down due to the pandemic, according to the report. Oklahoma enrolled 4,233 fewer preschoolers during the 2020-2021 school year than the previous one. The report said taxpayer spending was just over $178 million, down 11%, adjusted for inflation. Oklahoma spent about $4,643 per child, which was slightly lower than the national average of $5,867.

The report found that average state spending per child had stayed steady over the last two decades, remaining in the $5,867-per-child range since 2002. However, total state spending on preschool has more than doubled over that same time period, jumping from $4.13 billion in 2002 to $8.98 billion in 2021, the report said.

Oklahoma had a total of 38,450 children enrolled in state pre-K for the 2020-2021 school year, with all school districts offering a state program with no income requirements, according to the report.

The only quality standard the state did not meet was having an childhood development associate requirement for an assistant teaching degree. The state met all other benchmarks including early learning and development standards, teaching degree standards, teaching specialized training, adequate class sizes and staff-child ratios, screening and referrals for vision and health, and having a continuous quality improvement system.

“Oklahoma’s Pre-K program has a history of excellence because our educators know academic success begins with a strong start in reading and math,” said Joy Hofmeister, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “Oklahoma's preschool program has weathered the pandemic far better than many other states, and I’m proud of our educators who have stayed focused on our youngest students.”

We all require a certain amount of money each month to pay for normal living expenses, and in recent months, that amount has gotten much higher. Whether at the pump or the grocery store, Americans are being hit with a severe case of sticker shock.

The consumer price index rose an annual 8.5% in March, the highest increase since December 1981. Gas prices accounted for more than half of the rise in costs, but the cost of groceries skyrocketed 10% from the previous year, too.

According to the Family Budget Calculator published by the nonprofit think tank Economic Policy, an average family of four can expect its living expenditures in 2022 to total $86,718. This model assumes a family of two adults and two children - aged four and eight - and a modest yet adequate standard of living. Cost estimates include expenses related to housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities.

In Oklahoma, the estimated cost of living for a family of four stands at $78,408 for 2022, lower than the national average and the 15th lowest among states. Of all living expense categories, health care has the highest annual cost in Oklahoma, averaging $16,062 per year for a family of four - or 20.5% of the family's estimated annual expenses.

The average cost of living for a family of four in the state highlights the financial hardship many Oklahoma families face. According to the five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, there are about 975,200 families living in the state, and an estimated 27.2% of them earn less than $40,000 per year.

RankStateAvg. living expenses for family of 4 in 2022 ($)Most expensive cost of living categoryEst. cost of most expensive category, 2022 ($)Families earning less than $40,000 annually (%)1New York112,751Child Care31,87421.82Hawaii111,092Housing23,33515.43Massachusetts109,184Child Care26,37716.14California101,407Housing23,73420.45New Jersey97,717Child Care20,14416.66Connecticut95,550Child Care18,11316.47Alaska94,945Child Care22,44716.38Vermont94,517Health Care19,24019.19Oregon92,861Child Care19,02620.710Washington92,387Child Care18,87616.411Colorado92,197Child Care19,41816.312Wyoming91,802Health Care21,33718.813Virginia91,515Child Care17,34717.514Maryland89,052Housing17,84014.615Delaware87,980Health Care17,17519.116Minnesota87,246Child Care20,63515.617Illinois86,153Child Care18,13120.118West Virginia85,913Health Care24,48330.619Arizona84,889Child Care17,39123.820Nebraska84,527Child Care18,93418.921Rhode Island84,019Child Care18,58919.422New Hampshire83,859Child Care15,61213.823Pennsylvania83,813Child Care19,03920.724Maine83,440Health Care15,10121.525Florida82,998Housing15,23225.626Nevada81,680Child Care17,05123.227Montana81,516Child Care17,02522.628Utah80,653Child Care16,11116.229North Dakota80,475Child Care20,54117.530Wisconsin79,856Child Care17,09219.331Indiana79,612Child Care18,10722.832Kansas79,124Health Care16,76720.533Alabama79,057Health Care17,24528.434South Dakota78,824Health Care19,48920.535North Carolina78,686Health Care15,36125.836Oklahoma78,408Health Care16,06227.237Idaho78,273Transportation15,14722.738Georgia78,192Health Care15,34125.139Michigan78,057Child Care17,27622.940Louisiana76,581Health Care17,52231.141Texas76,087Transportation13,90724.442Missouri75,570Health Care16,10123.643Kentucky74,849Health Care14,95128.844Tennessee74,197Health Care14,99026.645Iowa73,867Transportation14,65619.546Ohio73,570Child Care14,48923.347New Mexico72,948Child Care14,80031.248South Carolina72,542Health Care14,67726.749Arkansas70,474Health Care14,41330.550Mississippi70,116Health Care17,46033.3

(The Center Square) - Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation (OTRD) said they are exploring ways to recoup taxpayer dollars lost as a result of their relationship with a restaurant vendor.

The department announced in a news release Monday it was terminating its lease contract with Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen "due to suspected fraudulent activity and questionable business practices."

The decision comes after a report from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) identified a significant growth in expenditures resulting from the contract.

"Nearly $6 million in expenses were related to construction costs, management fees, and reimbursements," according to the report. "OTRD also covered more than $2 million in operational losses for the contracted restaurant vendor. Recent expenditures on several restaurants located within state parks exceed Parks' estimate of the restaurant's replacement value multiple times."

OTRD said the department began an investigation in the fall of 2021.

"Financial payments for construction costs were immediately halted in September, while management fees were suspended in December," department officials said in the news release. "After extensive review, it has become clear the continuation of the agreement with Foggy Bottom Kitchen is not in the best interest of Oklahoma taxpayers."

The restaurant company released a statement on Facebook earlier this month.

"From the beginning, every aspect of the Foggy Bottom Kitchen project has been directed and approved by state officials," the statement said. "We stand by our team and all that we have done to benefit the people of our beautiful state."

The OTRD's focus has shifted to recouping taxpayer funds.

"Oklahoma State Parks staff are reaching out to all existing reservations to ensure any catering needs are fulfilled," OTRD officials said in the news release. "Department staff are also working with local small businesses to find creative solutions to meet park guest demands until new restaurant operations can begin in the newly remodeled facilities. Per the agreement, all improvements made to state park restaurants by Swadley's remain property of the State of Oklahoma."

The lease termination is just the first step, department officials said.

"We are continuing to cooperate with investigators and auditors to determine the extent to which unlawful behavior has been perpetuated against the state," department officials said.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater asked State Auditor Cindy Byrd for an investigation earlier this month, according to KFOR.

Meanwhile, OTRD is asking lawmakers for an additional $19.3 million in its fiscal year 2023 budget to help operate its 33 parks.

LOFT recommended "freezing capital expenditures for OTRD until completion of an asset inventory."

"Afterwards, the Legislature may consider requiring approval for purchases of capital assets valued at $1 million or more," LOFT said.