(The Center Square) - Despite over 200 behavioral health service providers, including 17 state agencies, Oklahoma is seeing substance abuse and suicide rates above the national average, with 21 people per 100,000 committing suicide, according to a new report.

The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency told legislators Wednesday that Oklahoma spent $971 million on behavioral health in fiscal year 2022.

Despite the spending, drug overdose deaths in the state increased by 40% in the last year alone, the report said.

The $971 million figure comprises both state and federal funds for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (ODMHSAS) and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA).

For ODMHSAS alone, the department received approximately $529 million in total funding in fiscal year 2022, 61% of that being state appropriations, according to LOFT.

“It is difficult to determine the full scope of mental health needs of Oklahomans as statewide figures are primarily from surveys and self-reported data,” said Mike Jackson, executive director of LOFT. “Based on available national survey data, Oklahoma has the fifteenth highest prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse with 1 in 5 adults affected.”

Among Oklahoma’s youth, 17% experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, above the national average of 15%, according to Jackson.

The report identified several gaps in behavioral health services within the state.

Gaps included a lack of coordination and data sharing between the 17 state agencies that provide behavioral health services, a lack of direct and targeted services for military service members and veterans, behavioral health programs within public schools and mental health treatment within county jails.

However, the report said Oklahoma is saving thousands with its Adult Drug Court program. Unemployment among graduates went down by 39%, average income went up by 129%, and LOFT estimated the state is saving $17,000 per participant by not having them incarcerated.

In general, LOFT said many of the state’s behavioral health service gaps could be tied to one of two overarching problems they identified: a lack of comprehensive data to sufficiently assess the state’s behavioral health system and the lack of a statewide strategy that has led to compartmentalization.

It recommended Oklahoma adopt a system similar to what has been done in Texas by creating a central government structure to coordinate and oversee behavioral health within the state.

LOFT also recommended the Legislature require ODMHSAS to provide a comprehensive State of Mental Health annual report along with its annual budget request and require agencies to provide data to ODMHSAS for the purpose of compiling the annual report.

(The Center Square)- A Democratic lawmaker wants to know what Oklahomans think about the state’s tax system.

Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, is holding three meetings in September, she said in a news release Wednesday.

“Across the political spectrum, people feel that our state tax system benefits some and disadvantages others. Kirt said. “The goal of these sessions is to analyze the long-term health of the state’s revenue structure, identify the major challenges for taxpayers and small business owners and examine possible changes that could make the system more fair while also strengthening the state’s economy.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt called state lawmakers back into session in May to consider measures that would have lowered the state’s grocery tax and personal income taxes.

The House of Representatives passed bills alleviating the taxes, but the measures never made it to the floor of the Senate.

The state ended fiscal year 2022 with a $2.8 billion surplus.

Kirt will host the first meeting on Sept. 8, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the State Capitol. The meeting will be streamed live. She is hosting a meeting focused on small business owners on Sept. 12 at Francis Tuttle’s Reno Campus in Oklahoma City.

The final meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 15, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the State Capitol. Dr. Cynthia Rogers from the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Economics and the Oklahoma Policy Institute will be a part of a panel of experts at the meeting. It will also be streamed live.

(The Center Square) – Some Western states have filed motions to intervene in a pair of lawsuits from environmental groups that seek to halt federal oil and gas lease sales.

Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Oklahoma filed a memo last week seeking intervention in Dakota Resource Council v. U.S. Department of the Interior, which challenges approved oil and gas lease sales in several states and alleges the federal government violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs, which are made up of 10 environmental groups, say the federal government approved the sales despite admitting “that their Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program contributes significantly to the global climate crisis, and that the Lease Sales at issue here will collectively cause billions of dollars in social and environmental harm to people and the planet.”

In the responding memo, the states cite the federal Mineral Leasing Act, which requires the Interior Department to hold quarterly oil and gas lease sales. A state where a lease is located receives roughly half of the revenue from the lease sale and royalties.

“The relief Plaintiffs request – if granted – would produce negative consequences for the States and countermand BLM’s statutory obligation to conduct quarterly lease sales,” the states said in the memo.

This week, Wyoming also submitted a motion to intervene in Wilderness Society v. Haaland, which similarly challenges a lease sale in the state.

The lawsuit says federal agencies’ decision to put 120,000 acres up for a lease sale in Wyoming was made “without evaluating the resulting impacts to groundwater or wildlife, and without grappling with the greenhouse gas pollution caused by oil and gas development on those leases.”

Wyoming said in the responding memo that it “seeks intervention to protect its sovereign and economic interests that will be adversely affected.”

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement that the state “is committed to defending her interests and her industries in the courts when they are threatened.”

“It is sad that every lease sale now leads to a challenge, and that NEPA has become little more than a meal ticket for litigious special interest groups,” he added.

Federal oil and gas lease sales resumed earlier this year following months of court battles in the wake of the Biden administration’s moratorium on new federal oil and gas leases in early 2021.

A federal judge in Louisiana issued a permanent injunction against the Biden administration’s lease ban earlier this month.

There was a near 30% surge in homicides in the United States in 2020, the largest one-year increase ever recorded. Homicides increased once again in 2021, but by a smaller, 6% margin. Preliminary data from 2022 suggests that murders may finally be declining.

There are a total of 91 U.S. cities with populations of at least 250,000, an average of 10 homicides per year, or both that have also published 2022 homicide data. Based on early reports from police departments in these cities, homicides are down by about 3% compared to the same period last year.

While these early figures are encouraging, there are still several large American cities where murders have increased in 2022. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, there have been 41 murders reported from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2022, up from the 32 homicides that were reported in the city over the same period in 2021.

The 28.1% year-over-year increase in homicides in Tulsa ranks as the eighth highest of the 91 cities reviewed.

All homicide data used in this story is preliminary and not necessarily indicative of how 2022 will compare to previous years' homicide data by the time annual homicide data are finalized.

RankCityYoY change in homicides (%)2022 murders, YTD2021 murders, YTDYTD range; 2021 & 20221Virginia Beach, VA114.3157Jan. 1 - Aug. 92Colorado Springs, CO100.02613Jan. 1 - Aug. 143Chula Vista, CA66.753Jan. 1 - June 304Honolulu, HI36.41511Jan. 1 - June 305Aurora, CO35.32317Jan. 1 - June 306Milwaukee, WI34.6148110Jan. 1 - Aug. 97New Orleans, LA28.4172134Jan. 1 - Aug. 148Tulsa, OK28.14132Jan. 1 - June 309Raleigh, NC26.71915Jan. 1 - June 3010Phoenix, AZ25.611390Jan. 1 - June 3011Birmingham, AL23.47964Jan. 1 - Aug. 712Denver, CO23.35343Jan. 1 - June 3013Little Rock, AR22.54940Jan. 1 - Aug. 814Stockton, CA21.12319Jan. 1 - June 3015Lexington, KY20.82924Jan. 1 - Aug. 1316Pittsburgh, PA19.43731Jan. 1 - June 3017San Antonio, TX18.23933Jan. 1 - March 3118Long Beach, CA15.82219Jan. 1 - June 3019San Diego, CA15.43026Jan. 1 - June 3020Tampa, FL13.02623Jan. 1 - June 3021Spokane, WA12.598Jan. 1 - Aug. 1322Dallas, TX12.2147131Jan. 1 - Aug. 1523Baltimore, MD9.6218199Jan. 1 - Aug. 624Washington, DC8.9134123Jan. 1 - Aug. 1525Greensboro, NC8.72523Jan. 1 - July 3126Charlotte, NC8.55147Jan. 1 - June 3027Jacksonville, FL6.07167Jan. 1 - Aug. 328Atlanta, GA5.69590Jan. 1 - Aug. 6

(The Center Square) – A federal judge sided with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 12 other plaintiff states in a Louisiana-led lawsuit, issuing a permanent injunction against the Biden administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and water.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued the permanent injunction, declaring that the president exceeded his authority when halting oil and gas leasing and drilling permits.

“I am pleased the Court recognized that the President stepped outside his authority,” Landry said in a statement. “Biden’s energy policies have crushed American families with higher energy bills for their homes and vehicles.”

Doughty ruled that Biden’s executive order issued Jan. 27, 2021, violated the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and was “beyond the authority of the President of the United States. Even the President cannot make significant changes to the OCSLA and/or the MLA that Congress did not delegate.”

The order implemented a moratorium on new development of oil and gas fields on federal lands just days after the U.S. Interior Department also imposed restrictions on existing leases. Also under Biden's directive, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Land Management halted long-planned lease sales, which the lawsuit argued violated federal law and the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Landry said his office “will continue to ensure that American energy policy is crafted by the Legislative Branch, not the Judiciary or Executive. We must keep fighting and winning to bring relief to American consumers.”

The permanent injunction was issued more than a year after Doughty issued a preliminary injunction June 15, 2021. The Biden administration appealed the decision, arguing the president has the authority to halt leasing. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and sent the case back to Doughty, which resulted in him issuing a permanent injunction.

Neighboring Gulf state Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who joined the multi-state lawsuit, said the president’s moratorium was “an all-out assault against oil and natural gas production [and] would have killed good-paying jobs and increased consumer energy costs, all while decreasing funds that could be used for the restoration of state coastlines.”

The states joining Louisiana and Texas in the lawsuit were Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia.

“Joe Biden may have declared war on American energy independence, but we’re fighting back and we’re winning in court,” Paxton said in a statement. “The executive order was a clear example of unconstitutional federal overreach, and I’m pleased to see the court make the right decision in issuing a permanent injunction to prevent it from taking effect.”

In his 43-page ruling, Doughty said, “Millions and possibly billions of dollars are at stake. Local government funding, jobs for Plaintiff States’ workers, and funds for the restoration of . . . Coastline[s] are at stake. Plaintiff States have a reliance interest in the proceeds derived from offshore and onshore oil and gas lease sales. Additionally, the public interest is served when the law is followed. The public will be served if Government Defendants are enjoined from taking actions contrary to law. In a time of high gas and oil prices, draining of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and looking to other nations to supply the United States’ oil and gas needs, the public interest would be served by a permanent injunction.”

The administration hasn’t yet issued a statement on the ruling, and another appeal to the Fifth Circuit is expected to be unsuccessful.

While Texas leads the U.S. in oil and natural gas production, Louisiana accounts for nearly one-fifth of America’s refining capacity and can process about 3.2 million barrels of crude oil a day. Louisiana has the third-highest natural gas production and reserves in the U.S. and consistently ranks among the top in both crude oil reserves and crude oil production.

U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy producers supply nearly 15% of the U.S. oil production and over 2% of natural gas production. Offshore oil and natural gas development supports over 350,000 jobs nationwide and contributes billions to the economy and local, state and federal coffers. Gulf oil and gas revenues also fund 60% of federal energy revenue that support numerous conservation projects.

The ruling came after the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association urged the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to ensure that the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program include all 10 of the proposed lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the proposed sale for the Cook Inlet in Alaska.

It expressed concern that the agency potentially “Leaving open the option to hold zero future lease sales puts U.S. energy security at risk and compromises U.S. producers’ ability to provide affordable, reliable energy to the American people.”

“Independent analysis shows that oil and natural gas are going to play an important role in fulfilling U.S. energy needs for the foreseeable future,” Mike Moncla, president of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association,” said. “The question is whether the oil and gas will come from here in the U.S., where it is produced under some of the strictest environmental standards in the world, or if the U.S. will cede our position as global energy leaders and instead become reliant on foreign sources to supply our energy needs.”

There are over 393 million guns in circulation in the U.S., according to estimates from the Small Arms Survey, far outnumbering the national population of 327 million. In the United States - the only country in the world home to more civilian-owned guns than people - guns are big business.

While the appropriate balance between gun rights and public safety is a hot button political issue, the economics of the firearm industry are less controversial. According to The Firearm Industry Trade Association, guns and ammunition had a total economic impact of over $70.5 billion in 2021 - generating over a billion dollars in tax revenue and providing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

In every state, there are hundreds - if not thousands - of gun stores. Even in some cities, sports men and women, recreational shooters, and firearm enthusiasts have dozens of gun shops to choose from.

Of all the cities and towns in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City has the most gun stores. As of the beginning of the year, there were 96 federally-licensed firearm dealers in Oklahoma City, or about 14.8 for every 100,000 people.

Across the state as a whole, there were 1,316 firearm stores as of January 2022, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Using FBI firearm background check data as a proxy for gun sales, these stores sold an estimated 180,342 guns in the first half of 2022 - or 4,566 for every 100,000 people, the 21st most among states.

All data on federally-licensed firearm dealers is from the ATF, and gun sale estimates are based on background check data from the FBI. Population figures used to calculate the concentration of gun stores and gun sales per capita are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 American Community Survey.

StateCity with the most gun storesGun stores in top cityTotal gun stores in stateEst. statewide gun sales in first half of 2022AlabamaBirmingham411,101374,096AlaskaAnchorage10451839,759ArizonaPhoenix1641,463273,584ArkansasLittle Rock361,159113,314CaliforniaBakersfield601,903691,718ColoradoColorado Springs1361,634266,553ConnecticutDanbury12430126,268DelawareWilmington1513234,602FloridaOrlando922,847748,659GeorgiaMarietta371,836302,270HawaiiHonolulu24959,116IdahoBoise78837119,491IllinoisSpringfield291,3242,064,400IndianaIndianapolis631,379625,360IowaSioux City221,241127,848KansasWichita821,03295,135KentuckyLouisville861,3522,094,787LouisianaShreveport561,103170,127MaineAugusta847453,787MarylandBaltimore24556114,372MassachusettsFramingham8326113,472MichiganMuskegon281,976403,011MinnesotaBemidji181,356458,568MississippiBrandon31887134,642MissouriSpringfield592,044261,399MontanaBillings6592470,552NebraskaOmaha5168638,309NevadaLas Vegas9648180,710New HampshireManchester1138066,013New JerseyWayne631181,209New MexicoAlbuquerque10054486,322New YorkRochester331,785221,579North CarolinaCharlotte572,216316,997North DakotaBismarck4747235,732OhioCincinnati702,206336,981OklahomaOklahoma City961,316180,342OregonPortland531,258201,022PennsylvaniaPittsburgh412,501619,530Rhode IslandWarwick67415,157South CarolinaColumbia461,041209,843South DakotaSioux Falls4050741,772TennesseeMemphis551,404420,199TexasHouston3086,013855,905UtahSalt Lake City29776506,367VermontRutland928822,197VirginiaVirginia Beach661,596278,978WashingtonVancouver421,050399,258West VirginiaMartinsburg2586292,541WisconsinGreen Bay271,396316,376WyomingCheyenne5556635,169

Americans have more guns than anywhere else in the world, and gun sales in the U.S. continue to eclipse those in any other country. This is true both in terms of gun ownership by person and absolute sales. America, without question, is the gun sales and gun ownership capital of the world.

The FBI has tracked gun background checks since the 1990s, and it reports the results in its Firearms Background Check Database. Background check figures, often used as a proxy for gun sales, have risen in most years -- and they have risen much faster than the American population has.

Compared to the rest of the world, there are almost 400 million guns in the U.S -- 1.2 per person -- by far the most among all nations. By contrast, in Canada there are 0.34 guns per person. Gun violence levels in the U.S. are equally staggering. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 45,041 gun deaths last year. Slightly more than half of those were suicides.

In Oklahoma, an estimated 208,200 guns were sold from January through July 2022 based on FBI background check data. Adjusted for population, this is equal to about 52.7 firearm sales for every 1,000 people, the 21st highest gun sale rate among states.

Compared to the same seven-month period in 2021, gun sales have slowed in Oklahoma. An estimated 249,500 guns were sold in the state from January through July last year, 16.6% more than there have been this year.

RankStateEst. gun sales per 1,000 people; Jan-July 2022Firearm background checks; Jan-July 2022Est. gun sales per 1,000 people; Jan-July 2021Firearm background checks; Jan-July 202150Hawaii7.710,9506.99,76149New Jersey10.895,69717.0151,14148New York13.3259,32214.3278,25847Rhode Island16.217,09723.925,26146Massachusetts19.3132,52623.8163,38745California20.7812,65022.5886,29244Nebraska22.443,15829.055,73143Maryland22.5135,99728.2170,04742Nevada30.692,84039.1118,54341Georgia32.7343,96649.4519,14240Ohio33.1386,04745.4530,39539Texas34.6991,75941.81,197,96738North Carolina34.8361,51047.9497,29937Kansas37.5109,26947.2137,41136Virginia38.0322,93746.7397,51835Delaware39.538,24144.342,90534Connecticut40.3143,72350.6180,51433Vermont40.925,53050.231,34032Florida41.0868,98749.91,059,12231Louisiana41.6194,20851.8241,51730Arkansas43.1129,70957.8173,97829Arizona44.1316,01850.3360,92428Iowa44.7140,66755.4174,51827Michigan46.2461,27061.2610,02926Maine46.662,50655.374,10425South Carolina47.1239,70958.9299,79424New Mexico47.499,34957.1119,75623Missouri49.1300,84163.4387,99922Mississippi51.4153,30963.1188,05821Oklahoma52.7208,19163.2249,50820Colorado54.1307,62467.9386,03819North Dakota54.441,34962.947,85618South Dakota54.648,00872.563,71717Oregon55.5231,63665.9275,18916Pennsylvania55.8713,49167.5863,91415New Hampshire56.476,43169.994,72714West Virginia58.8106,28474.3134,23113Washington60.7455,97958.3438,34312Wisconsin62.4362,29278.4455,43711Alaska62.946,39174.855,11310Wyoming69.540,39287.650,9079Tennessee71.4483,65287.2590,4978Montana76.481,12089.895,3477Idaho78.6137,86495.5167,4726Alabama87.6428,403118.8581,2905Minnesota93.7524,882101.6568,8524Indiana105.8708,359185.81,244,0663Utah188.0592,276232.9733,7902Illinois188.12,391,483527.56,707,4821Kentucky542.32,419,871444.71,984,388

(The Center Square) - U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin took more than 65% of the vote in his quest to succeed U.S. Sen Jim Inhofe.

Mullin defeated former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon in Tuesday night's runoff race. He will face Democrat Kendra Horn, Libertarian Robert Murphy and independent Ray Woods in November.

Inhofe announced earlier this year he would resign after 30 years in the Senate effective Jan. 3, 2023. His term expires Jan. 2, 2027.

In other races, Democrat Madison Horn defeated Jason Bollinger in a primary runoff. She will face Republican Sen. James Lankford in November. Also on the ballot are Libertarian Kenneth Blevins and independent Michael Delaney.

Education Secretary Ryan Walters defeated Shawnee Public Schools Superintendent April Grace to move forward in the race for superintendent of public instruction. Joy Hofmeister is stepping down to run for governor as a Democrat.

Walters will face Democrat Jena Nelson in November.

2020 was a tumultuous year in the United States. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment surged and gun sales spiked. The murder of George Floyd also rattled confidence in law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Amid the turmoil, homicide cases jumped by nearly 30%, the largest single-year increase on record.

With 21,570 murders reported in the United States in 2020, the most recent year of available data, the national homicide rate stands 6.5 incidents for every 100,000 people - the highest it has been in over a decade.

2020 was also the deadliest year in Oklahoma in the last decade, based on FBI homicide rate data from 2011 through 2020. There were 296 homicides reported in the state in 2020, or 7.4 for every 100,000 people.

For context, the second deadliest year in Oklahoma in the last decade was 2019, when the homicide rate was 6.9 for every 100,000 people. Meanwhile, 2014 was the least deadly year, with a homicide rate of 4.6 murders for every 100,000 people.

StateYear with highest murder rate, 2011-2020Murders per 100k people in deadliest yearTotal murders in deadliest yearYear with lowest murder rate, 2011-2020Murders per 100k people in least deadly yearTotal murders in least deadly yearAlabama20209.647120145.7276Alaska20199.46920124.130Arizona20206.951320154.5309Arkansas202010.632120135.3158California20205.62,20320194.31,690Colorado20205.129420142.8150Connecticut20203.914020162.279Delaware20207.47320134.441Florida20205.91,29020144.9982Georgia20208.894320115.6549Hawaii20202.94120151.319Idaho20162.94920191.628Illinois20209.11,15120145.4690Indiana20207.550520124.7307Iowa20203.511120131.341Kansas20174.613420122.985Kentucky20207.232320113.5151Louisiana202015.8734201410.2476Maine20122.02620161.520Maryland20179.355820146.1362Massachusetts20112.818420121.8121Michigan20207.675420145.5544Minnesota20203.419020111.475Mississippi202010.631520176.4190Missouri202011.872320116.1366Montana20205.05420132.323Nebraska20113.76820172.242Nevada20178.926620124.5124New Hampshire20192.43320200.912New Jersey20134.540420193.0263New Mexico20198.818520144.8101New York20204.280820172.8550North Carolina20208.085220134.7463North Dakota20204.23220171.310Ohio20207.082020144.0464Oklahoma20207.429620144.6180Oregon20202.912520182.186Pennsylvania20207.91,00920144.8610Rhode Island20203.03220181.516South Carolina202010.554920136.4305South Dakota20204.54020181.412Tennessee20209.666320135.2335Texas20206.61,93120134.31,140Utah20203.110220131.851Vermont20172.71720121.38Virginia20206.152420113.8304Washington20203.930120112.4163West Virginia20206.611720133.362Wisconsin20205.330820112.4138Wyoming20163.42020192.213

(The Center Square) - More than $17 million of unused pandemic relief funds for education administered through the Oklahoma governor’s office sits unused, while the Oklahoma State Department of Education has spent more than $1 billion of the funds it oversees.

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows the funds from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 must be spent no later than Sept. 30, 2023.

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office did not immediately return messages to The Center Square asking for more information about the governor’s plans for the funds.

The OSDE has no authority over the funds, which is the second round issued to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. What happens to the money if it is not used is up to the U.S. Department of Education, said Rob Crissinger, executive director of communications for OSDE.

“We are concerned that the longer GEER money goes unused, the more difficult it will be to do so,” Crissinger said in an email to The Center Square.

In July, a report from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General said Stitt’s administration failed to manage millions of dollars in GEER funds issued during the first round. The department asked the state to return more than $650,000 they say was used by grant recipients to purchase non-educational items such as televisions, cellphones and furniture.

Rep. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds, has sued the state, saying his requests to review the state’s spending of GEER funds were either not met or ignored.

Meanwhile, state education officials have spent more than 44.5% of the $2.3 billion allotted through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The OSDE still has more than $1 billion of funding to spend from the American Rescue Plan Act. The money must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2024, according to the USDOE.

Oklahoma ranks third among all states in ESSER fund spending, behind Ohio and Hawaii.

“Oklahoma educators have shown their commitment to serving the significant needs of more than 700,000 students impacted by the pandemic through the rapid deployment of federal COVID relief funds in the state,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister in a news release. “Data from the federal dashboard proves what I have known from the beginning of the pandemic – our districts were desperate for these funds and have used them to positively impact student achievement and well-being.”

Hofmeister is challenging Stitt in the November gubernatorial race.