(The Center Square) - Oklahoma will not add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of shots required for children before they attend school, state officials said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is adding a recommendation that the vaccine be added to children and adult immunization schedules, according to a CDC news release. The agency will release the updated guidance in 2023.

“The vote by the Advisory Committee for Immunizations Practices is a recommendation and not a mandate,” said Keith Reed, Commissioner of Health. “The decision would add the COVID-19 vaccine to a list of recommended, but not mandated, vaccines for school-aged children, similar to the flu vaccine. We always encourage parents to talk with their child’s healthcare provider to make the best decision for their kid.”

The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill in 2021 that banned educational institutions from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or masks. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bill into law.

“Regardless of what the CDC in Washington says, nothing changes in Oklahoma and kids are not required to get a COVID vaccine to attend school,” Stitt said in a statement. “It’s up to parents to decide how to protect their child from viruses and as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school.”

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) – A fiery debate between gubernatorial candidates Joy Hofmeister and incumbent Kevin Stitt on Wednesday night volleyed between questions about smoking marijuana to an investigation into a restaurant known for its smoked meats.

Stitt challenged a moderator's statement that $17 million was overpaid to Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen that once operated four restaurants in Oklahoma's state parks.

"That's simply not true," Stitt said. "The vendor overcharged us. There's a lawsuit against that vendor. But to say that the taxpayers lost $17 million is untrue."

A report earlier this year by the Legislative Office for Fiscal Transparency found examples of excessive overspending that includes 164,903 miles in travel expenses for one month. The restaurant chain spent $11,000 for a cheese melter, but LOFT found the same manufacturer sold one for $5,500. The report led to the resignation of Jerry Winchester, the head of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department.

The state is suing Swadley's and a criminal investigation is ongoing.

Stitt said his administration is transparent with the taxpayer's money.

"That's why we've built this largest savings account," Stitt said. "That's why we are holding government accountable. So yes, we will hold these vendors accountable."

Hofmeister accused Stitt of passing the buck and squandering $12 million in the Swadley deal.

"We can't even trust you with barbecue," Hofmeister said.

Stitt was on the defensive most of the evening as he faced questions about abortion and marijuana.

Oklahoma's abortion restrictions are among the strictest in the nation and don't allow exceptions for rape or incest. The governor said he would agree to those exceptions if the Legislature passes them but he also questioned Hofmeister's views on abortion.

"I'm very clear on my pro-life stance in Oklahoma and I would like to know is she going to side with the Biden party and allow abortions all the way up to the time of birth," Stitt said.

Hofmeister said Stitt has shown "no mercy" for victims of rape or incest.

"I am personally pro-life," Hofmeister said. "But I haven't walked in everyone's shows. I don't favor extremes on either side of this issue. This is a health care decision between a woman and her doctor and her faith."

Stitt issued an executive proclamation on Tuesday for a March referendum on the legalization of recreational marijuana. Hofmeister said she wasn't certain if she would support it if elected. She referred to the current legal medical marijuana industry and the foreign purchase of farmland for drug crops.

"What I'm most worried about is cleaning up the mess that's been left under Gov. Stitt's watch but under his nose," she said, referring to the currently legal medical marijuana situation. "His own appointee is helping Chinese businesses funnel drugs right here in the state. We know this is a serious crisis. Go talk to anyone in rural Oklahoma."

The governor said the first referendum was poorly-worded and admitted the situation was a "real mess."

"I heard from rural Oklahoma with all the foreign nationals buying up farmland and ranchland," Stitt said. "There's no more new licenses until we get control of this industry."

Stitt said he doesn't support recreational marijuana as it is still illegal federally.

Both candidates were asked if they had ever used marijuana. Hofmeister said, "no."

"My parents are in the room so they are going to be very disappointed by 'yes,'" Stitt said.

The debate was hosted by publication NonDoc Media and KWTV.

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) – Six major banks will be investigated by 19 state attorneys general for adhering to a United Nations’ organizational goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2050.

Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo were served civil investigative demands seeking documents related to membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). However, three other U.S. banks listed as members of the NZBA – Amalgamated Bank, Blue Ridge Bank, Climate First Bank – were not mentioned in the media release as being served in the investigation.

Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas are leading the investigation. Other states in the investigation are Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia. Five other states have joined but can’t be named due to state laws or regulations regarding confidentiality.

The attorneys general in the states where the six banks are based – California, New York and North Carolina – weren’t named as being part of the investigation.

It’s the third investigation by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with regard to “deceptive trade practices tied to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) related actions,” according to a media release. The petroleum and natural gas industry was 22% or $344 billion of the Texas economy last year, according to a Texas Oil and Gas Association report, and paid $15.8 billion in taxes.

“The radical climate change movement has been waging an all-out war against American energy for years, and the last thing Americans need right now are corporate activists helping the left bankrupt our fossil fuel industry,” Paxton said in a statement. “If the largest banks in the world think they can get away with lying to consumers or taking any other illegal action designed to target a vital American industry like energy, they’re dead wrong. This investigation is just getting started, and we won’t stop until we get to the truth.”

The NZBA states its 119 banks in 41 countries represent approximately 40% of global banking assets.

“These banks appear to be colluding with the U.N. to destroy American companies that specialize in fossil fuels or otherwise depend on them for energy,” Republican Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a statement. “They are pushing an investment strategy designed not to maximize financial returns but to impose a leftist social and economic agenda that cannot otherwise be implemented through the ballot box.”

The NZBA was praised as “the boldest, most promising initiative yet from the private sector to align financial markets – and by extension, much of the global economy – with the climate targets identified in the Paris Agreement,” Trevor Sutton of America Progress wrote last year.

“Regardless of how the NZBA pans out, the fact remains that there is no solution to the climate crisis that does not address the role of private capital, and any good faith effort by private-sector actors to facilitate decarbonization should be greeted with cautious optimism,” Sutton said.

Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is running against Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine for the seat of retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt in November, previously started an ESG civil investigation of Morningstar and Sustainalytics regarding an anti-Israel bias.

“We are leading a coalition investigating banks for ceding authority to the U.N., which will only result in the killing of American companies that don’t subscribe to the woke, climate agenda,” Schmitt said in a release. “These banks are accountable to American laws - we don’t let international bodies set the standards for our businesses.”

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

Few aspects play a more important role in a child's development than their educational experience. But among the nearly 50 million American public school students in grades K-12, the quality of that experience varies considerably.

Key measures - ranging from annual budgets to graduation rates, and everything in between - show that there is no shortage of struggling school districts in the United States. Many public school districts across the country are understaffed, underfunded, and underperforming. (Here is a look at the best private high schools in America.)

Still, there are also school districts that are notable for the opposite reasons. These districts offer students updated facilities, a range of extracurricular activity options, a dedicated teaching staff, and they have a track record of high graduation rates.

According to data compiled by Niche, an education research platform, Edmond Public Schools in Edmond, Oklahoma, ranks as the best school district in the state. Niche based its ranking on a weighted index of several measures, including self-reported standardized test scores, parent and student surveys, extracurricular activities, and indicators of teacher quality.

The district enrolls a total of 23,496 students, and has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1. The district has an average graduation rate of 94% and standardized state test results show that about 52% of students are proficient in reading and 50% are proficient in math.

All data in this story came from Niche. A full description of each measure used to calculate this ranking is available here.

StateTop school districtGraduation rate (%)Number of students per teacherTotal enrollmentAlaskaSkagway School DistrictN/A10144AlabamaMadison City Schools971711,804ArkansasHaas Hall Academy95151,407ArizonaCatalina Foothills Unified School District95185,190CaliforniaPalo Alto Unified School District951811,395ColoradoCheyenne Mountain School District No. 1296155,270ConnecticutWestport School District99115,329DelawareAppoquinimink School District951511,914FloridaSt. Johns County School District942244,550GeorgiaBuford City Schools93195,468HawaiiN/AN/AN/AN/AIowaPleasant Valley Community School District97165,331IdahoTroy School District9013270IllinoisAdlai E. Stevenson High School District No. 12596154,315IndianaWest Lafayette Community School Corporation95162,316KansasBlue Valley Unified School District (Overland Park)961422,148KentuckyMurray Independent Schools95181,783LouisianaZachary Community Public Schools94185,444MassachusettsWeston Public Schools95111,906MarylandHoward County Public Schools931457,293MaineYarmouth Schools95121,670MichiganNovi Community School District95186,580MinnesotaWayzata Public School District961712,013MissouriSchool District of Clayton99112,514MississippiPetal School District90164,106MontanaGeraldine Public SchoolsN/A449North CarolinaChapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools911311,926North DakotaEdmore School District No. 2N/A335NebraskaElkhorn Public Schools971510,642New HampshireSAU 7092101,054New JerseyMillburn Township School District99134,697New MexicoLos Alamos Public Schools91163,539NevadaDouglas County School District91165,385New YorkGreat Neck Public Schools96106,831OhioSolon City School District96184,521OklahomaEdmond Public Schools941723,496OregonLake Oswego School District95186,860PennsylvaniaRadnor Township School District97143,624Rhode IslandBarrington Public Schools94153,388South CarolinaFort Mill School District951416,883South DakotaBrandon Valley School District95204,721TennesseeMaryville City Schools95165,441TexasEanes Independent School District99157,968UtahNorthern Utah Academy for Math Engineering & Science (Nuames)95271,135VirginiaFalls Church City Public Schools98162,500VermontSouth Burlington School District91222,688WashingtonMercer Island School District93184,192WisconsinElmbrook School District97157,280West VirginiaMonongalia County Schools911411,113WyomingSheridan County School District No. 286133,519

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is calling for a March vote on legalizing recreational marijuana after a series of legal challenges kept it off the November ballot.

The governor issued an executive proclamation Tuesday for the referendum that if approved by voters would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for persons over the age of 21. Voters will get to decide the issue on March 7.

The state would collect a 15% excise tax. The proceeds of the tax would be split among several entities with public school programs on drug abuse and the general fund receiving 30% each with courts, local governments and other drug treatment programs also getting a share.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled last month that the question could not be on the November ballot because of pending legal challenges.

The petition to put the measure on the ballot got "bogged down" in the Secretary of State's office, the court said in its decision.

The office was using new software from Western Petition Systems to count the signatures.

"Consequently, most signature sheets had to be looked at individually so that names, addresses, and other data points could be corrected through manually typing them into the WPS program," the court said in its decision. "Moreover, WPS is a small local business owned and operated by Bill Shapard, a political pollster, and his company could only supply four employees – who happen to be his family members – to lead the electronic verification process. Quickly it became obvious that the team was processing only 1,000 signature sheets per day, and there were approximately 23,000 signature sheets to process."

The YES on 820 Campaign said in a Twitter post that more information would be coming soon.

While marijuana is legal in some states, it is still illegal under federal law.

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) – A new poll from Amber Integrated shows Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt in a tight race with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister.

The poll taken between Oct. 13 and Oct.15 shows 45.3% of the 500 voters asked said they would vote for Stitt or would "lean toward" voting for him. Hofmeister is ahead of Stitt by 0.6 percentage points with 45.9% of those polled saying they would vote or were learning toward voting for her.

Natalie Bruno and Ervin Yen, who are running as independents, received a combined 4% support.

Five percent of voters said they were undecided. The poll has a margin of error of 4.4%, according to Amber Integrated.

Stitt's approval rating among voters polled was 42% with 52% giving the governor an unfavorable rating. Hofmeister received a 48% favorable rating with 38% of those polled giving her an unfavorable rating.

Hofmeister, who won her post as state superintendent of public instruction as a Republican, is running as a Democrat.

Republican Ryan Walters is leading in the race to succeed Hofmeister. A September poll showed Walters behind Democrat Jena Nelson, who had 49% to Walter's 44%.

Fifty-two percent of those polled in October said they supported Walters while 48% said they supported Nelson.

Republicans are poised to win other races, including a special U.S. Senate race to replace the retiring Jim Inhofe.

Republican Markwayne Mulllin has a 13 percentage point lead over his challengers which include Democrat Kendra Horn, Libertarian Robert Murphy and independent Ray Woods, according to the poll results.

Republican U.S. Senator James Lankford is also expected to hold on to his seat.

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt was given a "B" for his fiscal policies by The Cato Institute.

The libertarian think tank cited Stitt's approval of a 0.25 percentage point reduction in the state's income tax and the corporate income tax reduction from 6% to 4%.

"Stitt did not stop there," the organization said in its report. "In his 2022 state of the state address, he said he wants to make 'Oklahoma the most business-friendly state in the nation by reforming our tax code.' One of his goals is to phase out the individual income tax through which most small business income flows."

Stitt proposed phasing out the state's grocery tax. The House passed the bill, but the Senate did not. A tax reform policy working group will decide if the grocery tax will be eliminated, senators said in a news release last month.

"Economists predict this recession is going to be durable and painful," said Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, last month. "We have lived through years where we've had $1.3 billion shortfalls. We don't want a repeat of those years."

The Senate also rejected a plan for additional income tax reductions.

Stitt was opposed to Medicaid expansion which was narrowly approved by voters in 2020. The governor signed two bills in June that he said would change how Medicaid is delivered. One requires the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to enter into a flat fee payment arrangement with partners for the delivery of Medicaid services. The other used federal dollars to make supplemental payments to providers.

The Cato Institute credited Stitt, an accountant and entrepreneur, with bringing a different approach to the state.

"Stitt's predecessor in the governor's office, Mary Fallin, scored poorly on the 2018 Cato report because of her tax increases, and Stitt promised to move in a different direction," the report said.

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

The FBI recently released its annual Uniform Crime Report, offering a statistical documentation of crime in the United States in 2021. Historically, the UCR has provided a comprehensive snapshot of crime in each of the 50 states, but this year, the picture is incomplete.

Due to a change in reporting systems - from the legacy Summary Reporting System to the new National Incident-Based Reporting System - many police departments across the country did not submit cime data to the FBI. As a result, nine states were excluded from this year's UCR: Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Whether or not 2021 crime estimates for these places will eventually be released remains to be seen - but for the states with available data, the latest UCR offers some useful insight into 2021 violent crime trends.

Violent crime is a broad category that consists of four types of the most serious offenses: robbery, rape, aggravated assault, and homicide. In Oklahoma, there were 15,681 violent crimes reported in 2021, or 393 for every 100,000 people, the 10th highest violent crime rate among the 41 states with available data. Meanwhile, the national violent crime rate (based on the incomplete data) stands at 334 incidents per 100,000 people.

While it is not always the case, violent crime is often more common in economically disadvantaged areas with high poverty rates and lower levels of social integration. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey, the poverty rate across Oklahoma stands at 15.6%, compared to the 12.8% national poverty rate.

RankStateViolent crimes per 100,000 people, 2021Poverty rate (%)1Louisiana56419.62Arkansas55616.33Alabama51816.14Tennessee49813.65Alaska45110.56Missouri42512.77Michigan41613.18Colorado4049.79South Carolina40414.610Oklahoma39315.611Texas39114.212Montana38911.913Nevada37714.114South Dakota35712.315Kansas34611.716North Carolina32313.417Delaware32211.618Oregon32112.219West Virginia31616.820Georgia30614.021Washington2969.922Ohio28813.423Wisconsin28210.824Minnesota2789.325Iowa27511.126Indiana27212.227Massachusetts27010.428North Dakota24611.129Kentucky24016.530Utah2268.631Arizona21812.832Nebraska21710.833Wyoming21511.434Idaho21211.035Mississippi20219.436Virginia19410.237Rhode Island18411.438Vermont17010.339Connecticut15010.140New Hampshire1277.241Maine10811.5

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) - The Oklahoma Tax Commission said Wednesday in a decision that the McGirt decision does not exempt members of Oklahoma’s tribes from paying state income taxes.

The decision is based on an appeal filed by a Muscogee (Creek) Nation member. Alicia Stroble, a member of the tribe, filed for a refund on her 2017, 2018 and 2019 state income taxes based on her employment with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and her residence in Indian Country. Native Americans living in Oklahoma are exempt from paying state income taxes if they also show that they live on a formal Indian reservation, allotment or community and earn their income from sources in Indian Country.

An administrative law judge for the commission ruled in Stroble’s favor, but the tax commission reversed that decision Wednesday.

“The warranty deed provided by Protestant demonstrates the land is not a formal reservation owned by the federal government,” the commissioners wrote in their ruling. “Protestant acquired fee title to the property in 2008, from a non-tribal grantor, the BANK, as Trustee for the TRUST. Further, the deed does not indicate the land is held by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation or the federal government in trust for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, nor is it subject to any restrictions, and therefore does not qualify as an informal reservation...”

The commission said the McGirt decision, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said most of Eastern Oklahoma was Indian Country and a subsequent decision, “Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta,” only applied to major crimes.

“The Castro-Huerta decision is important because it makes clear that the McGirt decision preempting state jurisdiction has very limited application, even in the scope of criminal matters, to a single federal law- the Major Crimes Act,” the commission said. “And by its very language, the Major Crimes Act does not apply to taxation. Castro-Huerta, Oklahoma clearly has concurrent jurisdiction, even under the McGirt boundaries, unless otherwise preempted. There is no preemption for taxation established under McGirt, or otherwise.”

Michael Parks, Stroble’s attorney, told The Center Square he would appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court before Nov. 3.

“In the vast majority of cases that I have reviewed on appeal, the commission has affirmed the findings of the administrative law judge,” Park said. “The commissioners imply that the tax protest was based on the McGirt decision when in fact it was based on prior U.S. Supreme Court opinions and the report prepared by the Oklahoma tax Commission on McGirt. They distanced themselves from the report and said they did not approve the report.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt praised the decision. He said applying the McGirt decision would be costly to the state. More than 9,200 taxpayers have applied for exemption from state income taxes due to the tribal income exclusion. The state could lose $75 million if the McGirt decision applied to state income taxes, according to information from Stitt’s office.

“This is a ruling in favor of certainty, fairness, and equality for all Oklahomans,” Stitt said in a statement. “We all drive on the same roads, send our kids to the same public schools and benefit from the same state services, so it is only right that every citizen of the state of Oklahoma, regardless of race or heritage, should contribute their fair share.”

via Oklahoma's Center Square News

(The Center Square) — Business leaders across the country have joined together to call on the Biden administration to boost domestic energy production and to abandon a proposal to ban new offshore lease sales.

More than 200 local chambers of commerce in 47 states and 14 national associations penned a letter to President Joe Biden this week to urge him "to strengthen our energy security by removing impediments to greater domestic energy production."

"High energy prices remain a major concern for businesses throughout the United States and are a leading cause of inflation," the letter read. "Businesses of all sizes are facing burdens from increased costs for goods, services, and transportation, which combined with tight labor markets, presents major headwinds for the U.S. economy."

The letter argued that addressing climate change and energy security "are not mutually exclusive" and increasing domestic oil and natural gas production can "accelerate the energy transition" while simultaneously curbing cash to Russia and improving the lives of Americans.

"Also, Russian oil is among the dirtiest in the world, so displacing it with cleaner, less carbon intensive U.S. production would bring obvious environmental benefits," the letter read.

Business leaders pointed to the Biden administration’s "mixed signals" on domestic energy production and outlined three major issues that should be addressed: Ending the ban on new oil and natural gas exploration on federal lands and waters, restoring canceled oil and gas lease sales and adopting a five-year plan for oil and gas development that allows the U.S. to maximize offshore potential.

"Federal lands and waters were responsible for 22 percent of all U.S. oil production and 12 percent of natural gas. Taking these resources off the table has a significant impact on U.S. and global energy supply, today and decades into the future," the letter read.

"On July 1, the Department of Interior proposed a new plan that included an option to completely shut down offshore exploration by allowing no new leases, creating even more uncertainty," it continued. "It is not reasonable to ask that companies make major, long-term investments without knowing whether exploration will even be permitted.

"We urge the adoption of a new 5-year plan by the end of the year that includes the maximum possible number of lease sales," business leaders wrote.

The letter came around the same time the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced plans to cut back on oil production, a move that’s expected to contribute to a spike in energy prices in the U.S.

Louisiana organizations that signed onto the letter include the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Chamber Southwest Louisiana, Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Louisiana’s Committee of 100 for Economic Development, One Acadiana, and the Tangipahoa Chamber of Commerce.

"The world needs safe, affordable energy and thankfully America has plenty of it. It’s time to get America back in the game and the perfect place to start is the Gulf of Mexico," said Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack. "We know that producers along the Gulf Coast supply nearly 15 percent of our nation’s oil production, over 2 percent of our nation’s natural gas production and are capable of doing so much more. We need the Administration and Congress to stop tying the hands of our domestic energy producers at a time in which energy prices are rising and inflation remains at historic levels.

"America has the tools and resources, particularly right here in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast, to maintain our position as a global energy leader," Waguespack said. "It’s time to flip the switch on American energy and allow our energy creators to do what they do best."

via Oklahoma's Center Square News