U.S. Citizenship 101
We recently visited with one of our supporters, Bruce Caplinger, who teaches U.S. citizenship classes in the OKC metro area, about the citizenship process. You can listen to our interview with Bruce below, as well as read more about the citizenship test and interview questions. If you’d like to get involved with Bruce or Community Literacy Centers, you can contact him at brucecap@gmail.com or (405) 757-5589.
Two is Company; Three’s a Riot: Oklahoma Lawmakers Unleash a Barrage of Anti-Free Speech Bills in the 2021 Session
Note: The following post is a guest blog co-authored by Abby Henderson from the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable and Elly Page the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, published here in partnership with Freedom of Information Oklahoma. In addition, we interviewed Elly on this week's episode of Let's Pod This, which you can listen to below.
As the nation battles a raging pandemic, copes with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, faces down millions of lost jobs, and reels from a rocky transition to a new administration, state lawmakers have chosen to spend their time proposing ways to punish people who speak out. Across the country, lawmakers have filed a flurry of bills to target participation in protests. The trend is most pronounced in Oklahoma, where lawmakers have introduced ten separate bills that would grossly limit people’s First Amendment right to assemble and be heard.
Like their sister bills proposed in other states, the bills use a number of tactics to discourage Oklahomans from speaking out on issues they care about. Many of the bills create draconian penalties for conduct that is typical of peaceful protests and demonstrations. For instance, a bill proposed by Rep. Tom Gann, HB 1561, would make it a felony to protest in a public street--historically a central location for demonstrators to be noticed and heard. Had HB 156 been the law in 2018, the hundreds of teachers who marched from Tulsa to Oklahoma City for education funding could have been charged with felonies and handed two-year prison sentences. A separate Rep. Gann proposal, HB 1565, would require public employees found guilty of “unlawful assembly” to be immediately fired and barred from future government employment. Those same teachers could have lost their jobs, under HB 1565, if their marches and rallies were deemed to have “disturbed the public peace.”
The bills also create new criminal offenses that are so vague, they violate the most basic constitutional requirement to give notice of what is unlawful. Oklahomans are entitled to know the legal boundaries that apply when exercising their First Amendment rights. A bill proposed by Rep. Rick West, HB 1578, prohibits causing “annoyance” through “tumultuous” behavior at a public establishment during a “riot.” When does a noisy march become too “annoying” or “tumultuous”? Rep. West’s prohibition would seem broad enough to cover even a raucous tailgate party, potentially rendering the whole of Stillwater and Norman a “riot” every Saturday from August to January.
A bill proposed by Rep. Kevin McDugle, HB 2215, meanwhile, would make it a felony to in any way “urge” someone to block a road with the intent to aid a “riot.” Could a Facebook post that says “Let’s take our message to the streets!” make one liable for a felony? The wrong answer could mean a 10-year prison sentence under Rep. McDugle’s proposal.
Several of this session’s bills go still further, and create new legal protection for drivers who injure or kill protesters. HB 1561, HB 2215, and HB 1674, introduced by Rep. Kevin West, would shield drivers from criminal prosecution or civil penalties if they “unintentionally” injure or kill someone while “fleeing from a riot.” Last summer, as Americans nationwide took to the streets to speak out against racial injustice, over 100 demonstrators were hit and injured by cars. One such incident took place in Tulsa, when a pickup drove through a crowd of peaceful protesters, injuring several and resulting in one, a father of five, being paralyzed. Bills establishing legal immunity for such actions threaten to encourage more violence against Oklahomans who are peacefully seeking to have their voices heard.
Such sweeping, punitive bills are unnecessary and dangerous. Oklahoma currently has extensive laws on the books to address crimes like damaging property or injuring people, giving police and prosecutors plenty of tools to address instances of unlawful behavior. Enacting this kind of legislation will not make Oklahomans safer, but it will erode Oklahomans’ treasured First Amendment rights and further exacerbate the State’s growing incarceration crisis.
Protests are essential to our democracy and central to our history. They have spurred political and social progress, from enfranchising women and people of color to advancing labor rights and environmental standards--all by ensuring that different voices are heard. Rather than seeking to silence these voices, effective leaders listen and seek to address the people’s concerns in a meaningful way. In this moment, when so many are struggling, Oklahoma lawmakers should focus on improving people’s lives, rather than creating unnecessary, draconian new laws that undermine our constitutional values.
Abby Henderson is an Advocacy Counsel at the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) in Washington, DC. She is a proud native Sapulpan and graduate of the University of Tulsa and the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Elly Page is a Senior Legal Advisor with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) in Washington, DC, and founder of ICNL’s US Protest Law Tracker.
State of the...Stitt?
Governor Kevin Stitt delivered his third State of the State address this past Monday, a tradition that also kicks off the beginning of the annual state legislative session. Normally we’d be discussing the pros and cons of the various policy priorities outlined in the speech, but this year the Governor opted to lean away from tangible policy and instead embrace abstract political rhetoric. Despite COVID-19’s effect on nearly every aspect of life and government operations during the past year, the pandemic received only cursory mentions by the Governor, with acknowledgements of the virus’ negative personal impact often being paired with positive economic messages. One important policy area did get a mention - the hotly-debated Medicaid Managed Care - and the Governor’s comments were conspicuously met not with applause but with with absolute silence in the chamber.
At the bottom of this post you’ll find the full text of the Governor’s speech and I encourage you to read it for yourself. Even if you listened to it live, reading it back is surely to illuminate it differently. For additional context, check out this article by Oklahoma Watch which contains the speech text along with annotations and fact checking from their reporters. And for even more context, listen to the latest episode of our podcast, in which we discuss the speech. You can find Let’s Pod This in virtually all podcast apps or simply listen to the episode below:
2021 State of the State (full-text)
Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tem, Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, Chief Operating Officer John Budd and members of my cabinet, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the 58th Legislature, my best friend – First Lady Sarah Stitt, my six children, my parents, and most importantly, my fellow Oklahomans.
It is a great honor to stand before you, and to partner with you to lead our state through unprecedented times.
I respect the constitutional authority of both of these legislative bodies.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Pro Tem, members of the House and Senate, I stand here in your chamber today and pledge to work with you, and to have the best and most productive session in state history!
I’d also like to recognize each of the 15 new representatives and the eight new senators who are just starting their service.
I look forward to partnering with you as we continue to lead Oklahoma to becoming a Top Ten state.
Two years ago, I took the oath of office in front of my family, my fellow Oklahomans and most importantly my Heavenly Father.
I promised to support and defend the constitution and perform the duties of my office to the best of my ability. I take that promise as seriously today as the day I made it.
My colleagues in the Legislature made the same promise to their constituents.
Today I’d like to talk about the promises we’ve kept – and the promise of tomorrow.
Oklahoma, the state of our state is strong because we are resilient and well-positioned for a bright future.
Before we look forward, let’s look back.
2020 was a year unlike anything we’ve experienced in our lifetimes.
If we think back to a year ago, who could have ever imagined the toll COVID would take? This pandemic is unprecedented in modern times.
We’ve felt the impact of COVID-19 on every level -- on our families, our jobs and our day-to-day lives.
We’ve lost more than 3,000 Oklahomans to this virus. Each one of those has a name, a story, and a family who is mourning their loss. Like Paul teaches us in Romans 12, we mourn with those who mourn.
Throughout this past year Oklahomans rose to the challenge: as individuals, as families and as neighbors. We made sacrifices; we took care of our most vulnerable; we shifted; we innovated, but we were not defeated.
For the last 11 months, my promise has been to protect the health and lives of Oklahomans, to keep our businesses open safely and to get our kids safely back in school.
I’m so proud of Oklahoma, our team at the Health Department, and the Governor’s Solution Task Force.
We successfully opened our economy on June 1st and safely restarted most schools in August.
It appears now other states are waking up to the stark reality of double-digit unemployment, huge budget deficits and the fact that our kids are safer at school than anywhere else.
They’re realizing we took the smart approach in Oklahoma.
Even Governor Cuomo in New York has seen the light. Just a few weeks ago he said, “We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open.”
Oklahoma faced the same decisions as every other state.
I’ve kept my promise to follow the data and make the right decisions for Oklahoma at the right time. And now we are months and months ahead of other states.
Across Oklahoma, doctors, nurses and health care workers have delivered on their promise to care for Oklahomans. They risked their lives to care for their fellow citizens and help them fight an unknown virus.
I’ve met with Chief Medical Officers and other frontline health care workers, both in my office and in their hospitals. I’ve witnessed their professionalism, their endurance and their compassion on full display.
Amy Petitt, the ICU Nurse Leader at Saint Anthony hospital, was one of the heroes we met. She told me about nurses and doctors working so hard to offer human touch to those who can’t see their families. No matter how tough the conditions are, they’re treating their patients with dignity. They’re caring for them like they’d want their own family members cared for.
We will forever owe them a debt of gratitude because they have been magnificent.
When testing was a challenge around the world, we leveraged the resources we had here in Oklahoma. We quickly converted a diagnostic lab in Stillwater, which dramatically raised our testing capacity in the early stages. Our State Health Department partnered with County Health Departments to stand up 80 test sites across the state.
We’ve made sure any Oklahoman who needed a test could get one for free, and we’ve completed more than 3 million tests so far.
We quickly overcame a global PPE shortage and refilled our stockpile. We continue to distribute millions of masks, gloves and other protective items across the state. We’re delivering to nursing homes, to first responders and to school districts in every part of our state.
I ask all Oklahomans to join me in thanking Secretaries Jerome Loughridge, Dr. Kayse Shrum, Kevin Corbett and Elizabeth Pollard; Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye, Gino DeMarco, Director Mark Gower and his team at the Department of Emergency Management, the men and women of the Oklahoma National Guard, our teams on the front lines at the Department of Corrections and the Department of Veterans Affairs and our many other state and local partners.
I want to specifically thank my Chief Operating Officer, John Budd.
He’s in the gallery, representing the Governor’s Solution Task Force and everyone who played key roles in protecting Oklahomans.
John, we cannot thank you enough.
Oklahomans across the state played a key role in our response as well.
Together, the three W’s became part of our daily life. We’ve washed our hands frequently; we’ve watched our distance from others, and we’ve worn masks in public places.
We took the personal responsibility to protect our families, our neighbors and our most vulnerable.
Our 7-day average of new cases is down 45% from its peak. Our hospitalizations are down 35% as well.
We can see the finish line in our fight against this virus. Rather than coast our way in, let’s continue together with a final sprint.
To the Oklahomans who have made so many sacrifices to slow the spread, I thank you, and I ask everyone to join us as we put this virus behind us.
I promised Oklahomans we would bring efficiency to state government. We are doing just that with our vaccine rollout.
Thanks to the hard work of Deputy Commissioner Keith Reed and his team at the State Health Department, local public health workers and our state’s medical community, we are seventh in the nation – Top Ten -- in vaccines administered per capita!
I’ll never forget watching Hannah White, a nurse at INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City, be the first Oklahoman to get the vaccine.
Once it was over, she hugged the nurse who gave it to her. She said, “Hopefully this is the start of something better.” As I speak to you today, more than 356,000 Oklahomans now have that same hope.
We’re accelerating our efforts --- more supplies of vaccines are on the way. I assure you we will be relentless.
My vision is to get our summer back, and we can do it by continuing to lead the nation in vaccinations.
Because I am committed to getting all kids back in their classrooms, I made sure we prioritized teachers to get this vaccine. Many teachers over 65 have been vaccinated already, and many more teachers will be eligible this month.
In almost every district in Oklahoma, parents and students have an option to choose to go back to the classroom. To the school districts that have innovated and followed the data to offer safe, in-person instruction -- on behalf of your parents, and the future of our state, I can’t thank you enough.
You’re providing an important safety net to our children, and you’re the glue that holds many of our communities together.
I’ve heard stories of teachers doing everything they can, but they’re worried about their students not being in the classroom.
Kathryn Szallar teaches kindergarten in Deer Creek. She’s a phenomenal teacher who goes above and beyond for her students.
Her school is on an A/B schedule, and she told me how hard it is to teach young kids through distance learning. She feels it’s essential for young people to have the option to be in the classroom with their teachers.
A child’s education is a building block, and it starts in their youngest years.
Ms. Szallar, and many other teachers, are worried that keeping students from their classrooms could set them back for years.
Can you imagine being a first grader and trying to learn to read on Zoom?
Distance learning is perfectly fine for some students, but when we force it on everyone, it widens achievement gaps and jeopardizes our future as a Top Ten state.
Our kids deserve the option to be in their classrooms. I promise to keep fighting for our students every day!
We’ve kept our promise to thousands of business owners by allowing them to stay open safely.
As you know, some states shut down completely for months at a time.
But we found the right balance between protecting public health and protecting Oklahomans’ right to provide for their families!
We went to Phase 1 of the Open Up and Recover Safely plan April 24th. We went to Phase 3 – fully reopen – on June 1st.
Back then, I said by reopening safely and responsibly, we’d be months ahead of other states. Our June unemployment rate was fifth lowest in the country – 40% lower than the national average – and almost 60% lower than New York.
Because of that, almost 100,000 more Oklahomans were back to work compared to the national average.
Everywhere I go across the state, small business owners and workers tell me how grateful they are for being able to keep their businesses open, to provide income for their employees and their families and to provide the services their communities rely on.
The other day I stopped in at Eddie’s Restaurant in Edmond.
I got to meet Eddie, who drove across town to see me before I left. He shook my hand, sat down, and looked me in the eye. He said, “Thank you. Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s made a huge impact on our life.”
Like so many small business owners across the state, Eddie and his wife started with nothing but hope. They took out their life savings to buy a restaurant on the corner of Coltrane and Second.
After years of sacrifice and hard work, they expanded. They now own three restaurants, a catering company and a food truck.
Eddie told me that when the pandemic hit, like many business owners, they were worried.
He said, “My daughter’s college tuition needs to be paid. I don’t have a private investor, a bank. I have to continue on.”
Eddie said because of the decisions we’ve made; he and his 100 employees can continue on.
They can feed their families. They can pay for their children’s education. They can continue to live.
I’m proud to tell you Eddie plans to open a new location next month, and I can’t wait to be there to support him.
Through the Oklahoma Business Relief Program, we invested $143 million in 8,661 small businesses just like Eddie’s.
This program touched 344 different communities throughout all 77 counties.
25 percent of the businesses were minority owned, including the Black Wall Street Liquid Lounge, a coffee shop in Tulsa’s Greenwood District; TS&H Shirt Company in Seminole and Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Oklahoma City.
Azteca’s owner, Alejandria Camarena, opened her restaurant three years ago. She had always dreamed of owning a business.
COVID-19 threatened that dream, but thanks to our Business Relief grants, she kept all 12 employees on her payroll. And she continues as a successful Hispanic female business owner in Oklahoma.
Small businesses like these are the lifeblood of our communities. Their continued success is key to making Oklahoma a Top Ten state.
The pandemic isn’t over --- but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
As Will Rogers once said, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
The people of Oklahoma have sent us here to make their lives better. They expect us to work together, and they expect us to do things for the right reasons – never for personal gain or political purposes.
For the past few months, we’ve been working on a legislative agenda to deliver on the promises we’ve made to our constituents.
Secretary Bingman and I have been meeting with Speaker Charles McCall and President Pro Tem Greg Treat. We’ve worked together to craft not the governor’s agenda, not the House’s agenda, not the Senate’s agenda, but the people’s agenda!
The people of Oklahoma made their voices heard loudly in November.
They gave House Republicans five more seats, and the strongest supermajority in state history!
More than 80% of the House and the Senate are now led by conservative Oklahomans.
We will keep burdens low on our taxpayers.
We’ll support our oil and gas industry and protect it from radical liberals in Washington.
We’ll fight for our farmers and ranchers and the Oklahoma way of life.
We’ll enact business friendly policies.
We’ll protect the rights of unborn children and stand up for the personal and religious freedoms of Oklahomans!
“The People’s Agenda” for this legislative session has three main pillars:
Number one, Make Oklahoma a Top Ten state for business, number two, deliver taxpayers more for their money and number three, invest in our fellow Oklahomans.
I know so many of you in the chamber -- and those watching -- believe we can be and should be a Top Ten State for Business. What we need is more taxpayers, not more taxes.
I’m proud to say Oklahoma is open for business, and we’re seeing results.
More companies are looking to relocate to our state than ever before.
We’ve been aggressive. We’re reaching out to companies in states that are keeping businesses locked down and dictating their citizens’ personal freedoms.
In the past two years, we’ve had many meetings with companies in California.
They all say the same thing: “We want out.”
Over the last year, I’ve worked together with the Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Business Roundtable to get those companies free from California’s anti-business policies.
PAS MRO, an aerospace company based in California, announced last summer it would be moving its operations to Bristow, Oklahoma.
Company President Jim Agee said the decision was easy. He said it was because of Oklahoma’s business-friendly policies, availability of highly trained workers and the lower costs of doing business in our state.
One of our key tools we have in Oklahoma to close deals like these is the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund. It lets us recruit new industries and growing companies.
We also need to invest in innovation by using accelerators for entrepreneurs and supporting startups statewide.
A few weeks ago, I was at the Cattlemen’s Congress at the fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.
The folks in Denver turned their back on the Ag industry. They wouldn’t let them have their major national cattle show because they insisted on keeping their state locked down.
That put the stability of the U.S. beef industry in danger.
So we started a new tradition here in Oklahoma City, and the Cattlemen’s Congress brought $50 million to our economy!
We can’t have a strong economy without a skilled workforce and a strong education system.
Right now, we have the opportunity of a lifetime. We have a chance to rethink and reimagine the future of education in Oklahoma.
One of the ways we can do this is by looking at how schools get their funding. The current formula lets schools pick their highest number of students over the last three years.
Here’s what that means.
Say you lived in Tulsa and moved to a new district to make sure your kids could go to school in person. Your kids could be counted by both districts.
They’re called “ghost students.”
We’re sending money to districts to educate kids who don’t go there, and that’s simply not fair.
There are more than 55,000 “ghost students” in our funding formula right now. That means we’re allocating close to 200 million of your tax dollars to students who don’t exist.
This is unacceptable.
It’s time for schools to be funded based on how many students they have now -- not how many they had in the past.
COVID-19 has also shown us that every child has unique needs. Being in a physical classroom is so important for most students to succeed.
By not giving our parents and children an option for in-person learning, schools have tied their hands.
It’s now been 325 days since Tulsa students in 4th through 12th grades have been allowed to be in their classrooms. 325 days!
Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, the rest of the Tulsa metro has been safely in session most of the year.
Union, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Owasso, Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Sperry, Skiatook, Collinsville. The list goes on. They’ve all found ways to put their students first and give them the choice to come back to the classroom.
The only difference between schools that stay closed and those that have safely reopened is the mindset to find a way to make it happen.
My heart breaks when I hear stories like Abby Cavness’s.
She said, “I’m a Tulsa Public Schools lifer and never in a million years thought I’d be uttering these words.”
“My kids are miserable. They beg every day through tears to not do distance learning anymore. My 4th grader is begging to switch to any school that is actually open.”
“It is devastating to watch our beloved school lose family after family.”
Abby finished by saying, “I’m scared for what Tulsa and the school system is going to become after this.”
Stories like Abby’s are why students and parents need the choice to transfer to public schools that best fit their needs.
If a school district has space available and is a better fit for a child, the government should make that happen – not stand in the way.
We have to put our students first. Period.
Another way to make Oklahoma a Top Ten state is to have an infrastructure that grows and attracts businesses.
Last year, we hit a major milestone as we reached Top Ten in bridge conditions -- an incredible achievement considering we were near the bottom just a few years ago.
Tim Gatz, Secretary of Transportation, is doing a great job working with the teams at ODOT and the Turnpike Authority to modernize their agencies. That lets us focus on projects that link our cities and towns and provide access to new areas for economic development.
A strong infrastructure is the backbone of any strong economy.
Another key to a strong economy is letting businesses grow without fear of government overreach.
In his first week in office, President Biden issued 22 Executive Orders. Many of them will kill jobs and put burdensome regulations on our businesses.
It’s a different story here in Oklahoma. We must continue our focus on cutting red tape.
By working together to get rid of excessive regulation, we’ll unlock Oklahoma’s full economic potential for workers, business owners, farmers, and families.
Instead of letting Washington strangle Oklahoma’s businesses, we need to unleash them!
The government’s job is not to slow things down. It’s to get out of the way!
Thanks to the support of our legislators, we built our savings account to $1 billion in 2019.
Some folks criticized us for wanting to save this money, but that’s proven to be a lifesaver during the tough financial season we had last year.
I also want to credit my colleagues in the House and Senate for their wisdom and careful thinking during last year’s session. Our state was reeling from a massive drop in oil prices and 13% unemployment, but you recognized the uncertainty and wisely held the budget to 78% of the spending authority while still providing core services.
Your fiscal prudence is one of the reasons why we have the opportunity we do today, and I thank you for the challenging decisions you made.
It’s because of these tough decisions – reopening our economy, how we spent our COVID Relief Funds across the state, and the Legislature’s careful budget – that the Fiscal Year 2022 predictions are much better than many states.
We’ll be able to invest in strategic places while avoiding cuts.
We can also significantly replenish our savings account, so we stay prepared for whatever comes our way.
Now our challenge is to make sure Oklahomans get more for their money.
A perfect example of this is our Department of Human Services. Secretary Justin Brown and his team did a great job innovating this year.
DHS is prioritizing service over brick and mortar office space. Its closing 25 offices but embedding those staff members in more than 100 community spaces.
The result is Oklahomans get better access and more services instead of paying for real estate.
I thank the hardworking men and women at DHS and all our state agencies for innovating to get more for our money.
Another way to deliver taxpayers more for their money is to make sure hard work gets rewarded.
Like many of you in this room, my background is in the private sector. When I was building and running my business, I recruited and hired talented people.
I could pay and promote them based on their experience, capability and work ethic. But that can’t happen in state government.
Agency leaders have their hands tied in who they can hire and promote because of outdated restrictions. State agencies should be able to hire the best people and promote good employees.
2020 showed us how dramatically our world can change overnight. Our state agencies need to be able to adapt and change in real-time.
Thousands of our state employees are stuck in a system where qualified, dedicated and hungry employees are often waiting years to be promoted, all because they’re stuck behind someone in line.
I want to tell you about one of our hardworking state employees named Cody.
Cody has worked at OESC for 22 years. He’s down in the Idabel office.
Cody was doing way more work than his title and job description indicated, but factors out of his control made a promotion nearly impossible.
One of those factors was location. An agency policy required directors to live in Oklahoma City.
Generations of Cody’s family had lived in Idabel and a promotion wasn’t worth leaving his family.
It took a pandemic -- and my Executive Order to have state employees working from home -- to change the policy so he could become a director.
There are men and women like Cody across state government -- talented, dedicated to serving our state, and stuck in an outdated system that keeps them from being rewarded like they deserve.
To be a Top Ten state, we need a system that rewards our state employees and gives us the flexibility we need to serve our citizens more effectively.
Finally, my team will continue to find ways to partner with the members in this room to invest in our fellow Oklahomans.
America’s Health Rankings puts Oklahoma 46th in the country in health outcomes.
We’re one of the worst in the country in obesity and diabetes rates. We have the third most deaths from heart disease.
That’s unacceptable to me, and I know it’s unacceptable to all 4 million Oklahomans.
Oklahomans hired me to bring a fresh set of eyes to all areas of our state government.
As governor, I can’t stand by and continue with business as usual when the system isn’t working.
We have an obligation as leaders to do better for our citizens. I think its implicit in the promises we made when we all assumed office.
With Medicaid Expansion now in our Constitution, this is the perfect opportunity to reimagine health care delivery in Oklahoma. It’s time to focus on outcomes and not just paying invoices.
40 states have found managed care is the best way forward: Texas, kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Florida. Even California and Illinois.
It’s not a red state or blue state thing. It’s the smart thing to do.
In fact, almost every other state with Medicaid expansion also uses managed care.
Oklahoma, this is the right path forward.
Now, we need to talk about the most pressing issue for our state’s future.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma questions the sovereignty of the state as we’ve known it since 1907.
The Court overturned the conviction of a child rapist on the grounds that the Creek Nation’s reservation was never disestablished for criminal jurisdiction. State courts no longer have the authority to prosecute crimes committed by or against Oklahomans who are also tribal members.
Hundreds of criminal cases are being dismissed.
This ruling also raises many other unanswered questions. Do tribal members living in eastern Oklahoma pay income tax and sales tax? If not, the Oklahoma Tax Commission estimates a potential loss of $200 million every year.
Another potential issue is who regulates agriculture? Water? The energy industry? Zoning?
Who has the right to tax businesses?
What is the state of Oklahoma’s ability to enforce the laws? In Muskogee County, a convicted serial rapist named Leroy Smith was recently released. The Muskogee County District Attorney said he can’t be retried because of the federal statute of limitations.
We need to resolve the many unanswered questions from this ruling.
I’ve invited the leaders of Oklahoma’s sovereign tribes to join together and work with the State of Oklahoma. Together, we must create the certainty, fairness and the unity we’ve enjoyed since 1907.
Where we go from here will define the state’s future.
We have a shared responsibility to live as one Oklahoma regardless of your race or where you live. We drive on the same roads; our kids go to the same schools and we benefit from the same programs.
It is critical -- while embracing the tribal heritage of many Oklahomans -- that we don’t lose sight of the fact that we are all Oklahomans.
As one Oklahoma, we will become a Top Ten state. If we are divided, we will not.
We must come together.
This year has tested the resiliency of our state and all 4 million Oklahomans. We’ve all faced challenges and made difficult sacrifices, but at the root of it all, we’ve endured.
Oklahomans are no stranger to hardship. We’ve lived through dust bowls, tornados, floods, a bombing, and now a pandemic. But we’re going to make it through, just like we have time and time again.
It’s been two years since I stood on the steps of the Capitol and was sworn in as governor.
On that day, I shared something my dad told me.
He’d tell us, “Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever quit. The future doesn’t just happen. You make it happen, so dream big.”
With big dreams and bold decisions, we’ll capitalize on the promise of tomorrow.
We must always focus on the next generation and not the next election. If we allow selfish ambition to drive decisions, the moral fabric of our system starts to break down.
I’m calling on every elected official to continue serving with self-sacrifice, always putting the needs of 4 million Oklahomans ahead of the few and the powerful.
I encourage us all today to renew our promise to the people of our great state. Our decisions have consequences, and as we go, society follows.
Let’s lead Oklahoma to becoming a Top Ten state, and let’s deliver on the people’s agenda. Together.
The turnaround Oklahomans demanded is well underway.
God bless you, and God bless the great state of Oklahoma!
Timeline of Shenanigans in Oklahoma County Government
The past year has brought numerous challenges for government at all levels, and that includes the county level. Oklahoma County, in particular, has repeatedly made headlines for decisions regarding the county jail, what they're doing (or not doing) with federal CARES funds, and their relationship with the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Because it’s such an important and complicated issue, we decided to do an entire podcast episode about it. County Commissioner Carrie Blumert joined us to walk through who all the players are a basic timeline of events. You can listen her and follow along with the timeline below.
Board of County Commissioners Members
Commissioner Carrie Blumert
Commissioner Brian Maughn
Commissioner Kevin Calvey
Tricia Everest (chair)
Sue Ann Arnall, attorney & philanthropist
Francie Ekwerekwu, assistant public defender & law professor
Ben Brown, former state senator
Commissioner Kevin Calvey
Sheriff P.D. Taylor
Todd Lamb, former Lt. Governor
Jim Couch, former OKC City Manager
M.T. Berry, former OKC Police Chief
Budget Board Members
Commissioner Kevin Calvey (chair)
Commissioner Carrie Blumert
Commissioner Brian Maughn
County Treasure Butch Freeman
County Clerk David Hooten
County Court Clerk Rick Warren
County Assessor Larry Stein
Sheriff PD Taylor
ISSUES AT HAND
ICE holds - the jail notifies ICE before inmates are released and will continue to hold individuals for up to 48 hours if ICE wants to take them into custody. The Jail also provides office space for ICE agents inside the jail. (Or they used to; we’ll talk about that)
CARES funds - federal funding designed for various covid-19 relief programs
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
5/2019 Jail Trust created to oversee the management and financial activity of the jail. Prior to the Trust, the County Sheriff was responsible for managing the county jail.
8/31/19 Sheriff submitted his resignation from Jail Trust & CJAC (Criminal Justice Advisory Council). However, the Sheriff can’t actually resign from the Trust, so the effect of this was more along the lines of “I disagree with this whole deal so I’m not going to attend meetings any longer, and in my place our general counsel will be attending as my proxy.”
11/??/19 Trust hired jail administrator hired
1/29/20 BOCC votes to contract with Jail Trust for management of the jail
7/1/20 Date that the Trust officially assumed mgmt of jail
8/13/20 Budget Board voted 5-3 to move $36M of CARES dollars to the Jail Trust. County Treasure Butch Freeman questioned if this was a legal use of CARES funds.
8/19/20 BOCC voted to move $34M in CARES dollars to Jail Trust. The issues was listed as item #22 on the agenda but it was moved up and the vote was called for before Commissioner Blumert was even seated.
8/31/20 Jail Trust voted to accept $37M in federal CARES dollars - $3M for airflow at the jail and another $34M for yet-undetermined expenditures. Members of the public were there, gave comment, and were not happy with the vote.
9/21/20 Jail Trust voted 4-2 to not honor ICE detainers, however, the Jail Trust’s bylaws require 5 affirmative votes, so the vote was not actually valid and thus the decision was vacated. There was consternation about how this all went down. There were a number of very vocal protestors at the meeting, so tensions were running high. Trust chairwoman Tricia Everest was participating virtually and just before the vote was called, she disconnected from the meeting. It is unclear why. In her absence, Co-Chair Jim Couch called for the vote. Calvey & Lamb voted ‘no,’ Couch, Berry, Brown, & Ekwerekwu voted ‘yes,’ Everest was now absent, and because of that, Danny Honeycut, counsel for the Sheriff’s office who was sitting in for Sheriff Taylor, abstained from voting because he wasn’t sure it was a valid vote. So that made the vote 4-2-1. The counsel for the Trust, John Williams, was present in the meeting but did not say anything about it not being a valid vote until hours later
Also at this meeting (Sept 21), the Trust passed a resolution to accept $34 million of federal CARES money from the BOCC, however, the Trust did not have a plan for how it was going to spend it. They had a long list of needs at the jail, but weren’t sure which ones to do. So, the Trust authorized the CEO to hire a Program Assistant to help winnow the list, which they would present at the next meeting.
9/30/20 In an emergency meeting, the Trust authorizes $3 million in CARES money to be used for a no-bid repair contract with an out-of-state contractor. They also canceled the Trust meeting scheduled for Oct 5th and carried those agenda items over to Oct 19th. This was interesting because the Oct 5th meeting was supposed to be when the Trust would re-vote on the involvement of ICE at the jail.
10/5/20 BOCC approved full cooperation with ICE in a 2-1 vote. Before the vote, Commissioner Blumert raised the question why this matter had not gone through the board’s Policy & Governance Committee. Calvey claimed it didn’t need to. (Then what’s the committee for?) Commissioner Blumert also raised doubt that the BOCC could set policy for the Jail Trust since they are a separate entity independent of the BOCC by design. Calvey said the lease agreement with the Trust for operation of the jail states that they shall follow County policy, which is why he wanted to set that policy at this time.
10/6/20 The next day, Commissioner Calvey filed petition asking the court to order that the Trust must do what the BOCC tells them to do. The petition was filed on behalf of three parties: the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association, Tom Vineyard (an individual), and Commissioner Calvey himself, in his official capacity as County Commissioner. The rather obvious issue here is that Commissioner Calvey was arguably suing himself, since he sits on both the BOCC and the Trust. Furthermore, he filed the suit as the attorney of record for the petitioners. This might not have been a problem if he was party to this as an individual citizen (like Mr. Vineyard), but Commissioner Calvey was listed as party in his official capacity as County Commissioner. In effect, Commissioner Calvey hired a private attorney to represent the County, and that private attorney was himself. This was an unprecedented move, as the county already has legal counsel - the District Attorney.
10/16/20 District Attorney David Prater responded to Calvey’s suit. His motion to intervene basically said that the DA’s office is the official representative of the county in virtually all legal matters. Prater’s motion also said that the BOCC does not have authority over the Trust. He pointed to the lease agreement as saying that while the county owns the jail, the Trust is responsible for management of it.
10/19/20 Jail Trust votes 4-2-2 to remove ICE from jail, but by-laws require 5 votes to pass, so no change
2019 wrap-up...and a look ahead
Episode Description
Did Governor Stitt deliver on the plans and promises he listed during his 2019 State of the State address? We break it down and then look ahead at what to expect from the 2020 legislative session.
Show Notes / Episode Outline
A look at Governor Stitt’s first year
Full text of his 2019 State of the State
He got expanded hiring & firing authority
Beta version of digital drivers license is now available (and maybe the full version as well?)
Teachers got another small raise
Changes made to school funding formula?
780 retroactivity passed, plus big changes to pardon & parole board
He spent substantial time talking about why we should not expand Medicaid.
Also announced his Governors Challenge for the marathon - do we think he’ll do that again?
Expand Rainy Day Fund to $2B - did that happen?
How did he do on transparency, esp regarding the budget?
Tribal gaming situation
You know what hasn’t been talked about much? OSDH.
2019 legislative session
Many new legislators, and yet, same ol’ topics
Abortion
Guns
Healthcare (and Medicaid is still being discussed)
Part of the story was how quiet the okleg was this year
What to expect in 2020
Legislative session expectations & rumors
Recommendation(s) from Medicaid working group; will that result in an actual bill?
More rule making related to medical marijuana?
COLA for retirees
Legislatively referred ballot measures related to abortion? (Some sort of trigger bill, perhaps?)
Efforts to restrict ballot measures? (It’s been added to the State Chamber’s 2030 plan)
Last year at this time, the fiscal outlook was more positive than it is now, right? Price of oil was higher, number of rigs was higher. How does that influence what happens this year? (And if it doesn’t, why not?)
Ballot initiatives filed thus far
Medicaid expansion
Independent redistricting
Criminal justice reform
Rumored:
Permitless carry repealer
Legislative-referred measure pertaining to abortion
Any others?
What to expect from Let’s Fix This
Annual Predict-o-Rama in early February
Bill tracking / updates related to election reform.
Civic education online courses (released throughout the year)
Back to our weekly update podcast format!
The Election Night Show 2020: Nov. 3rd
This is how we fix this
We have huge news.
Today, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma we helped launch People Not Politicians, a new organization that is entirely focused on ending gerrymandering in Oklahoma. [Read the press release here.]
If you’ve been listening to our Gerrymandering Oklahoma podcast series, you know that the term “gerrymandering” refers to the process where politicians draw voting districts for personal gain. And, as we’ve discussed, while the Supreme Court has ruled that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional, the issue of political gerrymandering continues to plague our country. People Not Politicians wants to eliminate gerrymandering of all types.
The problem with gerrymandering is simple: when politicians get to pick their own voters, they pick the ones they know will vote for them no matter what. That means they can pretty much do (or not do) whatever they want while they’re in office. And when you realize that…well, suddenly it makes a lot more sense why our state continues to be at the bottom of the list when it comes to education funding, health outcomes, life expectancy, crumbling bridges, etc. When politicians aren’t held accountable to voters, the darn wheels come off and the state kinda begin to fall apart.
Politicians have been gerrymandering for their personal gain forever. Consequently, they are the only ones who don’t want to change the law. In fact, both parties have attempted to create independent redistricting commissions in the past - but every time they tried, the other party blocked it. It seems clear that the legislature is not going to do the right thing on their own - and that’s why we, the people, have to do it ourselves.
Beat ‘em at the ballot
Today People Not Politicians filed a petition with the Secretary of State to place an initiative on the ballot that would create an independent redistricting commission - comprised of regular citizens, not politicians or their cronies - to be the ones who draw voting district lines. This is the best way to end gerrymandering - by removing politicians from the process altogether.
This commission will be fully open and transparent to public. We’ll have input into the process up front and we will know exactly how and why the lines are being drawn the way they are. This will result in a redistricting process that is not just transparent but more fair and more representative of the people of Oklahoma.
In order to get this issue on the ballot, People Not Politicians is going need your help. You can sign up on their website or simply text PEOPLE to 33339.
What about Let’s Fix This?
We’re not going anywhere. We will continue to do what we do best - keeping you informed on issues facing our state and what’s happening at the State Capitol, creating new and fun ways for you to connect with politics and engage with your elected officials, hosting watch parties for The West Wing, etc. And even more exciting than that - we’re growing! We have more folks coming on board to help us create an online civics education program, build out our events calendar, and more! And to do all those things, we need your support!
People Not Politicians is an entirely separate organization, but our passion is the same - to build a better democracy. Our hope is that this is the first of many ways in which we can be involved in helping do just that.
Podcast Ep. 99 | Should student athletes be paid? (with Peter Daggett)
Episode description
Much to the chagrin of the NCAA, the state of California recently passed the Fair Pay to Play Act, which law permits collegiate athletes to hire agents and make money from endorsements. A similar bill will likely be filed in Oklahoma next year, so we sat down with OU gymnast (and burgeoning entrepreneur) Peter Daggett to hear his perspective as a student athlete.
Links
N.C.A.A. Athletes Could Be Paid Under New California Law (NY Times)
99-1: Serenity in the Struggle by Peter Daggett
Podcast Series: Gerrymandering Oklahoma
In the next two years, the United States will do two very important things:
Conduct the decennial census (i.e. attempt to count everyone who lives in the country), and
Use the census data to re-draw all the state legislative and congressional districts in the entire country. (This process is called “redistricting.”)
While most folks are aware of the census, many have no idea about redistricting, and for good reason - it often happens behind closed doors, out of the public view. For this series, we sought to learn more about the redistricting process, including how it’s done, how it can be done for dubious purposes, and what options exist to help ensure that it’s done fairly and transparently.
Episode 1: GADDIEMANDERED!
This is the first episode of our "Gerrymandering Oklahoma" mini series. We're joined by OU political science professor Keith Gaddie to discuss the ins and outs of gerrymandering and the legislative redistricting process. (Hint: It's super important and most people have no idea.)
Episode 2: A Cause we all have in Common
Now that we know how legislative redistricting is done and how that process often leads to gerrymandering, we want to talk broadly about how states can prevent politicians from picking their own voters. For that, we speak with Dan Vicuña from Common Cause, to gain some insight on what's worked in other states and how their organization is involved.
Episode 3: Ratf**ked
We wanted to learn more about gerrymandering around the country, so we wanted to talk to a man who literally wrote the book on the topic, David Daley. He is the author of "Ratf**cked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count" and has probably looked at more maps and driven more legislative district boundaries than anyone else in the country.
Episode 4: Power to the People
By now we know what gerrymandering is, how and why it happens, and a few ways to prevent it. But how, exactly, do you get it to stop when the political system is rigged against you? You let the voters take the lead. For this, we spoke with Katie Fahey who started a people-first movement in Michigan in 2018 that led to the formation an independent redistricting commission and virtually eliminated gerrymandering from her state.
Episode 5: People, Not Politicians!
BIG NEWS! A rag-tag group of Oklahomans have banded together to form "People Not Politicians," a nonpartisan organization that has filed a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to create an independent redistricting commission and end gerrymandering in our state! We hear all about it from their Campaign Manager, whom you might already know...
Links referenced throughout the series
This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see (Washington Post)
Independent Redistricting: A Primer (our blog post from March 2019)
The Redistricting Game (Fun and harder than you’d think!)
The Gerrymandering Project (FiveThirtyEight)
The Atlas of Redistricting (FiveThirtyEight)
Brennan Center for Justice (Policy experts!)
Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count by David Daley (Amazon)
Podcast Series: Criminal Justice Reform
Series Description
Criminal justice is always an important, hot button issue in our state. In fact, Oklahoma incarcerates more people per capita than anywhere else in the entire world. During this series we talk with subject matter experts, policy analysts, a criminal defense attorney, and a state legislator to find out how we got here, what our criminal justice system looks like, and how we can make it better. A good part of our discussion centers around two key ballot initiatives - state question 780 that passed in 2016 and state question 788 that passed in 2018. These measures were enacted into law not by the legislature, but by the people of Oklahoma, illustrating that voters understand this is important and they want to see this issue improve.
Episode 1: Let’s Start with the Data
This is the first episode in our three part series on the criminal justice system in Oklahoma. We're joined by policy experts Damion Shade & Ryan Gentzler to lay a foundation of data about the Oklahoma criminal justice system, how we got here, and why things are so bad. Listen below:
Episode 2: Fines, Fees, and Fallacies
This is the second episode in our three-part series about criminal justice reform in Oklahoma. In this episode, local defense attorney Brian Jones walks us through each of the steps involved in the typical criminal legal process, including details about the many, MANY fines and fees, as well as some of the big fallacies most people people believe about how the legal system operates. Listen below:
Episode 3: Reforming the Law
This is the third episode in our three-part series about criminal justice reform in Oklahoma. In this episode, we speak with state Representative Garry Mize about the legacy of state questions 780, 781, and 788, and what the legislative path to meaningful criminal justice reform might look like. Listen below:
Podcast Ep. 89 | Let Bartlet Be Bartlet (live panel discussion)
Episode Description
Audio from the panel discussion following our "The West Wing" Watch Party, recorded live on May 15, 2019, featuring Donelle Harder (Gov. Stitt's spokesperson), Phil Bacharach (Chief of Staff to State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister), and Steve Hill (Chief of Staff to OKC Mayor David Holt).