Oklahoma Policy Institute

Tracing the rise and resignation of Ryan Walters (Capitol Update) - Oklahoma Policy Institute The most remarkable — if not the most important — happening in state government last week was the announcement by State Superintendent Ryan Walters that he is resigning with sixteen months left in his...

🔗 Read the full Capitol Update:

Ryan Walters went from teacher to the state’s most polarizing education official — and now he’s stepping down.

Could this be the launchpad for a run for governor?

Read the latest Capitol Update from Steve Lewis at OK Policy. Link in comments

#Oklahoma #RyanWalters #EducationPolicy #OKPolicy

Policy Matters: Policies are driving doctors out of Oklahoma Oklahoma faces a growing doctor shortage as policies drive physicians out, leaving families with rheumatic diseases struggling for care.

Read more about Oklahoma’s doctor shortage and what’s driving it here:

Specialist care is slipping out of reach in Oklahoma. Policies are driving doctors out, leaving families to travel hours for treatment of chronic conditions like rheumatic disease. Patients deserve care close to home. 💙

#oklahoma #healthcare #healthpolicy #rheumaticdiseaseawareness #okpolicy

Immigrants power Oklahoma’s economy. State Question 832 can ensure they earn fair wages. Like all Oklahomans, immigrants face ever-rising costs of living. Yet wages have not kept pace, and unique challenges around immigration status often compound the struggle of making ends meet – all th...

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Immigrants are powering Oklahoma. They deserve wages that reflect their hard work.

SQ 832 raises the minimum wage to ensure fairness for ALL workers.

Because Oklahoma runs on immigrants, and fairness runs on fair wages.

#Oklahoma #Immigration #MinimumWage #OKPolicy #EconomicJustice #SQ832

The governor’s "Operation SAFE" plan to clear homeless camps is political theater, not policy.

Housing ends homelessness. Confinement makes it worse (Commentary) - Oklahoma Policy Institute President Trump recently signed an executive order expanding forced institutionalization of unhoused people with mental illness or substance use disorders. His administration has branded it as an act ...

Learn more about President Trump's latest executive order expanding forced institutionalization of unhoused people with mental illness or substance use disorders, and how the move actually drags America backwards in addressing homelessness.

okpolicy.org/housing-ends...

🏠 Housing First → reduces homelessness, saves money, restores dignity.

⛓ Forced confinement → worsens mental health, increases suicide risk, drives people away from help.

This isn’t a tough call.

Read more here:

🚜 Bulldozers won’t solve homelessness.

Gov. Stitt’s “Project SAFE” may get attention online, but it ignores the human cost and deeper failures driving Oklahoma’s homelessness crisis.

What we really need: affordable housing, health care, and support services.

#Oklahoma #Homelessness #Housing

Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Highlights - Oklahoma Policy Institute Four years of federal surplus propping up Oklahoma's budget is not enough to save the state's budget. For the budget year beginning July 1, 2025 (Fiscal Year 2026), state agencies will have $12.08 bil...

👉 Read our full breakdown of this year’s budget:

Oklahoma’s budget isn’t just about balancing numbers — it’s a reflection of our values

That’s why keeping up with the budget is so important: it shows where our leaders are investing in people — and where they aren’t

#Oklahoma #OklahomaBudget #OKPolicy #StateBudget #PublicPolicy #OKLeg

The Future of Democracy Rests in the Oklahoma Supreme Court (SB 1027) - Oklahoma Policy Institute Lawsuits related to a bill that limits the state question process are critical steps to this constitutional right. The Supreme Court must act with haste to strike down SB 1027 as a blatantly unconstit...

📖 Read the latest from our Policy Analyst Cole Allen

⚠️ SB 1027 is a direct attack on initiative petitions — the process that lets Oklahomans take issues straight to the ballot.

Our constitution reserves that power to the people, not legislators. Now the State Supreme Court must decide if democracy still means what it says.
#Oklahoma #OKPolicy #SB1027

Policy Matters: If ‘work conquers all’, why can’t Oklahomans get ahead? If we genuinely want to honor working Oklahomans, we must ask hard questions about the laws and policies that shape economic opportunity and everyday life on the job.

Read more in our latest Policy Matters column ⬇️

Oklahoma claims “Work Conquers All” 💪🏽 — but our policies tell a different story

Minimum wage stuck at $7.25/hr
Farmworkers & tipped workers left out
Families juggling multiple jobs still can’t make ends meet

This Labor Day, we should ask whether our state values work — or just the motto

#LaborDay

Breaking down SQ 832: The Details on Raising the Minimum Wage - Oklahoma Policy Institute SQ 832 includes multiple provisions beyond raising the minimum wage, aimed at helping Oklahoma families and bolstering the economy.

👉 Want to know what the impact of tying the minimum wage to CPI would be? Check out our newest article

The minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009 — but the cost of living hasn’t. 📉📈

If wages had kept pace with inflation, the minimum wage would be over $10 today. Families can’t survive on a wage that’s frozen in time while prices rise.

#Oklahoma #MinimumWage #CPI #OKPolicy

Housing is out of reach for working Oklahomans, seniors and people with disabilities - Oklahoma Policy Institute The gap between wages and rent in Oklahoma continues to widen. According to National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2025 Out of Reach report, an Oklahoma worker needs to earn $20.98 an hour for a two-...

🔗 Learn more:

📊 $20.98/hour needed for a 2-bedroom in Oklahoma.
💼 Most jobs don’t come close.
🏠 We can do better.

#Oklahoma #OklahomaHousing #Housing #HousingPolicy #OKPolicy #OklahomaPolicy #OKLeg #MinimumWage

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OK Policy is hiring TWO new team members!
🌟 Tribal-State Policy Analyst
🌟 Development Associate

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#Oklahoma #OklahomaJobs #OklahomaHiring #OKCJobs #TulsaJobs

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Policy Matters: Our children are paying for grown-up power plays This year in Oklahoma, students face a greater threat: schools, teachers, and classrooms shaken by the political ambitions and reckless decisions of our state’s school superintendent.

Read more in this week's Policy Matters by Executive
Director Shiloh Kantz

📚 Classrooms should teach facts, not politics.

New social studies standards will erase the truth about the 2020 election and replace it with partisan spin.

When we rewrite history to fit an agenda, we fail our students; Oklahoma kids deserve honest history and nothing less.

#Oklahoma #Education

Oklahoma’s booms, busts, and tax cut déjà vu (Capitol Update) - Oklahoma Policy Institute The state received more good revenue news last week. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) reported on Friday that the General Revenue Fund collections for fiscal year 2025 totaled $...

Read more in this week's Capitol Update from Steve Lewis

On the surface, Oklahoma’s budget looks solid — we have a surplus, and some leaders want more tax cuts.

But like an iceberg, the real danger is what’s hidden below: decades of unmet needs in schools, health care, public safety, and infrastructure.

#Oklahoma #OKLeg #FiscalPolicy #TaxCuts

Groundbreaking report reveals more than $200 million in savings from Oklahoma justice reform - Oklahoma Policy Institute A new report examines the potential of Oklahoma’s Community Safety Fund, created by SQ 781 to provide greater access to community-level treatment services.

Read OK Policy's full press release to learn more

Since SQ780/781 passed:

✅ 47% drop in new prison sentences
✅ Property crime down 30%+ in metro & rural areas
✅ Stronger treatment court programs

Justice reform works when we invest in people.

#JusticeReform #CriminalJusticeReform #OKPolicy #SQ781 #SQ780 #OklahomaPolicy #Oklahoma