Curtis Shelton

SB1027 would give OK voters a clearer picture of ballot-measure costs

March 13, 2025 Curtis Shelton

Oklahoma SB1027, authored by state Sen. David Bullard (R-Durant), aims at reforming the state’s initiative petition process. The bill makes a variety of reforms to the process, one of which is a requirement to reveal if a proposed measure will have a fiscal impact (and if so, where that funding would come from). This additional…

No, tax cuts didn’t cause Oklahoma budget deficits

February 20, 2025 Curtis Shelton

Did recent income-tax cuts result in a deficit for Oklahoma’s state government? Let’s look at the evidence. Over the last 20 years, Oklahoma state government revenue has grown by 51 percent when accounting for population growth and inflation. At the same time, the state reduced its income tax by 32 percent, from a top rate…

People Moving To Oklahoma Bring $1 Billion With Them

July 25, 2024 Ray Carter Curtis Shelton

Since 2019, Oklahoma has been among the states experiencing the greatest level of net domestic migration as the number of people moving to Oklahoma has exceeded those leaving the state. And those new citizens have increased Oklahoma’s net adjusted gross income by more than $1 billion, based on Internal Revenue Service data. In 2020, people…