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The Tulsa Beacon

 

Ray Carter

Center for Independent Journalism

Ray Carter is the director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism.

Oklahoma business owners say Income-Tax cuts needed

Tulsa Beacon

During the 2024 legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt and House lawmakers supported cutting the state’s personal income tax and putting it on a gradual path to full repeal, but Senate leaders refused to grant that proposal a vote. Now a new poll shows Oklahoma business leaders view the Senate’s inaction as a missed opportunity for…

No one is losing their jobs at OU after DEI executive order

Tulsa Beacon

In December 2023, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order seeking to downsize or eliminate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) offices and bureaucracy at Oklahoma colleges and prevent colleges from engaging in illegal discrimination. “In Oklahoma, we’re going to encourage equal opportunity, rather than promising equal outcomes,” Stitt said at the time. “Encouraging our workforce,…

Oklahoma beats Texas on school choice—for now

Tulsa Beacon

When the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit was created in 2023, it gave Oklahoma something it has rarely enjoyed in competitions with border-state rival Texas: A clear advantage on a high-profile education issue. Oklahoma has robust school choice options for families. Texas does not. When he signed the school-choice program into law in May 2023,…

OU paid millions to combine racial focus and climate change

Tulsa Beacon

The University of Oklahoma is being paid millions in federal funds to tout climate-change theories in a race-based context, according to a recent announcement from the university. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma, in partnership with the Chickasaw Nation and the University of New Mexico, have received a $4 million grant from the National Science…

Stitt continues to push for tax cuts

Tulsa Beacon

Due to the opposition of state Senate lawmakers, Oklahoma’s 2024 legislative session ended without passage of pro-growth income-tax cuts, despite the best efforts of Gov. Kevin Stitt and House Republicans leaders. But Stitt isn’t giving up, and he renewed his call for tax cuts this week after recent data showed the state government is in…

Oklahoma pushes back against Biden ‘Gender’ Regulations

Tulsa Beacon

A lawsuit filed by Oklahoma officials has resulted in a preliminary injunction that prevents the Biden administration from forcing Oklahoma schools to allow men to use women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. The injunction was issued the same week that controversy swelled over the decision of Paris Olympics to allow two individuals, previously identified as having…

Health Agency collects Oklahomans’ data, balks at public transparency

Tulsa Beacon

For years, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has collected Oklahomans’ personal medical information via patient-discharge data. An agency spokesperson has acknowledged that practice has been in place for years. But when an open-records request asked if the Oklahoma State Department of Health sells that data to third parties, the agency’s tune changed. The…

People Moving To Oklahoma Bring $1 Billion With Them

Tulsa Beacon

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…

Oklahoma among Top 10 States for job creation

Tulsa Beacon

Seven years ago, one of Nada Higuera’s best friends moved from southern California, where they both lived, to Oklahoma. It was a decision that made little sense to Higuera at the time. “When she moved, I was just like, ‘Why Oklahoma?’” Higuera said. “I never really heard anything about Oklahoma. I thought it was so…

Oklahoma Legislative Session ends with few Major Accomplishments

Tulsa Beacon

Members of the Oklahoma Legislature have adjourned this year’s session, ending the process after passing several lower-tier priorities but having fumbled major issues, which were left to future Legislatures to address. On two issues in particular, lawmakers failed to address major needs in Oklahoma: judicial-appointment reform and passage of pro-growth tax cuts. Lawmakers leave Democratic…