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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.

Experts warn Oklahoma pension changes could harm the state finances

Tulsa Beacon

After having some of the nation’s worst-funded state pension systems, Oklahoma lawmakers adopted several reforms starting in 2011 that dramatically improved the state’s financial standing. Those reforms included putting all new state government hires into a 401(k)-style “defined-contribution” plan rather than the “defined-benefit” plans that generated so much financial strain. But in recent years, several…

OSU in PR nightmare over Pro-Hamas Event University of Oklahoma also faces criticism

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma State University has come under national scrutiny after a message from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) was distributed touting a “week of rage” to oppose Israel’s response to the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Eyal Yakoby, an incoming Massachusetts Institute of Technology student who self-describes as being “dedicated to combating Jew-Hate…

Pattern notable in Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Decisions

Tulsa Beacon

In recent years, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled on legal challenges to the “gist” of initiative-petition efforts, deciding whether the brief description contained in the gist provides Oklahoma voters a true picture of the proposal before they sign their names to a petition. The court’s decisions have swung wildly from case to case, in…

Oklahoma schools get $58.9 Million for Literacy Efforts

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma schools will receive $58.9 million in federal funding over the next five years to provide reading and literacy programs across Oklahoma, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced today. “This grant will be a powerful supplement to the work we are already doing and offers us incredible resources to build upon the foundation we’ve built that…

In Arkansas, Conservative Supreme Court makes a significant difference

Tulsa Beacon

In July 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Cody Hiland to serve as a justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court, replacing a justice who died in office. Because members of the Arkansas Supreme Court are typically selected through direct elections, the appointment was unusual for that reason alone. But Sanders noted at the time…

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…