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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 Pop Museum a money pit?

Tulsa Beacon

Eight years after state lawmakers provided $25 million to build the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa, the facility has yet to serve patrons and its cost to state taxpayers is exploding. The concept for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, also called OKPOP, was originally developed in 2008. By 2015, state lawmakers voted…

Bill could mandate pursuit of Biden Federal School Grants

Tulsa Beacon

A provision snuck into legislation funding Oklahoma public schools could force the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) to apply for federal grants that were a priority of the prior Democratic state superintendent of public instruction. The mandate comes at a time when the Biden administration is openly trying to use federal funding to force…

Tax-cut discussion to continue?

Tulsa Beacon

Although lawmakers are expected to adjourn from the current budget-focused special session without passing a major tax cut, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he may continue to push for one in the coming weeks. “I’m considering calling people back for another special session to get a tax cut done,” Stitt said. “You know, when you think…

Lawmakers approve rules on School pornography and Parental Rights

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma State Department of Education regulations that ban pornographic materials in public-school libraries and spell out parental rights in schools have received approval from Oklahoma lawmakers. Lawmakers’ decision to approve the rules is a victory for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, who championed adoption of the new regulations. In March, at Walters’ urging,…

OK Supreme Court to decide if ‘reservation’ Indians pay income tax

Tulsa Beacon

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which declared that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s Oklahoma reservation was never formally disestablished for purposes of federal major-crimes law, has now led to a state court case that will determine if all American Indians in the affected areas are now exempt from paying Oklahoma state…

School Choice Education Bill Passes

Tulsa Beacon

After weeks of negotiations, Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders announced they have reached an agreement on a public-school funding plan that also clears the way for enactment of a major expansion of school choice in Oklahoma. “Right now, we’re not top 10 in education,” Stitt said. “And so that’s why I appreciate the House…

Oklahoma’s ESG law gets Blackrock’s notice

Tulsa Beacon

Under Oklahoma law, investment companies that politically boycott oil-and-gas investments are now prohibited from receiving state contracts to manage hundreds of millions of dollars in state pension funds. That has grabbed the attention of one of the companies barred from handling those funds. This week, officials with Blackrock, Inc., met with Gov. Kevin Stitt to…

Biden Administration threatens St. Francis’ accreditation

Tulsa Beacon

The Biden administration has threatened to strip Saint Francis Hospital South of accreditation that allows it to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients because the hospital maintains an eternally lit candle as a religious symbol in its hospital chapel, according to a legal organization representing the hospital. Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at the…

Senate, House at odds on school choice

Tulsa Beacon

Just a day after their counterparts in the Oklahoma House of Representatives supported creation of a major school-choice tax-credit program, members of the state Senate did the same thing, easily advancing a similar measure. Large majorities in both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature have now passed major school-choice legislation twice apiece, setting the stage for…

Gov. Stitt calls for tax cuts

Tulsa Beacon

Noting state government has both record savings and revenue far exceeding what is required to maintain existing government services, Gov. Kevin Stitt has renewed his call for passage of major tax cuts this year. “If not now, when?” Stitt said. “If we don’t cut taxes this year, when are we going to do it? We…