Let's Pod This

Andy is joined by Emma Morris, Healthcare and Revenue Policy Analyst at OK Policy , to discuss the newly-approved FY23 state budget winners, losers, and who-knows-what's-going-to-happen-with-the-leftovers.

With less than two weeks before sine die , we have yet to see a budget proposal...from anyone! Also, the investigation into the Swadley's scandal deepens and the multicounty grand jury issued policy recommendations but no indictments. Relevant links are below! Let’s start with the latest on BBQGate. Two important developments came to light this week: First, The Frontier reported that Months before...

Andy, Bailey, & Scott discuss a legislative proposal, SJR43 , that is an overt attempt to politicize Oklahoma's judicial system by replacing most judges with Governor-appointed cronies, make the rest of the judicial elections partisan, and create an entirely separate class of lawyers that are licensed by the legislature, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. (For broader context on these assaults...

Andy & Scott discuss the latest news in the BBQ-flavored [alleged] corruption scandal, yet another bill that promises to be a "total ban" on abortion in Oklahoma, and who got tossed from the ballot during candidacy challenges this week.

Scott and Andy discuss the recent rash of allegations of corruption among state legislators, gubernatorial appointees, and other public officials, as well as the recently-launched Clean Up Oklahoma campaign that has been tracking and highlighting these reports. A few pertinent links: Clean Up Oklahoma [ timeline of corruption ] Brent Swadley in 2018: "Wouldn't be where I am today if I followed the...

Candidate filing winds down and there are roughly 200 fewer candidates than there were in the 2018 gubernatorial cycle. Andy & Bailey sort through the filings and discuss what impact this may have on voters' experience at the ballot box and Oklahoma's representation for the next cycle.

Sometimes bills die for very obvious reasons; other times they go away quietly, often so quietly that no one knows why. We discuss new reports about how former Attorney General Mike Hunter killed a bill that would have impacted (and increased scrutiny of) his ability to hire private law firms to assist with state lawsuits. We also chat about the surprising number of legislators who are not seeking...

The Tourism Dept. has to answer some questions (and is now being investigated) concerning the $13 million they paid to a private business to open restaurants at rural state parks during the pandemic, the Oklahoma Pandemic Center cost $30 million but isn't doing the testing they promised, and, as a treat, Andy and Scott take a trip down memory lane to discuss their first cars, gas prices in the 90s...

The Oklahoma legislature passed the first floor deadline this week, and per usual, that meant some contentious bills made it further through the process while others died an early death. (Or did they...?) Andy & Scott discuss the politics and procedures surrounding three big issues: restrictions on transgender students playing sports, school vouchers, and managed care.

Oklahoma House Rep. Merleyn Bell and Norman City Councilmember Lauren Scheuler join us for an important and enlightening conversation about women in government, what it takes to run (and serve) in elected office, and the power of authenticity in our world. Links & bios: Former Congresswoman Kendra Horn has officially entered the race for US Senate CBS News reported that Scott Pruitt may be con...

The legislative debate over education vouchers continues to heat up, and this week OEA released some polling numbers which indicated that a majority of Oklahomans do not support the use of public tax dollars for private education. Also, more big names enter the race for Inhofe's US Senate seat.

With the legislature's first committee deadline in the rearview mirror, Andy & Scott discuss some of the bills that are still alive as well as the down-ballot implications of Senator Inhofe's retirement and what those shifts may mean for Oklahoma voters.

One of Oklahoma's US Senators, Jim Inhofe, announced he is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, just two years into his six-year term. While the state legislature recently changed the law to permit the Governor to appoint a replacement, the timing of Inhofe’s resignation - before March 1st in an even-numbered year - means that Governor Stitt will NOT get to appoint someone. Instead, a...

A voucher bill narrowly passes committee, the Governor's cronyism rears its head again, a representative displays questionable ethics, a party is being audited by the IRS, and a candidate makes a bad decision. Links to articles discussed: SB 1647 (vouchers) advances on a close vote   Bill that would switch up school board election dates resurrected at the Capitol Governor Stitt appointed his...

Governor Stitt delivers his fourth State of the State, the State Auditor releases her audit of OSDH, the OK County Jail leadership left a very bad voicemail. ------- Non-profits aren’t supposed to use federal funds for fun furloughs: Candida Manion, formerly ED of Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, repeatedly used federal funds to take vacations and even go wine tasti...

We are just days away from the beginning of the 2022 legislative session and boy-oh-boy what a wild week it’s been. In this episode we’re going to be talking about the state budget, how it’s looking, what we expect the Governor and the legislature will prioritize when it comes to spending your money, and what issues we hope they’ll consider. We are joined by special guest Emma Morris, who is a pol...

Senator Julia Kirt and Representative Cyndi Munson join the show to discuss the recent article published by Oklahoma Watch which aggregates legislators' conflict of interest disclosure forms, the nature of legislative conflicts of interest in general, and the bills they filed to address the state's disability services waiting list.

This week the battle between Governor Stitt and Oklahoma’s public education escalated further, the State Election Board released the annual voter registration tally, and the bill filing deadline has officially passed. Let’s start with the numbers. According to the State Election Board , as of January 15th, 2022 Oklahoma had 2,218,374 registered voters, which is actually 54,000 fewer voters than we...

The omicron variant of Covid continues to ravage our state, with more than 11,000 new cases reported today and many businesses and schools forced to close. Bill filing continues, and, true to form, many of the proposed laws are simply undemocratic, unconstitutional, and generally bad policy. We talk about all that plus McGirt, Mayoral races, and more!

With less than a month before the legislative session begins, we're already seeing bills being filed, budgets being discussed, and elected officials indicted by grand juries. Wait...what? All that and more in this episode as we discuss what we expect to happen over the next five months.

Andy & Scott discuss the latest on the Epic Charter School debacle (including breaking news that occurred while we were recording), the latest in Covid, and our current television viewing interests.

Alyssa Fisher joins the pod to chat about the weather, local elections, and, most importantly, to tell us about the new Ambassador Program at Sally's List . Things mentioned: Oklahoma Watch: They Don’t Vote, But They Do Count: How the Incarcerated Skew Political Representation in Oklahoma The Oklahoman: Stitt administration suing Dept of Defense over vaccine requirement NonDoc: The unearthed Joe E...

It's been a difficult week. As redistricting draws to its disappointing end, Governor Stitt tries to score political points by blocking vaccines for our National Guard and offering a last-minute merciful reduction in Julius Jones' death sentence.

Wanda Felty (OUHSC Center for Learning and Excellence) and RoseAnn Duplan (OK Disability Law Center) join the show to discuss Oklahoma's disability services waiting list, why it's *still* moving so slowly despite the rhetoric from the Governor & legislature. We also discuss Oklahoma redistricting, the firing of Maj. Gen. Mike Thompson, and Julius Jones. Public Radio Tulsa story on Mike Thompso...

Governor Stitt travels to Mexico where he travels in style, opposes vaccine mandates, and remains aloof on the subject of Julius Jones' life (which *still* hangs in the balance). Also, the legislature is trying to gerrymander Oklahoma County.