Another pandemic-related break for low-income earners and families is coming to an end. Food costs are going to get even harder to deal with for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP or food stamps, has been giving families a little more help for the past three years. Each month, anyone using the benefit would have about $100 more to spend on groceries. But when Congress passed its $1.7 trillion spending bill last year, lawmakers nixed the extra benefit.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services, which administers the federal program for the state, is telling families to prepare for the drop, which begins on March 1. In fiscal year 2022, more than 850,000 Oklahomans used the benefits. During that time, the average benefit was about $7 per person per day. That works out to about $2.36 per meal.
Voting-related legislation can take many different forms - but as the 2024 Presidential election looms closer - time is ticking for state lawmakers who want to update the process.
This year there are several bills related to voting. One proposal is looking to eliminate straight party voting from Oklahoma ballots - while another modifies prohibited activities outside of polling places.
But one bill in particular is considering changing the state question process. State questions, by Oklahoma law, give people the power to propose laws and amendments to the state Constitution and to enact or reject laws at polls independent of the Legislature. Senate Joint Resolution 5 - by Republican Senator Warren Hamilton would allow state questions only on odd-numbered years and tinker with the number of electors needed for it to pass, including a majority vote in 2 out of 3 counties statewide.
All these bills and more will be up for consideration when the legislative session starts in February.
While nearly 50,000 jobs were added to Oklahoma’s economy in 2022, the unemployment rate is also up from the previous year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show a nearly 3% increase in workers from 2021 to 2022, with the largest portion of job growth in the government sector. However, seasonally adjusted unemployment was up by nearly 11,000 people, and statistics show Oklahoma has about two job openings for every one person seeking a job.
Sixty people have been convicted in a massive drug ring that distributed throughout Oklahoma.
Federal prosecutors announced 60 total convictions of people involved in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed meth, heroin and cocaine in Oklahoma.
The ring was run by members of the Southside Locos Gang, including some who directed operations from their prison cells on illicitly obtained cell phones. Authorities seized almost 200 pounds worth of drugs, $300,000 and 69 guns during their crackdown.
The investigation was led by the FBI and took multiple years to complete.
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