November treasury receipts
The state’s top financial officer says gross receipts for the past year have set a new record high for the sixth consecutive month.
Twelve-month gross receipts through November are up by 16.3 percent - more than $17 billion dollars - year over year. However, State Treasurer Randy McDaniel has concerns about falling energy prices and their effect on future collections.
McDaniel says while the lower fuel prices at the pump are providing relief to consumers, the slowdown in demand and drop in prices will impact collections in the future. The monthly tax collections on oil and gas production fell below $160 million dollars for the first time since April.
Meanwhile all other major revenue streams are growing. Sales and tax collections again exceeded the rate of inflation, growing 10.5% compared to last November.
Abortion petition withdrawn
A petition to put abortion access on the ballot in Oklahoma was withdrawn on the day it was supposed to start collecting signatures.
The petition for State Question 828 would have asked Oklahoma voters whether to add the right to individual reproductive freedom to the state’s constitution. It was withdrawn on Wednesday.
One of the proponents of the initiative wrote in a Facebook post the withdrawal is a strategic move to reorganize and increase the chances of securing the signatures required to get the question on the ballot.
The organizers would have needed to gather nearly 173,000 signatures within a 90-day period.
Weatherford’s Police Chief announces retirement
Chief Louis Flowers made the announcement Wednesday in a video on social media with The Weatherford Daily News. Flowers has worked at the Police Department for 30 years, with the last nine of them serving as Chief of Police.
“It’s been a great job...but I also know it’s time to go. I’m getting a little bit older in life and want to spend some time with my grandchildren. It’s been one heck of a ride here in Weatherford and something that I will always cherish and be a part of.”
Under his supervision, the city of Weatherford received the title of Safest City in Oklahoma in 2019 for cities with a population of 10 thousand or more.
Grant to expand sexual assault services
The Tulsa City Council will soon vote on a grant that police say would expand sexual assault services for all of Oklahoma.
Tulsa Police Department nurse examiner Kasey Magness says the 500-thousand dollar federal grant given to the police department would add two statewide positions to Tulsa’s sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE program.
“Right now, we have 77 counties in Oklahoma, and there’s only 33 programs in the state. So what this grant will do, is it will allow us to hire a statewide SANE coordinator and a statewide clinical coordinator to be able to broaden those programs and try to have all counties be able to have a sexual assault nurse examiner, be able to do those SANE exams, no matter where you are in the state.”
Magness also said the grant could be used to pay nurse examiners for when they are on call or in court for sexual assault cases.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief with host Nyk Daniels.