TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. Shawn, we don't talk much about the State Regents for Higher Education, but a new report from the State Regents shows some promising results for college graduates in Oklahoma. What does the report tell us?
Shawn Ashley: According to the Regents 2023 Employment Outcomes Report that was released Thursday, 93.8% of Oklahomans who graduated from public colleges and universities in the state were employed in Oklahoma one year after graduation. Just over 61% of nonresidents who graduated from Oklahoma colleges and universities were employed one year after graduation, as well. Now, both those numbers decline five years after graduation to 85.5% for Oklahoma residents and 39.6% for nonresidents.
Dick Pryor: Is there anything from the report that really stood out?
Shawn Ashley: Yeah, there were several numbers. Of science, technology, engineering and math graduates – STEM graduates - 84% were working in the state one year after graduation and 69% five years after graduation. Nearly 92% of teacher education graduates were employed in the state one year after graduation and nearly 95% of nursing graduates were employed in the state one year after graduation and 87% five years out, one of the higher percentages at the five-year mark.
Dick Pryor: Leadership in the Regents office is going to change soon. Last July, Chancellor Allison Garrett announced her intention to retire this coming January. What's being done to find a replacement for Garrett?
Shawn Ashley: Well, later that month, the regents formed a search committee made up of four of its members - Chair Dennis Casey, a former House member who served as vice chair of the Appropriations and Budget Committee; Jeff Hickman, who was a House Speaker; Steven Taylor, a former Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice; and Courtney Warmington, an Oklahoma City attorney. They're beginning a national search for Garrett's successor.
Dick Pryor: A handful of state legislators announced the formation of what they are calling the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus. The Oklahoma House and Senate have overwhelming Republican majorities. Why did those legislators say their caucus is needed?
Shawn Ashley: Well, Andy Roth, who is president of the State Freedom Caucus Network that now has 12 affiliate caucuses in state legislatures, said, “we have 50 swamps in the 50 states, and we need to bring the Freedom Caucus down to the states.” He was referring to the U.S. House’s Freedom Caucus, which is considered the most conservative group of lawmakers in Congress. Roth, Senator Shane Jett, who will serve as the caucus’s chair, and Senator Dusty Devers, who will be the caucus’s senate vice chair, said many Republicans campaigned on conservative values but vote differently when they get to the Capitol. Devers said Oklahoma voters are, quote, “tired of Republican establishment politicians who campaign like they are Tom Coburn but govern like they are Mitt Romney.”
Dick Pryor: Right now, it's a small group. So, what does the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus propose to do?
Shawn Ashley: Jett said the caucus will try to bring what he called a “freedom centered focus” to bills being considered in committee and on the floor. “We're going to keep moving them to the right, so we'll get it right, and the people back home will send us back here with a new mandate to continue the good work we are doing because it reflects their values,” Jett said. Roth said the national network will provide resources to lawmakers, such as communications policy and legal support that they currently do not have access to.
Dick Pryor: And finally, gross revenue for the state went up nearly 2% in August, according to State Treasurer Todd Russ. That's positive economic news, but the 12-month trend through July paints a different picture.
Shawn Ashley: It does. For the 12-month period, total revenue collections were $16.95 billion. That was down $304.4 million, or 1.8%, Russ reported Wednesday. That's due to declines in a few tax areas, including sales tax and corporate income. And we will probably see some continued decline in sales and use taxes as a result of the elimination of the state sales tax on groceries, which took effect September 1st.
Dick Pryor: Economist Robert Dauffenbach has been warning us about this and how it might affect the state.
Shawn Ashley: He certainly has.
Dick Pryor: And we'll be talking to him in a few weeks. Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find audio and transcripts at kgou.org and look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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