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. Less than 50 days remain before the November general election and state officials have announced that the number of names on the state's voter rolls has been reduced significantly in the last three years. Shawn, how is that being done?
Shawn Ashley: State statutes provide several different ways to cull ineligible voters from the voter rolls. According to Governor Kevin Stitt, Secretary of State Josh Cockcroft, and State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax, more than 450,000 voter registrations have been removed since January 1st of 2021. That includes more than 97,000 deceased voters, nearly 145,000 voters who moved out of state, 5,607 felons, 14,993 duplicate registrations and nearly 195,000 inactive voters who were canceled during the address verification process. Despite all those removals, there are nearly 2.4 million Oklahomans registered to vote in the upcoming general election.
Dick Pryor: The House Business and Commerce Committee held an interim study Thursday to hear about the state's “innovation economy.” What did they hear?
Shawn Ashley: This was the sixth year Representative Brian Hill, a Republican from Mustang, has conducted an interim study on Oklahoma's economy and its workforce. This year, he focused on the innovation economy - those new products, services and production methods, most of which are being created by Oklahomans. What the committee heard was that Oklahoma's innovation economy is growing. Some of the presenters talked about the big biotech and biomanufacturing projects coming to Oklahoma City's innovation district.
Others talked about what's happening in the aerospace, cybersecurity, and telehealth fields at Tulsa's Innovation Lab and Lawton's Science and Technology Accelerator that is located in a converted mall in that city now houses three of the world's top five defense contractors, along with other defense technology firms. But Jennifer McGrail with the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology – OCAST - stressed, smaller innovation-based companies are growing in rural parts of the state, something that was reiterated by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, which works with OCAST on the Oklahoma Grass Roots Rural and Ag-business Accelerator. The ag-ccelerator.
Dick Pryor: At the end of the day, the committee heard from State Secretary of Education Nellie Tayloe Sanders, who suggested changes in the state's education methodology. What does Sanders want?
Shawn Ashley: Sanders told the committee, quote, “we are not all made to do the exact same thing. And the education model we have at this very second is a very, very narrow lane. The education system,” Sanders explained, “is ready to learn focused. And when 76% of fourth graders are not reading at grade level, there's a chance some bright minds, some innovators,” she suggested, “could be left behind.” Sanders says she hopes the human potential for Future Industries Task force that Governor Stitt created earlier this month will attempt to address that issue. Sanders said, “my greatest hope is that this task force will have a way to go straight to the human potential of a child.”
Dick Pryor: Another task force began its work Tuesday and received a challenge from Governor Kevin Stitt. The governor seemed excited by the opportunity for the Task Force on the Study of Business Courts to, what he called “whiteboard” a new idea.
Shawn Ashley: This task force was created by legislation, Senate Bill 473. At Stitt’s urging it was one of the four things he wanted in exchange for a promise not to veto the fiscal year 2025 budget. Stitt said he sometimes challenges the staff to think about how they would design a state agency from the ground up. “But you guys don't have to worry about all the personalities,” he said. “All the histories and all the people that you have to fire, get rid of and move around. You were able to whiteboard this thing from the very beginning. So, think big. Think what's possible.” The task force has until the end of 2025 to come up with a proposal that will be submitted to the legislature for its consideration that outlines how a business court system would work in the state of Oklahoma.
Dick Pryor: And finally, State Treasurer Todd Russ has announced that the state's credit rating has improved.
Shawn Ashley: On Thursday, Moody's ratings upgraded the state's credit rating to the second highest level, noting a long trend of conservative budget management and various balance sheet strengths in its upgrade. Now, the state's credit rating is important, just like our own credit ratings are important because it affects the interest rates for borrowing money. And the state issues bonds through a variety of state programs.
Dick Pryor: 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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