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 policy analyst for healthcare and revenue at the Oklahoma Policy Institute.

Links mentioneD:

• First, the Tulsa World reported that State Auditor Cindy Byrd reported to the legislature that her office’s audit into Epic Charter Schools for gross misuse of public education funds was “the largest abuse of taxpayer funds in the history of the state” and she wasn’t sure why Attorney General John O’Connor had not yet filed charges.
• Then The Frontier reported that Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor is refusing to release the investigative audit of the State Health Department and won’t even really say why. 
• 2022 OK Policy Annual Budget Summit

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 had a year ago.
• On Tuesday Governor Stitt issued an executive order authorizing all state employees to serve as substitute teachers in an effort to keep schools open. Good use of state resources or bad use of state resources?
• Also on Tuesday, national public education advocacy organization, Stand for Children, released the results of their latest nationwide teacher survey and it’s not good news. The topline result: 3 out of 10 teachers nationwide say they may quit the profession this year due to the political attacks on teachers and education. Other interesting takeaways from this survey: 
• 92% say students should be able to learn about historical truths, even when they are uncomfortable.
• 94% say schools should ensure that no students feel unsafe, invisible, or unheard.
• 93% agree with the statement: “So that children can thrive in diverse workplaces, it is essential for schools to help children learn to value and respect the humanity of every person and to recognize and reject racism.”
• 93% agreed with the statement: “Students deserve a thorough and accurate account of American history, including the hard parts, not a whitewashed version, because knowing the full story of the past empowers students to create a better future.”
• Bill filings, including Senator Tom Duggar’s Open Records Act bill 
• Rep Jose Cruz resigns
• The McGirt case 

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 Exotic interview about Donald Trump, Oklahoma’s teacher walkout
• How to Win Friends and Save the Republic podcast from the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers

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 Thompson

The People's Map

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.