Collinsville, Oklahoma
March 19, 2016
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Copyright 2016 -- Collinsville, Oklahoma

Insurance Commissioner Doak Calls for
No State Funding of His Agency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 15, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak has requested that the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) no longer receive appropriated funds.

“Right now Oklahoma is dealing with a budget crisis,” said Doak. “We certainly want to do everything we can to help with the massive shortfall. Since my office has the ability to operate on the licensing fees we collect, it only makes sense for our appropriation to go elsewhere.”

Since Doak took office in 2011, the OID has received a total of $9,047,632 in appropriated funds. In that same time period, the Legislature has taken $28,500,000 from the OID’s revolving account.

“I’m very proud of the fact that we have been well below budget every year I’ve been in office,” said Doak. “Due to efficiency and conservative spending, our unspent funds went to the other agencies and programs that desperately needed it. We will continue to do all we can to help Oklahoma weather this financial storm.”

Despite taking on more duties, the OID is on track to spend less this fiscal year than any other year of Doak’s tenure. Since 2011, the OID has taken on the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers, the Oklahoma Option and new captive insurance statues.

“Our office continues to do more with less, just like so many Oklahoma businesses have been forced to do during this economic downturn,” said Doak. “Cutting expenses while shoring up revenues is common in the private sector. I encourage the Legislature to seriously consider taking us to non-appropriated status.”

Doak’s request was made in a letter to Gov. Mary Fallin and the Legislature. You can read the letter by clicking the link below the contact information.

About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

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For more information, contact:
Kelly Dexter
405-522-0683
Kelly.Dexter@oid.ok.gov

New Member of Shearer Family
Good afternoon Mr. Wright. I was wondering if you would please post a picture of my daughter on cvilleok.com. Lakyn Paige Shearer born on Tuesday March 15. Holding her is her older sister Payton. Have a great weekend. -- Jarrod Shearer 3/17/2016
Collinsville 7th Smartest?
Hi there, it’s John from Zippia, a site dedicated to careers.

We recently published a report on the 10 Smartest Cities in Oklahoma. Based on criteria like the high school dropout rate and adults with at least a high school degree for each city in Oklahoma, Collinsville ranked 7th overall: Smartest Cities in Oklahoma

I thought since you cover local news in Collinsville that this would be a great article to use for your next story or to link to on your site.

Thanks! John McLean (Zippia) -- (3/17/2016)

Blood Drive At CHS March 24th
 
J.J. Dossett Senate Report (March 17, 2016)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 17, 2016

Senate Review by Senator J.J. Dossett

In 2014 thousands of Oklahoma teachers, parents, students and education advocates rallied at the state Capitol. I was one of those teachers who traveled to Oklahoma City, asking the governor and legislative leaders to make education the priority they claimed it was. We asked them to restore the funding cuts of the previous five years, during which time our per-pupil investment in common education fell more than 20 percent.

Certainly other states had been forced to reduce education funding as a result of the national recession, but Oklahoma’s reductions made us first in the nation—no other state had cut education funding as much. With Oklahoma’s economy on the rebound, we felt it was time to ask lawmakers to make education whole again by returning our schools to pre-recession funding levels.

An additional $80 million was appropriated that year, but half of that was for increases in insurance, and the other half was dispersed through the formula. This was not enough to restore the funding levels to pre-recession levels, and not enough to give teachers a much-needed pay raise. But that same year, legislation was passed and signed into law to reduce the state’s income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5 percent.

That tax cut kicked in this year, despite the fact that Oklahoma is facing a $1.3 billion shortfall for the 2017 fiscal year. That’s on top of the FY 2016 revenue shortfall that has forced the state to slash agency budgets across the board by nearly half a billion dollars. The cut to education alone was close to $110 million.

Last week, the governor and the leaders of the Senate and House announced an agreement to give education $51 million from the Rainy Day Fund. That’s $5 million less than Superintendent Hofmeister had requested. I’m glad that our schools will get some relief, but it should have been more. Even with the Rainy Day Funds, they’re still facing significant reductions in the current school year.

Despite the agreement using the Rainy Day Fund to soften the impact of this year’s revenue failure on education, Oklahoma’s already underfunded schools will still have to make some very difficult choices in order to balance their budgets. One school district here in northeastern Oklahoma has already announced they’ll shorten the school year by six days this year because of budget cuts. I’m sure we’ll be hearing about other school districts being forced to look at options like this.

Even before these cuts, Oklahoma was facing a teacher shortage that many have called a crisis—a shortage tied to Oklahoma’s low teacher salaries. The Oklahoma Policy Institute cites a recent study by University of Tulsa economist Matthew Hendricks that says as teacher salaries have stagnated, more teachers are leaving the public school system in Oklahoma. The study found that between 2006 and 2014, about 35 percent of first-year teachers left their school and 17 percent left the public school system completely. With no ability to raise salaries any time soon, and some districts likely being forced to reduce positions as a result of the budget, this situation will only worsen.

There was a bill this year to delay the income tax reduction, and that would have helped close the budget gap. That measure passed the Senate Finance Committee with bipartisan support, but it was never brought to the floor for consideration by the full Senate.

I welcome your comments on state government and the issues before us. Please feel free to contact me by writing to Senator J.J. Dossett at the State Capitol, Room 521-A, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105; call me at (405) 521-5566.

J.J. Dossett Senate Report (March 11, 2016)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 11, 2016

Senate Review by Senator J.J. Dossett

When it was announced last week that revenue for the current budget year had continued to decline, I don’t think anyone here at the Capitol was really surprised. We pretty much knew this bad news was coming. Still, it was really hard to hear the official announcement that state agencies would have to take additional cuts in the remaining months of Fiscal Year 2016.

It’s basic math. The tax commissioner and other economists look at current revenue collections and economic indicators and make a projection as to how much revenue it’s anticipated the state will collect in the next fiscal year. That figure is certified by the State Board of Equalization.

There’s a safety net built into the process in that the Legislature can only appropriate 95 percent of the anticipated revenue collections. That gives some flexibility should the actual collections come in a little less than anticipated. But if the decrease in collections is more than that five percent safety net can cover, a revenue failure is declared and across the board cuts are ordered to ensure the budget stays balanced.

The announcement last week was actually the second revenue failure declared for

the current fiscal year. One of the first officials to react to this news was State Superintendent of Instruction Joy Hofmeister, who said the funding cuts of nearly $110 million were brutal and heartbreaking for education. I couldn’t agree more.

The important thing to remember is we do have another safety net that could make a huge difference to our public schools. After the oil bust in the 1980’s, Oklahoma citizens wisely voted to create a Rainy Day Fund so that when the economy was growing, some funds could be set aside for emergencies. Furthermore, a specific portion of the Rainy Day Fund is limited to use in the current fiscal year to offset revenue shortfalls, just like we’re facing now.

On Wednesday, the governor and the leaders of the Senate and House announced an agreement to give education $51 million from the Rainy Day Fund. That’s $5 million less than Superintendent Hofmeister had requested. When the bill came to the floor, I tried to add that additional $5 million in, but that was not allowed to happen. I’m glad that our schools will get some relief, but it should have been more. Even with the Rainy Day Funds, they’re still facing significant reductions in the current school year.

As a as a teacher, legislator and parent, I’m deeply concerned about what this is doing to our schools—and I think every citizen in this state should be as well.

I welcome your comments on state government and the issues before us. Please feel free to contact me by writing to Senator J.J. Dossett at the State Capitol, Room 521-A, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105; call me at (405) 521-5566.

New Free Tool Helps Recover More Than $500,000 for Oklahomans
For Immediate Release:
March 8, 2016

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than half a million dollars has been returned to Oklahomans in just under a year with the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Lost Life Policy Locator Service. The free tool helps people find a life insurance policy or annuity contract left by a deceased loved one.

“We are thrilled to see that the Lost Life Policy Locator Service is working,” Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak said. “When we launched in March of 2015, we were hoping to bridge the gap between insurance companies and Oklahomans who think they may be listed as a beneficiary. I’m proud that we’ve been able to do that, and we will continue the effort.”

The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) has received 429 requests to search for lost policies in the last year. To date, OID has located 29 policies and recovered $534,483.69 for Oklahomans.

The Lost Life Policy Locator Service requires consumers submit necessary information about the deceased including a copy of the death certificate. Then, OID will contact all state-licensed life insurance companies asking them to search their records for any life insurance policies or annuity contracts insuring the deceased. If a policy is found, that insurance company will contact the beneficiary to complete the claim. The entire process usually takes about 45-60 days.

To use the service, visit the Lost Life Policy Locator Service on our website or contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 1-800-522-0071.

About the Oklahoma Insurance Department

The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.

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For media requests, contact:

Kelly Dexter

405-522-0683
Kelly.Dexter@oid.ok.gov