Together Oklahoma members are working together to keep taking action and staying sane!
- Revenue Options!
- Policy Action Alerts from TOK and beyond!
- You need to do your part, but only your part, NOT all the parts!
- Legislator Town Hall Meetings
- Upcoming events!
Revenue Options!
Not only do we have viable revenue options right here from Oklahoma Policy Institute to consider and share with fellow advocates and our own legislators, this week we also have a very special podcast from me and Policy Director, Gene Perry. In the OK PolicyCast Episode 24: All about the revenues, we discuss the Governor’s budget ideas, what’s most likely to make it through the Legislature, and what other revenue ideas Oklahoma Policy Institute has put forward to fix our state’s budget hole. I hope you like it, subscribe where you find your podcasts, and feel free to give me feedback if you know how we can make future episodes even better.
Policy Action Alerts from TOK and beyond!
You can depend on me for policy action alerts related to budget each week each week, like the one below. However, if you’d also like alerts every Monday about Criminal Justice, Education, Health Care, Immigration, Poverty & Opportunity, Voting & Elections, and such, I recommend that you subscribe to the OK Policy general alerts at this link.
Contact your two legislators to let them know that you are supportive of HB 1383 that would increase the Sales Tax Relief Credit, a key support for hundreds of thousands of working families and seniors. This bill passed out of a House subcommittee but will need to heard and approved by the full House Appropriations and Budget committee. Find out more about it on this Factsheet. At this time bills are being heard in committees and this is a good one that could use your support.
You need to do your part, but only your part, NOT all the parts!
As a young organizer I used to try so hard to do it all. Once you see the needs in this world you can’t un-see them, right? The trouble is that there will always be challenges ahead. For example, Frederick Douglass made essential contributions to the end of Slavery in the United States but before he died the post-civil war construction era had ended and the South was headed for Jim Crow segregation. He couldn’t do it all but we never hesitate to honor him for all that he DID DO. Our ancestors planted trees and we can sit in their shade but we also have to get up and plant more trees for the future.
Maybe you and I can’t be a Frederick Douglass for this world but we can each do our part. We’ve talked before about how to do Advocacy with Minimal, Medium, or More Effort, and it is also important to know when to stop and catch your breath. One of our TOK advocates reminded us in the advocate_self_care Slack channel of the way that “sometimes in band or choir, music requires players or singers to hold a note longer than they actually can hold a note. In those cases, we were taught to mindfully stagger when we took a breath so the sound appeared uninterrupted. Everyone got to breathe, and the music stayed strong and vibrant…Let’s remember MUSIC. Take a breath. The rest of the chorus will sing. The rest of the band will play. Rejoin so others can breathe. Together, we can sustain a very long, beautiful song for a very, very long time. You don’t have to do it all, but you must add your voice to the song. “
Legislator Town Hall Meetings
We’ve been meeting with our legislators for Face-to-face February. In addition to scheduling your own meeting with at the Capitol or in your district on the weekend, another outstanding opportunity could be planning or attending a Town Hall Meeting. If you know about one of your state legislators hosting a Town Hall Meeting please fill out this form Also, if you’d like to be on a team to plan and host a Town Hall, please fill out this form and we’ll get in touch with you soon.
Upcoming Events
- TOK Norman is teaming up with Let’s Fix This for a Norman Meetup Thursday, February 23 at 6 PM – 8 PM at Blackbird Gastropub, 575 S University Ste 110, Norman, Oklahoma 73069
- 2017 Trialogue Session 3: Compassionate Action, Sunday , Feb 19th at 2 PM – 5 PM at the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, 2021 E 71st St, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136
Have you been curious about what would be required to create a compassionate budget for the state? Join us Sunday to hear David Blatt, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, share his thoughts on this timely subject. TOK will be tabling at this event as well so come by and say “hi!” to our member volunteers! - TOK Norman members are encouraged to RSVP by 6pm on Thursday, Feb 16th to Join IMPACT as they host a Day at the Capitol on Presidents Day (Monday, Feb 20, 2017). This day is going to be HUGE because all education committees are slated to meet. Additionally, it is the day that any Teacher Pay Raise bills will be heard in committee, which is the first step before they make it to the floor! TOK members who attend are encouraged to talk to your legislators about our revenue options to fix the budget hole and fund public education.
- PLAC Capitol Day – February will be talking to leaders at the Capitol! Schedule for Capitol Days is as follows: Short meeting and meet & greet with legislators in Room 511A. Then we will go out in teams to talk to legislators about important issues impacting Oklahoma Education. TOK members who attend should rsvp with PLAC here and plan to talk to your legislators about our revenue options to fix the budget hole and fund public education.
- Norman Women Lead Network Lunch Tuesday, February 21 at 12 PM – 1:30 PM
Blu Fine Wine and Food,201 S Crawford Ave, Norman, Oklahoma 73069
So remember:
- The Budget Hole is priority number 1 because it effects EVERYTHING else so check out the revenue options and give a listen to our new OK PolicyCast Episode 24: All about the revenues.
- Action Alert to get legislators to vote YES on HB 1383 to support for working families and seniors by increasing the Sales Tax Relief Credit. (Factsheet HERE)
- Fill out this form if you know of any state legislator townhalls or if you’d like to be on a team to host one.
- Do your part and encourage your fellow TOK team members to do their part to so we can all get a chance to take a breath.
- Come to the Capitol, join us at events, write some letters, make calls, and/or invite other folks to join Together Oklahoma because the world is run by those who show up.
We are planting trees here and trees can take a long time to grow. Don’t try to do it all but like Woody Guthrie said “Take it easy, but take it.”
