Kurt Gwartney

Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law Monday a sweeping overhaul of the way Oklahoma treats workers hurt on the job. Senate Bill 1062 changes the state’s court-based workers’ compensation system to an administrative plan.

Supporters of the bill, including its authors, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker T.W. Shannon, say it will reduce costs for businesses.

But detractors, including many Democrats, say the new law saves money at the expense of injured workers and does nothing to reduce medical costs associated with workers’ compensation claims.

Of all the major countries fighting in World War II, the United States is the only nation whose civilian economy grew during the conflict, according to David Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and historian.

“In this country and this country alone, the civilian portion of the economy grew by 15 percent,” Kennedy said. This is in contrast to allies Great Britain and the Soviet Union where that sector of the economy shrank by one-third.

Kennedy made those comments during his presentation, “A Tale of Three Cities: How the United State Won World War II,” at the second annual Teach In at the University of Oklahoma.

A lawsuit by an out-of-state company that challenges a tax break on capital gains for Oklahoma-based businesses is causing some concern at the state Capitol.

An analysis on the potential costs of a tax reimbursement show Oklahoma could be on the hook for as much as $480 million if the court rules in favor of tax payers.

Republican State Rep. Jeff Hickman raised the issue during questions on a tax cut bill approved by the House last week. But budget negotiators said any repercussions of the capital gains issue should be worked out apart from the state budget.

Lawmakers have until the end of this month to complete their work, including the passing of a state budget. The adjournment date might come sooner with the announcement of an agreement on how to spend the state’s money.

The budget to pay for Oklahoma’s government will be $7.1 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1, under an agreement between Gov. Mary Fallin and legislative leaders. For most state agencies the amount of money they’ll receive in the new budget year is the same as last, but Fallin says the largest increase in the budget is for public schools in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Senate has approved a Republican-backed plan to overhaul the state's workers' compensation system, sending the proposal to Gov. Mary Fallin for her likely signature.

The nearly 300-page bill went through several rewrites and adjustments before passing the House, and the Senate approved the House version with a 35-12 vote Tuesday along party lines. All Democrats present opposed the bill.

The Great Depression is often used as an economic touchstone when the United States suffers difficult economic times.

That is one of the reasons President Barack Obama tapped Christina Romer as the chairwoman of his Council of Economic Advisers, a post she left in 2010.

Her experience and research in studying the fiscal crisis of the late 1920s and 30s became important to the Obama administration as it navigated the nation’s deep recession.

Sima Bhowmik, a journalist with ABC radio in Bangladesh, is working at KGOU for several weeks as part of a U.S. State Dept. program. She is following the unfolding events of the building collapse in her country.

Bhowmik made contact with another reporter in the country, and provides details of the connection between the owner of the building and a political party.