Latest news with #StateQuestion832
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing access would increase if Oklahoma's minimum wage grew to $15 an hour, report finds
Increasing the minimum wage would make housing more affordable for tens of thousands, report finds. (Photo by)(This image cannot be republished unless you have a Getty subscription.) OKLAHOMA CITY – Tens of thousands of more Oklahomans would be able to afford housing if the state's minimum wage were raised to $15 an hour, according to a new report. Up to 40,000 households would no longer pay 30% or more on rent with the increased minimum wage, according to the report issued by Scioto Analysis, which has offices around the country and provides analysis of issues to public policymakers. The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines anyone who is spending more than 30% of their income on housing as 'housing cost burdened,' which is high, said Rob Moore, principal with Scioto Analysis. 'If you are spending over 50% of your income on housing, you are considered very housing cost burdened,' Moore said. If the minimum wage was increased, up to 32,000 Oklahoma households would no longer spend more than half of their income on rent, according to the report. Lower-income Oklahomans spend a larger proportion of their income on housing, according to the report. The report was commissioned by This Land Research and Communications, a project of the Oklahoma Donor Alliance. The Donor Alliance is a nonprofit that funds strategic research projects. The groups are not affiliated with Raise the Wage Oklahoma, which collected enough signatures to get a state question seeking to increase the minimum wage on the June 16, 2026 ballot. If approved by voters, State Question 832 would gradually increase the $7.25 an hour minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2029. Additional increases would be tied to the cost of living measured by the U.S. Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index. The report said increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would result in as many as 550 fewer Oklahomans experiencing homelessness. Chronic homelessness would drop by 150 people a year, according to the report. Oklahoma has seen a dramatic increase in homelessness, doubling in the past three years, according to the report. More than 64% of chronically homeless Oklahomans live in Tulsa or Oklahoma City, according to the report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Raising the minimum wage in Oklahoma could help with affordable housing
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma has not seen an increase in minimum wage since 2009. According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, rent in Oklahoma has risen by 60 percent. This has resulted in an increase in eviction filings and homelessness. The Oklahoma Policy Institute believes State Question 832 could help with this issue. State Question 832 is an initiative petition that gives Oklahomans the opportunity to vote for a raise in minimum wage. If passed, the minimum wage would increase from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour by 2029. The increase would affect more than 200,000 Oklahomans, with the majority being women and people of color. Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order for a special election over the petition on June 16, 2026. The Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce has been an opponent of State Question 832, saying that it would crush working families through price increases on the heels of record inflation. To learn more, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma lawmaker wants $16 minimum wage by end of 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A state lawmaker is fighting for a bill that would raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma to $16 an hour by the end of 2025. The bill, authored by House Democratic Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, is something she says she's heard come up quite a bit while knocking on doors during previous election cycles. 'It's a topic that comes up quite a bit and that's being able to make enough money to just basically live, pay your rent, buy your groceries, put gas in your car,' said Munson. OMRF talks effects of new policy seeking to limit certain NIH funding Munson says she landed on $16 an hour by looking at what it would take to rent a basic apartment in Oklahoma City, saying even then, $16 an hour would only go so far. Her bill hasn't made it to a committee yet, but she says its main attempt is to get a conversation going around about living wages in Oklahoma. 'A lot of times what I hear is that, you know, people who work minimum wage jobs are teenagers or older people who are getting back into the workforce, and while that may be true, there is actually a good chunk of people who are working additional jobs or who this is their main form of income,' said Munson. The bill comes on the heels of Governor Kevin Stitt setting a June 2026 election date for State Question 832, that would gradually raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma to $15 an hour by 2029. Munson's bill would ditch the gradual approach and see the change take effect before the end of 2025. 'The legislation is not to take away from that state question,' said Munson. 'If this doesn't make it through the legislative process this year or next year then Oklahomans have the option to vote on it on the ballot, and I have full confidence that it will pass.' News 4 reached out to the Oklahoma State Chamber for comment on Munson's bill, which has been critical of raising the wage in Oklahoma. A spokesperson said the chamber would not comment on the bill since it had not made it to a committee yet, but to refer to previous comments. The chamber has been an opponent of State Question 832, saying that it would crush working families through price increases on the heels of record inflation. 'It just, it adds uncertainty to business owners, and that's unnecessary,' said Chad Warmington with the chamber during an interview in September. Munson said she believes it's a response that's getting old. She says state leaders often talk a lot about cutting taxes and tax credits, but at the end of the day, she believes the root of the issue is stagnant wages. 'Costs are rising,' said Munson. 'No matter what prices are rising. So what does it hurt to make sure that I can make a little bit more money so that I can engage with the economy more.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
