The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs is a right-of-center think tank and advocacy organization located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that focuses on promoting right-leaning and free-market policies in the state of Oklahoma. The group is a member of the State Policy Network, a consortium state-based, right-of-center policy organizations that promote free market policies in state governments. The group promotes various right- and libertarian-leaning public policies including school choice, moderate liberalization of criminal justice, and public pension reform. ¹

The organization has a small affiliate organization, OCPA Impact, that engages in direct lobbying activity. ²

Background

The Oklahoma Public Affairs Council was founded in 1993 as the Oklahoma state-level affiliate of the State Policy Network (SPN). The State Policy Network is a national center-right policy organization that supports state-based policy and advocacy organizations across the United States. Like many other State Policy Network-affiliated groups, the organization was formed with the intention of modeling a state level conservative-leaning think tank after national groups such as the Heritage Foundation. ³

The founding of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs was led by David Brown, an Oklahoma City- based orthopedic surgeon and clinical professor at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to his role in founding the OCPA, Brown has sat as a board member of several groups including the Heritage Foundation and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. ⁴

Activity

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs promotes policies and publishes research around many free-market issues including school choice, taxation, criminal justice, and public pensions. ⁵ The organization also hosts several collections of state open records, including data on state employee salaries, state employee and teacher pensions, state revenue and expenses, and state payments to vendors. ⁶

The organization has also launched a program called Aim Higher OK that promotes conservative principles among college students and targets an alleged predominance of left-leaning thought and political stances on college campuses. The group also runs a fellowship program named after late historian Rufus Fears that teaches students about traditional free-market and conservative theory. ⁷

The OCPA is also involved with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-leaning membership group for state lawmakers that has been criticized by many left-leaning organizations and activists. In 2013, during left-wing protests at the ALEC annual meeting in Chicago, the OCPA issued a statement supporting ALEC, praising the group for several of its policy priorities and for hosting then-Governor Mary Fallin (R-OK), who was a former ALEC “legislator of the year” award winner. ⁸ OCPA’s current president, Jonathan Small, is a former recipient of the ALEC private-sector member of the year award. ⁹

The OCPA has also received financial support from the right-of-center Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which provided $450,000 in funds to the organization and its now defunct national affiliate, the OCPA Liberty Foundation, in 2014. ¹⁰

Paycom SLAPP Controversy

In March 2020, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs published a news article¹¹ that criticized Chad Richison, CEO of payroll technology company Paycom, who had sent a letter to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) recommending stricter lockdowns in the state, including bans on nonessential air travel and closures of personal-care businesses, to prevent spread of COVID-19. ¹²

Paycom responded by filing a lawsuit against OCPA;¹³ OCPA alleged that the lawsuit amounted a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) that violated the Oklahoma Citizens Participation Act, legislation to combat litigation intended to silence protected speech. ¹⁴ In February 2021, a state court dismissed Paycom’s suit with prejudice, holding that “Paycom’s claims against OCPA relate to or are in response to the OCPA’s exercise of the right to free speech.” ¹⁵

As of March 2021, OCPA was involved in court proceedings seeking to recover legal fees from Paycom under Oklahoma law. ¹⁶

1. “Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.” State Policy Network. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://spn.org/organization/oklahoma-council-of-public-affairs/
2. “IRS Form 990.” OCPA Impact. 2018. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/273686718/02_2020_prefixes_27-30%2F273686718_201812_990EO_2020020617113828
3. “Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.” State Policy Network. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://spn.org/organization/oklahoma-council-of-public-affairs/
4. “David R. Brown.” Heritage Foundation. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://www.heritage.org/staff/david-r-brown-md
5. “Issues.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://www.ocpathink.org/about#issues
6. “Data Tools.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://www.ocpathink.org/data-tools
7. “Home.” Aim Higher OK. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://www.aimhigherok.com/
8. “ALEC: Fighting for Free Market, Limited Government, Federalism.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Accessed January 23, 2021. https://www.ocpathink.org/post/alec-fighting-for-free-markets-limited-government-and-federalism
9. “Jonathan Small.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Accessed January 23, 2021.  https://www.ocpathink.org/team/jonathan-small
10. “2014 Annual Report.” Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. Accessed January 23, 2021.  https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4152914/Annual%20Report/2014%20AnnualReport.pdf
11. Carter, Ray. “Stitt: Businesses Survival Important to State Recovery.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, March 23, 2020. https://www.ocpathink.org/post/stitt-businesses-survival-important-to-state-recovery.
12. Richison, Chad. “Letter to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt,” March 22, 2020. https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/gov-stitt-recommendations-1584906642.pdf.
13. “OCPA Statement on Paycom Lawsuit.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, May 4, 2020. https://www.ocpathink.org/post/ocpa-statement-on-paycom-lawsuit.
14. Small, Jonathan. “Billionaire Sues OCPA.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, May 4, 2020. https://www.ocpathink.org/post/billionaire-sues-ocpa.
15. “OCPA Defeats Meritless Paycom Lawsuit, Cancel Culture Effort.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, February 23, 2021. https://www.ocpathink.org/post/ocpa-defeats-meritless-paycom-lawsuit-cancel-culture-effort.
16. “Paycom, Having Lost in Court, Tries to Avoid Paying Up.” Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, March 4, 2021. https://www.ocpathink.org/post/paycom-having-lost-in-court-tries-to-avoid-paying-up.