OKAgPolicy Today is a morning email containing the day’s top agriculture and policy headlines. The inclusion of a particular story does not equal an endorsement. Subscribe to the email here.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA PRIMARY RUNOFF ELECTION
On Aug. 23, Oklahoma’s statewide primary runoff elections will be held for any primary race where no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day. Twenty-five Oklahoma counties have a House District, State Senate or US Congressional runoff race, and are listed below by county [OKAgPolicy].
TOP HEADLINES
Oklahoma voters choose nominees in primary runoff election:
Oklahoma voters will head to the polls Tuesday for a primary runoff election that will decide the final list of party nominees for a handful of legislative seats and a congressional seat in November’s general election [AP].
Fallin’s election proclamations mean 5 more state questions are on November’s ballot:
Gov. Mary Fallin signed election proclamations Monday for five state questions that will now be on November’s general election ballot [KGOU].
STATE
At least 6,000 Oklahomans cast ballots during in-person early voting:
At least 6,000 Oklahomans cast ballots during in-person early voting ahead of Tuesday’s primary runoff election, but that number could go up as more counties report their early voter numbers, a spokesman for the Oklahoma State Election Board said Monday [The Oklahoman].
Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to consider increasing tolls:
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority will meet Tuesday to consider increasing tolls in three increments, totaling 17 percent.The increase is to help pay off nearly a half-billion dollars in bond debt the authority plans to incur to fund new construction [The Oklahoman].
Officials unveil new Oklahoma license plate with state bird design:
The new plates will be issued beginning in January and will cost motorists $5. They will generate $18.5 million, said Paula Ross, a spokeswoman with the Oklahoma Tax Commission [Tulsa World].
FEDERAL
USDA loosens rules on labeling meat, poultry as non-GMO:
The USDA will begin allowing meat, poultry and egg producers to put labels such as “contains no GMO ingredients” or “derived from beef fed no GMO feed” on products that are not made with genetically engineered ingredients or animal feed [Bloomberg].
US panel clears ChemChina-Syngenta deal:
China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) announced that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. cleared its proposed $43 billion takeover of Syngenta – removing one of the biggest potential obstacles to the deal [Agri-Pulse].
Weathering a downturn: Agricultural bankers can help in challenging times (opinion):
After many years of prudent management, agricultural banks have strong balance sheets that allow them to help those in distress. Through the prudent use of techniques like loan restructuring, collateral enhancements, USDA loan guarantees and frequent visits to our customers, bankers can assist most of our clients in weathering a downturn [Agri-Pulse].
MISCELLANEOUS
Economists see Clinton, Johnson better suited to manage economy than Trump:
Some 55 percent of those surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said they thought Clinton would do the best job of managing the U.S. economy, behind Johnson with 15 percent and Trump with 14 percent [CNBC].
