Skip to content

The Tulsa Beacon

 

Legislative Update

Abandoned Marijuana Grow Sites Bill Passes Committee

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY — Senate Bill 640 by Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, has passed the House Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances Committee, which aims at addressing abandoned and improperly maintained medical marijuana grow operations. The measure would require licensed medical marijuana businesses to properly remove and dispose of surface trash, debris and waste tied to their operations….

Tulsa burger shop owner says SQ 832 would force menu prices to rise again

Tulsa Beacon

The massive inflation unleashed during the Biden administration had a devastating impact on working families across the nation as food prices soared and earners’ real income declined. Now, a state question to hike Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on prices in the nation’s largest urban centers threatens to drive up fast-food prices even further, putting even…

Temporary Sales tax hike on the ballot for Broken Arrow

Tulsa Beacon

Temporary Sales tax increases, like the one proposed on Proposition 8 in Broken Arrow are rarely temporary.  Proposition 8 calls for a 0.5 % sales tax increase for 5 years with the expenditure of $46,555,000 to improve sports facilities. Tulsans are aware of this problem.  In 2001 a Temporary Sales Tax vote was held in…

House passes bill barring sexually explicit materials from school libraries

Tulsa Beacon

Legislation that increases state regulation of sexually graphic materials in school libraries has easily advanced from the Oklahoma House of Representatives, overcoming the opposition of liberal lawmakers who dismissed concerns about those materials. House Bill 2978, by state Rep. Chris Banning, prohibits school libraries from offering books to students that include depictions or descriptions of…

High Dosage Tutoring Bill Passes Education Committee

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY- The Oklahoma Senate Education Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 1366 on Tuesday. The bill, authored by Senator Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, would establish a statewide high-dosage tutoring program to serve students in grades K-8 who are falling behind. Under the bill, students in participating districts will benefit from focused, small-group tutoring designed to offer…

Bill advances in House to stop foreign straw land purchases

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill in committee that would criminalize a straw purchase of property on behalf of a foreign national. House Bill 3495 would make it unlawful to knowingly and willfully purchase or attempt to obtain any property on behalf of a foreign national. Punishment would…

Bill to safeguard electricity customers from unfair costs

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Amanda Clinton, D-Tulsa, unanimously passed HB 3392 out of the House Utility Committee with a 9-0 vote. The measure directs the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) to examine how large, energy-intensive industrial projects like data centers impact our electric ‎grid and ensure that everyday Oklahomans aren’t stuck paying for electricity they did…

Bill to protect residential energy customers advances

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, passed HB 3917 unanimously out of the Appropriations and Budget Natural Resources Subcommittee. The measure requires data centers to pay a surcharge during peak demand periods, protecting residential customers from rate hikes and funding grid modernization. “I want to thank the Committee Chair and Committee for hearing…

OK legislators seek emergency Court order to halt transfer of Personal Identification Data

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY — A group of Oklahoma legislators, led by Sen. Kendal Sacchieri (R-Blanchard), has filed an emergency petition with the Oklahoma Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay and temporary injunction to prevent Service Oklahoma from transferring Oklahoma driver license and identification card data to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ (AAMVA) State-to-State/SPEXS system,…

Bills filed to lower Property Taxes

Tulsa Beacon

OKLAHOMA CITY — Senator Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, has filed legislation to rein in Oklahoma’s ever-ballooning property taxes. In an effort to make homeownership attainable for all Oklahoma families, including potential homebuyers and current homeowners looking to move, Senator Standridge is championing several pieces of legislation to cut property taxes. “As Oklahoma homeowners experience significant increases…