The Oklahoma Senate has completed filing bills for the second session of the 57th Legislature. The deadline was January 16 and a total of 840 Senate Bills and 19 Senate Joint Resolutions were filed. In 2019, 1,040 Senate Bills and 22 Senate Joint Resolutions were filed by the deadline. A total of 645 Senate Bills…
The Oklahoma House of Representatives has completed bill filing for the second session of the 57th Legislature. A total of 1,361 House Bills, 16 House Joint Resolutions and 4 House Concurrent Resolutions were filed. The full text of the bills, along with additional information including authors and coauthors, can be found online at www.okhouse.gov. Last…
State Sen. Tom Dugger, R-Stillwater, has authored legislation to make college textbooks exempt from sales taxes in Oklahoma. Dugger said after discussing the idea with students from Oklahoma State University, he decided to file Senate Bill 1150. “College textbooks can be extremely expensive, with students easily spending hundreds of dollars each semester on their books,”…
Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, has filed legislation aimed at choosing textbooks produced in the state for use in public schools. Senate Bill 1121 would direct the State Textbook Committee to give preference to books that have been produced in Oklahoma if the price, fitness, availability and quality are otherwise equal to textbooks produced out-of-state. “Our…
The last cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) Oklahoma’s state retirees received was in 2008 yet living expenses have continually increased. Sen. Ron Sharp, vice chairman of the Senate Insurance and Retirement Committee, said it’s time to find a funding solution. The Shawnee Republican filed Senate Bill 1817 to re-apportion a percentage of certain new taxes to provide…
The Oklahoma House of Representatives will consider legislation to prevent telemarketers from replicating numbers and misrepresenting the origin of a phone call. Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, filed House Bill 3081 to prohibit callers from tampering with information displayed on caller IDs to disguise their identities. This practice is known as “caller ID spoofing” and is…
Oklahoma ranks 28th in the nation for human trafficking, and Sen. Wayne Shaw, R-Grove, wants to better equip law enforcement officers to recognize the signs of this illegal practice and protect trafficking victims. Senate Bill 1569 would require the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) to establish training resources focused on human trafficking,…
State Sen. Jason Smalley announced he would resign office effective January 31. “After serving my country in the U.S. Marines for six years and eight years in an elective office, I believe it is the right time and opportunity to enter back into the business world,” said Smalley, R-Stroud. Smalley said he would be named…
State Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks, has filed legislation on regulation of the budding peer-to-peer rental car industry. Oklahoma, like many states, has seen the dramatic growth of car rental companies that allow customers to rent automobiles directly from owners and pay through a smartphone app. House Bill 3655 would: Require all automobiles rented on peer-to-peer…
Many Oklahoma Republican politicians say they continue to oppose expansion of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program as allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare.” But at the same time, many of those officials say they are exploring other options. The expansion of Medicaid enacted in Indiana when Vice President Mike Pence was governor…