The Oklahoma Senate overwhelmingly passed two government accountability measures that are a part of a larger deal to give the governor the ability to hire the heads of five of the largest state agencies. Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s bills would give the governor the ability to hire and fire the head of the…
Sen. Greg McCortney is the chair of the Rules Committee and Senate principal author of House Bill 2612, creating the safety and regulatory framework necessary for Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry after voters approved State Question 788 last June. The measure has already been approved by the House. The legislation is the result of work by…
The Senate approved a bill to better equip educators to recognize and address the mental health needs of students. Senate Bill 446, by Sen. John Haste, would require the State Department of Education and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to develop educator training programs on student mental health. The Broken Arrow…
A measure to build a statewide aerospace training facility cleared both the Senate Education and the Appropriation and Budget committees and is now headed to the Senate floor. Senate Bill 432, authored by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, authorizes the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education to acquire or lease property for the purpose of…
The House of Representatives passed a measure aimed at encouraging more doctors to practice in rural areas of the state. House Bill 2511, by House Speaker Charles McCall, would reduce a doctor’s tax liability by up to $25,000 annually if he or she practices in a rural community for the tax year beginning in 2020….
Oklahoma is ranked No. 24 on the list of low property taxes, according to the 2019 Property Tax report by Wallet.hub.com. Yet Oklahoma has the fourth lowest median home value at $125,800, only above Arkansas ($118,500), West Virginia ($111,600) and Mississippi ($109,300). Hawaii has the highest median home value at $563,900. According to WalletHub, each…
Governor Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 2597, which establishes “Constitutional Carry” in the state of Oklahoma. “Oklahomans are strong supporters of the Second Amendment, and they made their voice known as I traveled across all 77 counties last year,” said Stitt. HB 2597 establishes “Constitutional Carry,” allowing the concealed or unconcealed carry of firearms by…
Individuals in Oklahoma serve, on average, nearly 70 percent longer for property crimes and 80 percent longer for drug crimes than the national average. This is mainly due to the state’s “habitual offender” statute that can double and triple sentence lengths, and often increases the maximum term to life, according to Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca…
A bill authored by House Leader Mike Sanders, R-Kingfisher, that will add professional development training for teachers to help them better recognize students with dyslexia passed unanimously in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. House Bill 1228 requires school districts to offer teachers a professional development program about dyslexia once per year, beginning with the 2020-2021…
Senate Bill 177, by Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, requires state agencies to provide on their website, or on a general website, certain financial information as prescribed by the State Auditor and Inspector and the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). The legislation was one of seven recommendations made by the multi-county grand jury last…