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New 2021-22 budget contains tax cuts

Tulsa Beacon

Republican leaders say the new budget maintains all state core service funding, provides tax relief to individuals and businesses, and makes targeted new investments in key priorities like education, economic development, health care and infrastructure. The agreement also replenishes more than $700 million in state reserve funds that were significantly reduced to offset pandemic-related revenue…

Elections to be delayed

Tulsa Beacon

Legislation was signed into law to delay elections this December, January and March that would interfere with ongoing redistricting efforts. Requested by the State Election Board Secretary, Senate Bill 347 prohibits municipalities and political subdivisions from holding an election on the second Tuesday of December 2021 or the second Tuesday of January or March 2022…

Redistricting approved

Tulsa Beacon

The Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate each in overwhelming votes approved new legislative district maps. By law, the Legislature must redraw its legislative and congressional district boundaries to reflect changes in population every 10 years immediately following the decennial Census. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, redistricting plans for legislative districts must be completed…

Sex trafficking bill

Tulsa Beacon

House Bill 2396 by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, was signed into law this week. HB2396, by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, which authorizes some nonprofit organizations to provide a series of  sex trafficking prevention and education programs to freshmen students at Oklahoma colleges and universities, was signed into law. It specifies the nonprofits must be ones…

Survey shows most pastors oppose pot use, legalization

Tulsa Beacon

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As more Americans have access to legal marijuana, most U.S. Protestant pastors remain opposed to its use and legalization. In November 2020, five states approved marijuana legalization measures, including Mississippi, which became the first Southern state to approve medical marijuana. Now, 36 states have legalized it for medicinal purposes, including 15 states…

City calls off virus order, but ransomeware problems persist

Tulsa Beacon

Mayor G.T. Bynum issued a new executive order ending the civil emergency in the City of Tulsa related to the Chinese coronavirus. The civil emergency officially ended on May 21. “Following consultation with Tulsa Health Department leadership and members of the Mayor-Council COVID Working Group, I have signed an executive order that ends the civil…

Students sworn in as new officers

Tulsa Beacon

More than a dozen Tulsa Tech students are now sworn detention officers for the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO). The students took part in an industry-specific, collaborative training effort between Tulsa Tech and TCSO and have been rewarded for their hard work by kick starting a new career. “I first wanted to be a police…

No need for ACT, SAT at RSU

Tulsa Beacon

Rogers State University will use a test-optional admissions process for the next five years allowing students to pursue a bachelor’s degree without providing an ACT or SAT score. The change follows guidance issued by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education that acknowledges the impacts of COVID-19 on student access to standardized testing, such as…

College of the Ozarks is fully open

Tulsa Beacon

POINT LOOKOUT, Missouri — College of the Ozarks began reopening its campus to visitors, beginning with the Hoge Greenhouses and Patriots Park on May 10. Edwards Mill and General Store, along with the Stained Glass and Candle Shop, will reopen on May 26. Hours of operation are as follows: Hoge Greenhouses (Open beginning May 10):…

Program helps teens quit smoking

Tulsa Beacon

My Life, My Quit, a text-based tobacco cessation program designed specifically for youth, has new educational materials available free for schools and health care providers to use in their interactions with students and patients ages 13-17. My Life, My Quit is a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET). “Now that more schools, clinics…