Mayor G.T. Bynum named Maj. Wendell Franklin as the new Tulsa Police Chief, replacing Chief Chuck Jordan who is retiring. Franklin will assume that role on February 1. He will be the 40th chief in the history of the Tulsa Police Department. “Wendell has a clear vision for the future of the Tulsa Police Department,…
As millions of people across the United States came together for the National March for Life last weekend, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced a ban on state-funded travel to the State of California. “California and its elected officials over the past few years have banned travel to the State of Oklahoma in an effort to politically…
Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, has filed House Bill 2900 seeking to make abortion murder. State law in Oklahoma already makes abortion illegal unless it is committed by a licensed physician. There were efforts in the Oklahoma Legislature to abolish abortion in the 2019 session but they were blocked from votes in committees by self-proclaimed “pro-life”…
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,…