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Bill strengthens Voter ID protection

Tulsa Beacon

The Senate Rules Committee unanimously approved President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s bill to add voter identification requirements to the state Constitution. Treat’s Senate Joint Resolution 48 would send to a vote of the people a legislative referendum that would add the voter identification requirement currently in state statute to the Oklahoma Constitution. The measure maintains…

Grocery sales tax elimination bill

Tulsa Beacon

The Senate Finance Committee on approved legislation from President Pro Tempore Greg Treat that would eliminate the state grocery sales tax. Senate Bill 1495 effectively eliminates the state grocery tax by lowering the rate from 4.5 percent to zero percent. The bill does not prohibit cities or counties from levying their own grocery tax. Just…

Bill would empower school choice

Tulsa Beacon

The Senate Education Committee approved President Pro Tempore Greg Treat’s school choice bill that empowers parents with more control over their child’s education. The committee approved the Oklahoma Empowerment Act, which would allow parents to use their child’s state education dollars to pursue a variety of schooling options to secure the best education possible for…

Banning Social Emotional Learning

Tulsa Beacon

Sen. Shane Jett is taking aim at national organizations seeking to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) programs in the state’s public school system by filing Senate Bill 1442, which would prohibit public school districts or charter schools from using federal, state or private funds to promote, purchase or utilize the concepts of SEL. Jett  said organizations…

More money for roads and bridges

Tulsa Beacon

A House subcommittee has given the first approval to a bill to increase appropriations the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Fund may receive by $30 million. House Bill 3318 raises the maximum amount that can be apportioned to the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Fund from motor vehicle revenue from $120 million to…

Against capping nurse’s salaries

Tulsa Beacon

Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, shared information regarding worries from constituents over misinformation that Congress is looking to cap nurses’ salaries. Roe, who chairs the House Public Health Committee, said she is one of many legislators whose constituents have asked if there is an effort to place a Congressional cap on salaries for nurses. “Nobody is…

Bill would target human trafficking

Tulsa Beacon

The full Senate has given unanimous approval to a bill to better protect victims of human trafficking and child abduction. Senate Bill 1569, by Sen. Darrell Weaver, creates the “Address Confidentiality for Child Survivors and Their Families Act.” Oklahoma’s Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), administered by the state attorney general’s office, provides victims of domestic violence,…

Expanding list of hospital visitors

Tulsa Beacon

The full Senate gave approval to Senate Bill 1096 to add pastors, ministers, spiritual advisors and other religious leaders to the approved list of visitors for patients hospitalized during a declared health emergency. The measure modifies  the No Patient Left Alone Act, which was signed into law last spring and allows patients to designate a…

Open transfer policy affects Tulsa, OKC

Tulsa Beacon

A new open-transfer law that allows students to shift from one public school to another has been touted as a significant expansion of opportunity for Oklahoma children. But a review of public data, conducted by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), shows a significant share of the slots available through open transfer are in…

Drug poisoning among adolescent girls keeps increasing

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma City – The Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information has reported a spike in poisonings among adolescent girls.  During the first 10 days of February, the Poison Center saw an alarming 51 cases, over twice as many as compared to the previous 10-day period. While the types of medication taken varied, many of…