Legislative Update

Teacher bonuses with federal funds?

August 18, 2022

OKLAHOMA CITY – The House education budget chairman has suggested Oklahoma immediately offer teachers relocation and retention bonuses funded by a portion of more than a billion dollars of federal pandemic relief funding available to the public education system. House Appropriations & Budget Education Subcommittee Chairman Mark McBride, R-Moore, suggested the State Department of Education…

Gov. Stitt eliminated budget shortfalls

August 18, 2022 Ray Carter

As a gubernatorial candidate in 2018, Kevin Stitt vowed to bring private-sector management to state government and help the state avoid a repeat of the fiscal chaos experienced during then-Gov. Mary Fallin’s second term, which was marked by repeated tax increases and budget shortfalls. In 2019 Stitt unveiled a plan calling for the state to…

Help for state transit is included in the budget

June 23, 2022

Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, and Sen. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow, recently supported a section of Oklahoma Senate Bill 1040 that allowed for a desperately needed increase in state transit funding in the state budget. As chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations & Budget Subcommittees for Transportation, the two worked to secure this first increase…

NSU School of Optometry funds

June 23, 2022

Rep. Bob Ed Culver, R-Tahlequah, celebrated passage of a bill he carried in the House regarding ARPA funding for the Northeastern State University School of Optometry. Senate Bill 8 in the second extraordinary session of the 58th Legislature appropriates $15 million to complete the new NSU School of Optometry. These funds are coupled with $18…

House, Senate clash on inflation aid

June 23, 2022

The Oklahoma House and Senate can’t seem to agree on how to enact a budget package to help Oklahomans struggling with high inflation. On June 15, the House passed a series of relief measures, including lowering sales tax on groceries and reducing state personal income tax. The Senate has argued that since the House also…

I-44/Bailey Turnpike is converted to cashless tolling

June 23, 2022

The I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike began its transition to PlatePay on the mainline between Lawton and Oklahoma City on June 21. It is the first of three H.E. Bailey turnpike sections converting to cashless tolling. The timeline for the three I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike sections converting to PlatePay are: June 21: Chickasha, Newcastle and SH-4/H.E. Bailey spur…

Lawmaker wants answers about a forced ‘unity’ march

June 16, 2022

Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, sent a letter to University of Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione asking for a response regarding reports he used his position to compel OU student athletes to participate in a unity march. In the letter he wrote: “…I have received reports that you have used your influence and office to compel…

Border failures of Biden

June 16, 2022

Humphrey, R-Lane, also sent a letter to Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor regarding what he called President Joe Biden’s utter failure to protect and defend our nation’s border, which in turn puts all Oklahomans at risk. Humphrey is chair of the House Criminal Justice & Corrections Committee. Below is part of the letter: “I am…

Hunger-free campus bill

June 16, 2022

The Hunger-Free Campus Act, a pilot program addressing post-secondary student hunger in Oklahoma, will receive $200,000 in state appropriations this year. Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton was able to secure funding through the state budget to create the pilot. “Between tuition and fees and often low-paying jobs or little time for work as they juggle busy…

First case of monkeypox found in central Oklahoma town

June 16, 2022

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has identified its first probable case of monkeypox and is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to confirm the infection in a central Oklahoma resident with recent international travel to a country with confirmed cases. The individual is in isolation and OSDH officials are working…