The Oklahoma Legislature called a concurrent special session last week to facilitate the spending of the $1.8 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. This lets the Legislature continue to be involved in how to spend the money. As of last week, $17.8 million in requests have been received by a committee for about…
State savings deposits and more money returned to taxpayers highlight the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget agreement, which also funds law enforcement at record levels, eliminates the developmentally disabled services waiting list, fights federal overreach, and makes investments in economic development. The FY 2023 legislatively-appropriated budget is $9.7 billion, which is 9.7%, or $858.9 million,…
The Oklahoma House of Representatives approved House Bill 4327 as amended by the Oklahoma Senate. HB4327, authored by Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Collinsville, in the House and Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, in the Senate, provides civil liability for anyone performing or abetting an abortion in Oklahoma. Structured much like the “Heartbeat” bill recently passed in this…
Legislation giving firefighters statutory authority to transport patients to the hospital in emergency situations has been signed into law. Senate Bill 1515, by Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, and Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, was signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday. Weaver filed the legislation in response to a situation where an Oklahoma City firefighter was…
Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill that would localize the promulgation of poultry feeding rules through the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Forestry (ODAFF). House Bill 2983, authored by Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, puts rulemaking power into the hands of ODAFF rather than the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS),…
HB 3075, by Rep. Bob Ed Culver, R-Tahlequah, would modify language in statutes regarding marriage licenses and name changes. “This bill is a simple but important one that provides cleanup language for some of our statutes regarding the issuance of marriage licenses and name changes,” Culver said. HB3075 provides that any reissued marriage certificate contain…
Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed Senate Resolution 47 to memorialize June 14, 2022, as President Donald J. Trump Day in the state, which is Trump’s birthday, the birthday of the U.S. Army, and Flag Day. “If we can spend time during the legislative session to designate Golf Day, create an official state theater, and…
Schools will be better able to address the mental health needs of their students beginning this coming academic year following the signing of Senate Bill 626. The measure, by Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, and Rep. Randy Randleman, R-Eufaula, requires mental health facilities providing inpatient mental health care services for minors to share with parents the…
In the Tulsa area, there is only one Senate seat and only three Representative seats on the ballot in the June 28 primary. And all four primary races are among Republicans. The winners of the Senate race will be elected because no one else filed and one of the three House seats will also result…
When House Bill 1775 became law in 2021, banning the teaching of certain concepts broadly associated with Critical Race Theory (CRT), opponents claimed CRT was not taught in Oklahoma schools. Critics continue to make that claim today. But a recent request from the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA), the state’s largest teachers’ union, indicates that union…