Legislation providing juvenile offenders a second chance by preventing harsh sentencing was recently filed by Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City. Senate Bill 1189 not only prohibits life without parole sentences for juveniles, but also prohibits a mandatory minimum sentence that exceeds 20 years for any offender under the age of 18. The bill would also…
State Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks, authored House Bill 2776, The Oklahoma Hazard Mitigation Assessment District Act, which provides the framework for residents in each county to elect and establish a hazard mitigation assessment district. House Bill 2776 is the first piece of legislation to be introduced following interim studies Sims hosted to conduct a review…
State Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola (House District 8), will run for a third term with the Oklahoma House of Representatives. First elected in 2016, Gann became one of only two elected state representatives that do not take lobbyist or PAC money. Gann has remained true to that pledge and will continue to represent the 8th…
State Reps. Marcus McEntire, R-Duncan, Chris Sneed, R-Muskogee, and Tammy Townley, R-Ardmore, commented on the ongoing discussions to eliminate surprise medical billing in Oklahoma. A surprise medical bill is a bill an out-of-network health provider issues to a covered insured person for health care services in an amount greater than the patient’s cost-sharing obligation that…
Oklahoma needs to be proactive in addressing assaults against medical professionals. That’s according to Sen. Darrell Weaver, author of Senate Bill 1290, the Medical Care Provider Protection Act. Last October, Weaver held an interim study on healthcare professionals and workplace violence. Weaver, R-Moore, said despite a career in law enforcement, he was stunned by the…
State Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, has filed legislation to reflect recent changes in federal law raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21. Last month, Congress passed legislation prohibiting the sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. The Tobacco-Free Youth Act was signed into…
Due to unfunded mandates of public education testing, many Oklahoma schools are using their school counselors as building test coordinators and test administrators, a practice Sen. Mary Boren says needs to stop. The Norman democrat and certified school counselor filed Senate Bill 1381 to protect school counselors from being pulled away from their official duties…
Stitt nominates his second judge Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the appointment of Dustin P. Rowe to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. This is Stitt’s second appointment to the state Supreme Court. Rowe’s appointment fills the vacancy for District 2 created by former Justice Patrick Wyrick’s appointment to become a federal judge on the United States…
State Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, and Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed a House Concurrent Resolution asking their colleagues in both the House and Senate to condemn the actions of the U.S. Congress for pursuing impeachment proceedings against President Donald J. Trump instead of performing the serious work prescribed to them by the Constitution, which…
As of November 1, sex offenders residing with a minor child must now report to the statewide centralized Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) hotline. Previously, only the parent, stepparent or grandparent of a minor had to report to the hotline. Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, authored the bill at the request of DHS to better…