Tag: Kevin Stitt

Gov. Stitt forms state committee to help with the census

September 5, 2019

Governor Kevin Stitt kicked off the 2020 Census Symposium on August 26 at MetroTech Conference Center with the announcement of Executive Order 2019-32, which establishes the Oklahoma Census 2020 Complete Count Committee. “A complete and accurate count of Oklahoma’s population is vital to the success of our state,” said Stitt. “With this Executive Order, I…

Gov. Stitt appoints Tom Bates to help coordinate health services

September 5, 2019

Gov. Kevin Stitt said Tom Bates will lead a new initiative by the Governor’s office titled “Front Porch” to better integrate services provided by Oklahoma’s state health and human services agencies. “As I’ve looked at how we serve Oklahomans, I’ve seen how hard we’ve made it for them to engage with us,” said Bates. “Around…

Open carry repeal effort is likely to fall way short

August 22, 2019

Rep. Jason Lowe, Oklahoma City, has filed a petition to repeal the Constitutional Carry law that goes into effect on November 1. Surrounded by representatives of Young Democrats of America and Bloomberg-funded Moms Demand Action, Lowe will have 10 days (until August 29) to get the required signatures to force a statewide vote to repeal…

Bill targets transparency, accountability

August 22, 2019

Lawmakers want to know how tax money is spent Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill to improve government transparency in a ceremony at the State Capitol last week. Senate Bill 271 was authored by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, and Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. The bill requires all state agencies to annually disclose and rank…

Gov. Stitt names Corbett for OHCA

August 15, 2019

Governor Kevin Stitt has appointed Kevin Corbett as the next agency director for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA). “Kevin Corbett’s financial expertise and strong organizational leadership will serve the Health Care Authority and the State of Oklahoma well,” said Stitt. “Corbett will bring his wealth of experience in accounting and consulting to ensure OHCA’s…

Levee Request

July 18, 2019

Stitt sends a letter asking to shore up Tulsa’s levees Gov. Kevin Stitt and three Tulsa area mayors sent a letter the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking that they speed up the feasibility study on the Tulsa-West Tulsa Levee System. Stitt wants it completed by the end of December. The levee system protected much…

Stitt moves to renegotiate the state’s casino gambling pact

July 18, 2019

Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to renegotiate the gambling compacts between the state and the tribal governments. The compacts expire January 1, 2020. Some tribal leaders don’t want any changes and claim that if they don’t like Stitt’s changes, the pact will automatically continue for another 15 years under the same terms. Attorneys for the state…

Stitt restricts external lobbyist deals

July 18, 2019

With an executive order, Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Tulsa, is making permanent the restriction on state agencies entering into contracts with external lobbyists. “When taking office, I uncovered that several state agencies were collectively spending more than $1 million annually on contract lobbyists to advocate for their own special interests to the Legislature and the executive…

Gov. Kevin Stitt is right to ban the outside political consultants

July 18, 2019 Robert McDowell

On July 6, there appeared in the daily newspaper a story, on Page A-9, carrying the headline: “Stitt bars state agencies from hiring lobbyists.” Credit was given to Keaton Ross of The Oklahoman. As an explanation for the location, the Tulsa World now, they reported, is doing the printing for the Oklahoma City paper and…

New Deputy Secretary of Health

July 4, 2019

Gov. Kevin Stitt has hired Carter Kimble, who is joining the Governor’s office as the Deputy Secretary of Health and Mental Health and is charged with working with the governor and cabinet secretaries on a health care plan to improve outcomes by increasing access for all Oklahomans to affordable coverage and modernizing services delivered by…