OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, has authored 14 bills that have been referred to their respective committees and will be up for consideration in the next few weeks.
“I’ve filed these bills to protect our constitutional rights, protect Oklahoma children, and make improvements across the state in a variety of areas,” Hamilton said.
SUPERINTENDENT WARNS FEDERAL FUNDS CAN STRIP STATE CONTROL
published by the Center for Independent Journalism
Ray Carter (February 1st) -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters warned lawmakers that they risk losing control of state schools if they accept all forms of federal funding without hesitation.
OKLAHOMA CITY – State Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, has filed four pieces of legislation to protect minors from life-changing gender transition hormones and surgery that could render them unable to have children as adults. The bills also allow lawsuits to be filed against health care providers and adults who violate the provisions of these measures.
When State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters recently unveiled his proposed education budget, critics immediately claimed he was seeking to cut school funding and teacher pay.
Those complaints are a product of political performance and have no basis in reality.
A coalition of community, business, and law enforcement leaders filed papers with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission this week to oppose SQ 820, the effort to legalize recreational marijuana under state law. Official documents list former Governor Frank Keating as the chairman of the organization, Protect Our Kids No 820.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 1st) – State Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, has filed Senate Bill 1056, which would create a special definition of “contemporary community standards” in Oklahoma statutes to better address the issue of obscene material being made accessible to minors.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 31st) – Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, has filed House Bill 1379, which would require a vote by citizens to redirect property tax through Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) Districts.
Gann explained that in Mayes County, Mid-America Industrial Park (MAIP) officers proposed redirecting county property tax through the implementation of a TIF district to benefit new corporations coming into the industrial park.
It ended in abject failure and scandal, with a lot of taxpayer money being misspent. After a lot of frankly pathetic passing-the-buck by several individuals, Walters among them, former Attorney General John O'Connor filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state against ClassWallet for mishandling the funds. I felt that was oddly misplaced at the time, as emails later showed that blanket approval was given by Walters and others in government.
Now, Attorney General Gentner Drummond has dropped that particular suit and intends to go after individuals who are more directly responsible for the lack of oversight.
First, some additional background, then Drummond's press release. Here's some detail from TheFrontier and OklahomaWatch:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. George Burns, R-Pollard, has filed Senate Bill 720, to ensure firearm suppressors and the basic materials used to manufacture them in Oklahoma are not subject to federal laws or regulations.
