Oklahoma City, Okla (March 28th) – At today’s Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the creation of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) Office of School Choice. The new division will function as a one-stop shop for all things related to school choice and parental empowerment in Oklahoma.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 28th) – Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, announced today that she will not seek reelection to the Oklahoma House of Representatives this year.
"It has been an extraordinary honor to serve the people of House District 60 for the past eight years," Baker said. "I have been blessed to work with some of the most dedicated and talented leaders in the communities in my district and across Oklahoma. I have seen firsthand the challenges facing our state, and yet I remain optimistic that determined and capable Oklahomans will take the opportunities afforded them to make our state the best it can be."
Can Oklahoma’s economy continue to grow and its people thrive if businesses lack certainty in our legal system? Unfortunately, we may find out.
Members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that contradicted one of the court’s prior rulings, but refused to provide a written opinion explaining if they are overturning their prior decision or see some fundamental difference between the two cases.
You can also read this article from OklahomaVoice with a little more detail.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 20th) – Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, issued a statement today regarding his intent to file legislation to secure the border of Oklahoma against the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 20th) — Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, released the following statement concerning comments made by Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, at a press conference on Tuesday.
“On Tuesday, during an interview with KOCO 5, Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat attempted to crawl out of the ad hominem hole he dug by calling Senator Nathan Dahm and me ‘terrorists’ for lawfully advocating for our constituents. His chosen shovel was another defamatory term, ‘toddlers.’
“I had hoped for a higher level of professionalism and decorum rather than resorting to name-calling. Such a leadership style only exposes its own immaturity. Also, it’s important to note that Governor Stitt supported our efforts.
WASHINGTON, DC (March 20th) – Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (OK-01), RSC’s Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Ben Cline (VA-06), and Members of the Budget and Spending Task Force unveiled the RSC’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget proposal today, titled “Fiscal Sanity to Save America”.
The RSC Budget is a thorough plan to address our federal spending problem and start paying down our debts. The FY-25 budget balances in just seven years, cuts spending by $16.7 trillion over ten years, and reduces taxes on Americans by $5.3 trillion over ten years.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 20, 2024) - Today, Governor Kevin Stitt announced his participation in the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Disagree Better initiative. Alongside the Chairman of Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, Governor Stitt will begin a campaign to promote healthy disagreement.
“To me, disagreeing better means learning to persuade the other side in an uplifting way, not by tearing each other down or diminishing each other,” said Governor Stitt. “We’re all equal in the eyes of the Lord, and if we can act and speak with compassion, we’ll find there is more that unites us than divides us. I’m grateful to the National Governors Association for promoting this unifying way of thinking, and I hope Oklahomans join me in disagreeing better.”
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 18th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City and Senate Appropriations Chairman, Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, today released the following statements after the Senate budget resolution passed 41 – 3 off the Senate floor.
Senate Resolution 31 is the result of the Senate’s budget transparency project that has been in the works for months. The new process brought the Senate budgeting process to light and showed a behind the scenes look at how members make decisions on where taxpayer money goes.
WASHINGTON, DC (March 20th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today announced he will run this November for Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference:
“The Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair plays a vital role in serving Republican Senators and their staff as they communicate the conservative policy ideas that make our nation stronger. As Senators, we were elected to do hard things and to solve problems by doing the right thing, the right way. It is my desire to serve our Conference in every way I can as we work together to solve the challenges our nation faces.
Last Month, I embarked on an Oklahoma Workforce Tour, where I’m crisscrossing the state to talk all things workforce with business owners and local leaders. One topic that regularly comes up is Oklahoma’s higher education system and the integral role it plays in workforce development.
Our public higher education system is crucial in meeting Oklahoma’s workforce goals. Data from the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development shows that by 2030, over half of Oklahoma’s 100 critical occupations will require at least an associate degree.
In 2020, parents urged the school board at Deer Creek to provide full-time, in-person instruction to students. But the board opted to continue with COVID distance learning for many students.
Yet recent reports show officials at Deer Creek schools also allowed charity fundraisers to include events where students lick peanut butter off people’s feet. Former Deer Creek students told Fox 25 that students could buy their way out of the gross-out events, which meant lower-income students were often targeted and pressured to participate at the “fundraisers,” which have been occurring for years.
The disconnect is not simply the district’s diametrically opposite concern about sanitation and disease in one instance versus another, but the fact that in both cases parents’ wishes were ignored (at least, one presumes most parents don’t want their kids licking feet).
Oklahoma City, OK (March 19, 2024) – Under the auspices of The Former Feds Group Freedom Foundation and Mic Rosado’s 'Intentional Podcast', a Joint Senate and House Hearing is scheduled to take March 26th, from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm CST. This event will be hosted in Room 112.2 at the Oklahoma State Capitol, announced host House Representative Danny Williams, alongside Senate hosts David Bullard and Shane Jett.
What on earth?? Bureacracy (both government and corporate) is absolutely full of people who have lost their minds in the pursuit of the nonsensical woke agenda:
At a recent summit, officials with the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) urged greater focus on “pregnant people” with substance-abuse disorders, effectively downgrading the existence of women.
A release about the event, issued by ODMHSAS, was headlined, “State Summit Aims to Break Stigma and Build Support to Aid Pregnant People with Substance Use Disorders and Protect Families.”
The March 11 release stated that one of the goals of attendees was to raise “awareness of and reduce the stigma associated with the circumstances and needs of pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorders.”
The saga continues (see Monday's post, Dahm and Deevers discuss Tyrannical Treat's 'terrorist' tirade after Senate filibustering):
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, on Thursday released the following statement in response to Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat’s continued name-calling and contention that Dahm’s legislation is “crazy.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Josh Brecheen highlighted the insanity of President Biden’s proposed budget during a House Budget Committee hearing with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young.
“A decade ago, former President Bill Clinton stated that he raised the corporate tax rate to reduce the deficit. Today, President Biden wants to increase taxes by $5 trillion, but use it for more government spending and not deficit reduction. This is how radical and far-Left Biden’s ideology has drifted, beyond even Clinton’s ideology,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen.
Oklahoma City (March 18th) -- State Representative Tom Gann issued a statement today following the dramatic defeat of SB 1620 on Thursday.
"In 2016, the legislature made the unfortunate decision to authorize the use of license plate scanner technology for the purpose of insurance verification. That law limited the use of this intrusive technology to that purpose only. This year, the legislature considered House Bill 3570, which was not heard prior to the 3rd reading deadline, and Senate Bill 1620, which was defeated on Thursday by a wide margin — becoming one of the very few bills to be defeated on the Senate floor. These bills would have authorized the use of this technology for purposes other than insurance verification. As these laws have failed, it's important for the public and city councils across the state to know that: There is no specific statutory authorization for using these systems."
On Thursday, conservative state senators Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) and Dusty Deevers (R-Elgin) engaged in a filibuster of-sorts to protest, among other things, the lack of action on conservative members' priority legislation and the general state of how things are run in the Senate under Pro Tem Greg Treat.
At a press conference during the day, Treat commented on the action, saying that he "doesn't negotiate with terrorists," before back-tracking moments later to say, "I am not calling them terrorists; I'm calling their actions 'terroristic'". And yet, as Sen. Dahm points out below, everything that he and Deevers did was above board and by the Senate Rules.
While a lot of people like the "fall back" clock switch, practically nobody appreciates "spring forward". There's a push in the state legislature, and across the country, to pick one and stick with it. So... Standard Time, or Daylight Saving Time? You have both camps in the Oklahoma Legislature. Earlier this week I ran a column from one House member who wants to switch to permanent Standard Time. The State Senate, however, once again has voted to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time. Confused? Yeah. We all are.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 12th) – Senate Bill 1200 received approval from the full Senate Monday and provides that Oklahoma remain on Daylight Saving Time year-round should Congress pass legislation allowing states to choose whether or not to take part in the bi-annual time change. The bill’s author, Sen. Blake “Cowboy” Stephens, R-Tahlequah, has long advocated for locking the clock, citing the health and safety benefits of having an extra hour of light in the evenings.
Drummond urges FTC to strengthen online privacy, safety protections for youth
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 12, 2024) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond and a coalition of 39 other attorneys general are urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to update and strengthen the rules technology companies must follow under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Drummond said the update is necessary because the rules governing online privacy protections for children under the age of 13 have not been revised in more than a decade. At the same time, the digital world has evolved rapidly — with smartphones, social networks and connected devices now a big part of daily life.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 13th) – Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, this week gained House passage of multiple bills he authored regarding Oklahoma's tax structure and policy. The bills were in addition to tax policy legislation passed by the House earlier this session.
"I made a promise to Oklahomans when the grocery tax passed earlier this session that the House was not done delivering tax relief to our citizens," McCall said. "This week, the House kept that promise. State savings are at record levels, our economic outlook as a state continues to rise and now is the time to allow Oklahomans to keep more of their hard-earned money. The House believes that principle, and that is reflected by the overwhelming number of votes these bills received."
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 12th) – Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, received overwhelming approval for his legislation to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18. Senate Bill 615 aims to protect minors from predation by giving them two additional years of legal protection.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 14th) – Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, today passed a bill in the House that would limit social media accounts for youth.
House Bill 3914 would require social media companies to verify account holders are over the age of 18 or to confirm parental consent for those aged 16 to 18.
At an event in Fort Gibson this evening, former State Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee) announced his candidacy for Senate District 9, currently held by retiring State Sen. Dewayne Pemberton (R-Muskogee). So far, he is the first candidate to start campaigning for this open seat.
Frix previously served in the Oklahoma State House for three terms (from 2016 to 2022), representing House District 13, before running for Congress and losing to now-Congressman Josh Brecheen in the Republican runoff election (he loaned his campaign $255,000 in that failed effort).
Amid the typical debate over budget priorities and policy issues this year, Oklahoma lawmakers are also considering bills to better prevent child exposure to pornography. Those bills deserve legislators’ support.
State Sen. Jerry Alvord, R-Ardmore, and state Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, have filed legislation to give home-Internet access subscribers and cellular-data-plan subscribers the ability to block access to porn sites.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 7th) - Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, on Wednesday passed a bill in the Oklahoma House of Representatives that would fund the building of an arch at the Oklahoma Capitol to serve as an honorary symbol of the services performed by the Oklahoma National Guard.
McBride said the arch was part of early drawings of architect Solomon Layton before the Capitol was built in 1917. It was originally designed to stretch across Lincoln Boulevard much like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was one of the structures, like the dome, however, that was laid aside because of lack of funding at the time.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 8th) – Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, this week passed a bill in the Oklahoma House of Representatives that he said would fix the State Department of Education's flawed signing bonus for teachers returning to Oklahoma public school classrooms.
House Bill 4017 directs the Oklahoma State Board of Education to establish a $7,000 annual signing bonus program for teachers who return to teaching in state public schools beginning with the 2024-25 school year and who agree to serve for five years. The signing bonus shall be paid in five equal annual installments not to exceed $35,000 per participant.
Rep. Kevin West Legislation Would Address Time Change
OKLAHOMA CITY – Feeling sleep-deprived after Sunday's bi-annual time change pushed clocks forward an hour?
Don't blame Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore.
West authored House Bill 2217, which would send to a vote of the people a question on whether to adopt permanent standard time in Oklahoma. The measure was filed last year and assigned to the House Rules Committee but has not been heard. It is similar to legislation he's filed in the past.
Senate passes Bullard bill to fund local water, wastewater improvements
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 11th) – The Oklahoma Senate on Monday passed a bill from Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, that would earmark $125 million for much-needed water and wastewater infrastructure projects in localities across the state.
Senate Bill 1331 directs the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to establish a program to provide loans to municipalities and rural water districts seeking matching funds for water or wastewater improvement projects. The state would provide $125 million in initial funding for the program.
I know several individuals who, in recent months, were the victims of such hacks on Facebook, which not only locked them out of years of personal posts, but their business pages or groups. Facebook (okay... "Meta"... it's always going to be Facebook, just like Twitter will never be "X" for me) "customer service" is notoriously difficult to deal with in such situations.
Drummond calls On Meta to protect accounts from scammers
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 6, 2024) -- Attorney General Gentner Drummond and a bipartisan coalition of 40 other attorneys general sent a letter Tuesday to Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta) asking for a data security review following major increases in scammers taking over accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
The presidential primary was on Tuesday, so it's time to update my long-running Election Results Maps series. Today, we look at how well - or how poorly - the presumptive major party nominees performed.
First up, the Democratic primary:
As you can see, President Joe Biden cruised to 72.98% statewide, a lead of 45.96% over all challengers combined. However, he failed to carry all 77 counties, losing one (Cimarron) to Congressman Dean Phillips.
Biden clung to single-digit leads in three other counties - Coal (33.33%, a 2.2% lead over Phillips), Roger Mills (37.5%, a 1.4% lead over Phillips), and Washita (35.92%, a 4.9% lead over Phillips). He was held under 50% in 11 counties, and an even 50% in one more.
He did perform better than President Barack Obama did in his second-term primary; Obama received 57.1%, while losing 14 counties. On the other hand, President Trump set a record for incumbent presidents by scoring 92.6% in 2020 (including unanimous votes in 13.7% of all precints).
Speaking of Trump...
Granted, he's something of a semi-incumbent, at least within his own party, but I would surmise this to be the largest and most dominant primary performance by an individual who is not currently sitting in the White House.
Six months after announcing that he would not be seeking reelection, Republican State Senator Cody Rogers has had a change of mind, and will campaign for a second term in Senate District 37 (west Tulsa, Jenks, Glenpool, Sand Springs).
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 5th) — Sen. Cody Rogers, R-Tulsa, released the following statement Tuesday.
“The opportunity to work on behalf of this great state and its people has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Over the past few months, there has been considerable speculation regarding my political future. After much deliberation, thoughtful consideration of my family and constituents' needs, and discussions with colleagues, I have decided to continue service in the Oklahoma Senate.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Feb. 27th) - Today, Americans for Prosperity - Oklahoma (AFP-OK) celebrates the elimination of Oklahoma's state grocery tax - a landmark achievement that will ease the burden on families across the state struggling to make ends meet under the record high inflation caused by the Biden administration.
While the grocery tax cut will help residents all across the state, AFP-OK urges lawmakers to take up reforms that will work to grow the whole state's economy. With a governor who has said he will sign any tax cut that crosses his desk and a large majority of Oklahomans in support of eliminating the income tax altogether, there's no reason for the legislature to stop here.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Speaker Pro Tempore Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, has been elected by the Oklahoma House Republican Caucus as speaker-designate for the 60th Legislature.
The speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the body’s chief presiding officer and is responsible for committee appointments, the flow of legislation and the management of the House budget and staff. The speaker also serves as an ex officio voting member on all House committees.
(Oklahoma City, February 29th) – The State Election Board announced today that post-election audits conducted last week confirmed the results of the recent State Senator, District 32 Special General Election and State Representative, District 39 Special Primary Election and Special General Election.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 29th) – Sen. Cody Rogers, R-Tulsa, received approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday for Senate Bill 1391. The measure designates funds to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for improvements to levees along the Arkansas River.
As I said over on Twitter: "Few things are quite so permanent as a temporary tax."
In recent years, Oklahoma has gone from having some of the most affordable electric rates in the nation to some of the most expensive.
In September 2022, the Alliance for Electrical Restructuring in Oklahoma showed that electricity rates surged by 49 percent from June 2021 to June 2022, bumping Oklahoma from having the most affordable electricity rates in the nation to having the 18th-highest costs.
Given that trend, you would think Oklahoma lawmakers would be working to lower costs.
Instead, a measure that could further drive up electricity rates has advanced from the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
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| Dash cam view just prior to vehicle slamming into car on shoulder |
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 27th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, today released the following statement after Senate Bill 2035 unanimously passed through the Aeronautics and Transportation Committee.
Senate Bill 2035 was authored by Pro Tem Treat in the wake of a tragic accident that involved his son, Mason. He was driving legally with proper documentation but didn’t have a car tag because the sale of the vehicle was from a private individual. Current state law requires a private seller of a vehicle to retain possession of a motor vehicle tag after the sale of a car.
(Oklahoma City, March 1st) – Voters head to the polls Tuesday for the Presidential Preferential Primary and several nonpartisan elections. The State Election Board offers these tips and reminders to Oklahoma voters ahead of the March 5 Election.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 29th) – Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, said the Oklahoma Legislature’s upper chamber is on its way toward making this year’s budget process more transparent than ever.
The public got its first glimpse at proposed state agency appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year in a Wednesday meeting of the Appropriations Committee.
