AG: Physicians not prohibited from prescribing off-label meds to fight C-19

Attorney General O'Connor Assures Oklahoma Physicians Are Not Prohibited From Prescribing Off-Label Medicines to Fight COVID-19

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb 8th) - Today, Attorney General John O’Connor responded to inquiries about whether an Oklahoma licensed physician is prohibited from prescribing a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the “off-label” purpose of treating or preventing COVID-19.

The Attorney General’s office finds no legal basis for a state medical licensure board to discipline a licensed physician for exercising sound judgement and safely prescribing an FDA-approved drug – like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine – for the off-label purpose of treating a patient with COVID-19.

“I stand behind doctors who believe it is in their patients’ best interests to receive ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine,” said Attorney General O’Connor. “Our healthcare professionals should have every tool available to combat COVID-19. Public safety demands this. Physicians who prescribe medications and follow the law should not fear disciplinary action for prescribing such drugs.”

The Attorney General’s office neither condones nor condemns a specific course of treatment for COVID-19. Our office maintains that proper healthcare decisions are to be made between a patient and his or her physician, and the government should not interfere with their relationship.

State Reps. Sean Roberts (left) and Kevin West (right)

Roberts, West Respond to AG Statement Regarding Off-Label Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 9th) – Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Oklahoma City, today issued statements regarding Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor's response to the legality of disciplinary actions against doctors who use off-label therapeutics to treat or prevent COVID-19.

In his statement yesterday, O'Connor said that the Attorney General's office finds "no legal basis for a state medical licensure board to discipline a licensed physician for exercising sound judgment and safely prescribing an FDA-approved drug – like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine – for the off-label purpose of treating a patient with COVID-19."

Hamilton proposal gives rural counties more power in state question approval

Sen. Warren Hamilton proposes changes to state question approval process

OKLAHOMA CITY –   State Sen. Warren Hamilton has filed Senate Joint Resolution 30, which would give a voice back to rural Oklahomans and transform how state questions are passed in the state.

Hamilton, R-McCurtain, says allowing state questions to pass by a simple majority undermines rural Oklahoma and ensures only the major cities have a voice in hot-button topics that often appear on the ballot. His solution is to require state questions to be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of all Oklahoma counties to pass and be written into the state’s constitution. If a majority of voters approve the question, but not two-thirds of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, the amendment would only take effect in the counties that approved it.

“Several notable disasters have been unleashed on Oklahoma, including the lottery, “medical” marijuana, reduction in sentencing for drug offenses, and Medicaid expansion, all through our flawed methodology of state questions,” Hamilton said. “I remind you that rural Oklahoma voted overwhelmingly against each of these. State questions are a way for out of state liberal groups - who are not accountable to us – to spread half-truths and lies and to circumvent our legislature.  It is the duty of the legislature, as our representatives, to solve these issues. 

Sen. Hamilton files bill to ban "gender reassignment" treatment for those under 21

Sen. Warren Hamilton files bill to prevent those under 21 from undergoing gender reassignment procedures

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, has filed Senate Bill 676 to prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from undergoing gender reassignment medical treatment in the state.

The measure would make it illegal for a person under the age of 21 to undergo gender reassignment medical treatment; for a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 18 to obtain gender reassignment medical treatment for the child; or for a health care professional to intentionally perform gender reassignment medical treatment on a person who is under the age of 21.

The bill defines gender reassignment medical treatment as any health care to facilitate the transitioning of a patient’s assigned gender identity on the patient’s birth certificate to the gender identity experienced and defined by the patient. 

AG O'Connor hands Epic Carter investigation back to Oklahoma County DA Prater

Attorney General O'Connor Agrees to District Attorney Prater's Request to Take Back the Investigation Into Epic

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, Attorney General John O’Connor announced Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater will take back the investigation into Epic Charter Schools. 

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Epic and its founders since 2013.  This investigation originated with and was overseen for several years by District Attorney Prater who was working with Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.  During the course of the investigation, the Attorney General’s office in 2020 began working with the OSBI through special counsel.  In May of 2021, the Multi-County Grand Jury released an interim report.  Last Friday, our office received the final report from the OSBI.  District Attorney Prater reached out to the Attorney General’s office in recent months requesting that he be the one to take back the investigation once the OSBI finished its investigation, as he had the investigation for many years. Prater will now resume his lead on this investigation and decide whether any charges are warranted.

School choice advocates praise Gov. Stitt's education reform goals

[UPDATE: for more articles and perspectives on SB 1647, click here]

Following Governor Kevin Stitt's State of the State address yesterday, school choice advocates issued statements praising the Governor's position on education reform. Read them below:

GOP and Dem leaders respond to Stitt's State of the State

Following Governor Kevin Stitt's State of the State address yesterday, legislative leaders from both sides of the Capitol building - and the aisle - issued statements with their reaction. Read them below:

Governor Stitt delivers 2022 State of the State address

GOVERNOR STITT DELIVERS 2022 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 7, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt delivered the 2022 State of the State Address today to the 58th Legislature. Governor Stitt outlined his legislative agenda for 2022, focusing on four main pillars: Driving Hope for all Oklahomans by investing in education reforms and giving parents more school choice; protecting Oklahomans and our way of life through better regulation of the medical marijuana industry and cracking down on the black market, as well as investing in law enforcement; making Oklahoma the most business-friendly state in the nation by reforming our tax code and eliminating the grocery tax; and delivering taxpayers more for their money through more government reform, budget transparency, and record investments in infrastructure. A full transcript of the governor’s remarks can be found here.
 

Lankford wants answers on Biden’s plan for database of federal employees’ religious beliefs

Lankford, Colleagues Want Answers on Biden’s Plan for a Database of Federal Employees’ Religious Beliefs

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today joined Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and 40 of their colleagues in a letter to the Comptroller General of the United States after the District of Columbia’s Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) published a notice of its intent to create a database known as the “Employee Religious Exception Request Information System.” The Members ask GAO to tell them whether the notice constitutes a rule for purposes of the Congressional Review Act, which Congress can invoke to overturn an agency’s action.

The records system is a central database, maintained by the Office of Management and Budget, that tracks the names, religious affiliation, religious beliefs, personally identifying information and other data of federal employees who have requested religious exemptions to the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on federal employees. More than 20 federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation, have issued similar notices to maintain databases tracking employees’ religious beliefs, and these lists will be shared between federal agencies.

Tomorrow: rally at State Capitol calling on legislators to Abolish Abortion

Tomorrow (Tuesday the 8th), hundreds of Christians from across the state and region will be gathering at the State Capitol to call on the Oklahoma Legislature to abolish abortion completely and immediately.

The 2022 Abolition Day event will begin on Tuesday at 10am on the north steps of the State Capitol building, before proceeding inside to personally lobby state legislators on the urgent need to stop the annual murder of 5,000 babies in our state.

As my pastor said in a recent sermon, "Our legislators, when they run for office this fall, they'll mark the box 'I voted yes for pro-life.' I don't know if there are any legislators listening, but in case they, could I just tell you we are tired of eating their crumbs? Give us a bill that abolishes the murder of unborn children in the State of Oklahoma. We're the Bible belt. What's the matter here?"

You can learn more by visiting this link.

OCPA column: Why weren't schools prepared for COVID after flood of federal funds?

Why weren’t schools prepared for COVID?

By Jonathan Small

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s critics, who include some officials working in public schools, have suggested he can somehow stop the spread of an airborne virus with the waive of a government wand. If that’s true, then why haven’t those critics done so in public schools?

Contrary to stereotype, Oklahoma schools have been flooded with federal funding to address COVID challenges, yet many continue to close for in-person learning as though nothing has changed since the pandemic’s initial outbreak.

Since 2020, Congress has approved three rounds of federal COVID-bailout funding, providing more than $2 billion combined to Oklahoma school districts to mitigate viral spread, address challenges created by the pandemic, and reverse learning loss tied to COVID shutdowns.

More than 70 percent of that money—about $1.4 billion—remains unspent today, according to figures recently presented to state lawmakers during a budget hearing for the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

House Dems join State Auditor's call for AG to act on Epic case

 

Democrats Join Auditor’s Call for Attorney General to Act on Epic

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Several House Democrats released a joint statement praising Auditor Cindy Byrd’s investigation into EPIC Youth Services and joining her call for Attorney General John O’Connor to act in response to the auditor’s findings of possible criminal activity.

“It has become clear, after hearing from Auditor Byrd on multiple occasions, that millions of taxpayer dollars flowed through EPIC and into the pockets of the school’s founders.

Hamilton files bill to ban foreign-owned businesses from purchasing Oklahoma lands

Hamilton files measure prohibiting foreign-owned businesses from purchasing Oklahoma lands

OKLAHOMA CITY –  As a rancher in Southeastern Oklahoma, Sen. Warren Hamilton has seen the impact of Oklahoma lands being purchased by foreign entities. The McCurtain Republican says it’s time the legislature puts a stop to these transactions and has filed Senate Bill 1469 to clarify that foreign ownership of Oklahoma lands is prohibited, even from business entities and trusts.

“As Oklahoma’s marijuana industry continues to grow, we’ve seen an increasing number of foreign interests come into our state and purchase our farmland for astronomical amounts of money in order to set up grows and other related businesses,” Hamilton said. “While Oklahoma law already prevents foreign land ownership, it doesn’t prevent these folks from creating businesses to purchase property. Senate Bill 1469 will put an end to this workaround of current state statute.”