Here are some session summaries from Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat and House Speaker Charles McCall (both are term limited).
Washington, D.C. (May 30th) – Congressman Josh Brecheen issued the following statement after President Trump was found guilty of 34 bogus charges.
“Most Americans understand that this trial was a political witch hunt and would have never been brought forth if Donald Trump was not running for President,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen. “Today is a dark day for our country and is an embarrassment to our judicial system. This is clear election interference by Democrats in liberal New York City. Americans will not forget this.”
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 28th) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and his Appropriations Chairman, Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, today released the following statements after the state budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 passed off the Senate floor this morning.
Senate Bill 1125 passed off the Senate floor 31-11.
GOVERNOR STITT ANNOUNCES U.S.S. OKLAHOMA, NEW U.S. NAVY NUCLEAR SUBMARINE
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 28, 2024) - Governor Kevin Stitt revealed the creation of the U.S.S. Oklahoma Commissioning Committee to build a 29th Virginia Class, Fast Attack Nuclear Submarine in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding. Carrying Tomahawk Missiles and MK-48 torpedoes, the U.S.S. Oklahoma will home 132 sailors, 18 officers, and feature advanced stealth capabilities to make it virtually undetectable in water.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have Oklahoma so well represented in our nation’s Navy,” said Governor Stitt. “I’m grateful to Director Slavonic and the committee members for their leadership. Not only will this submarine represent the patriotic, God-fearing culture of Oklahoma, but it will symbolize our commitment to innovation, security, and the men and women who protect our country. It’s an honor to help bring her to life.”
In its 2023 opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-based admissions processes for college violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The court bluntly stated, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”
Oklahoma City (May 23rd) - A recent survey conducted by Americans for Citizen Voting reveals significant support for legislation that would limit voting rights to only U.S. citizens in Oklahoma. The survey underscores a strong preference among Oklahomans for maintaining the integrity of state elections by ensuring that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote.
"The results of this survey are clear," said Paul Abner, Oklahoma director of American Citizens for Voting. "Oklahomans recognize the importance of safeguarding our elections and are firmly behind Senate Joint Resolution 23, to restrict voting to only U.S. citizens."
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 24th) – On Thursday, Senate Bill 1994, authored by Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, was passed by the Senate. The measure seeks to strengthen laws against squatting.
“In my district over the last year we have seen a home owner arrive home only to find a stranger in their shower, unwilling to leave until they finished using the home owner’s home, vagrants camping and defecating in front of businesses and even attacking patrons and employees with deadly force, and citizens camping on property without permission stating with full confidence that they would not leave until someone could prove the property was not theirs,” Standridge said.
I received the following press release from Justin Hornback, one of three Republicans seeking the open seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (being vacated by Bob Anthony due to term limits). The other two candidates are former Senate Pro Tem/former Secretary of State Brian Bingman, and energy journalist Russell Ray. A Libertarian and Democrat also filed for the race.
Broken Arrow, OK - May 16th, 2024 | Justin Hornback, a seasoned energy industry veteran with two decades of hands-on experience, formally announces his candidacy for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in the upcoming 2024 elections. Hornback, who has spent 20 years immersed in the complexities and challenges of the energy sector, brings unique qualifications and a fresh perspective to the race. Setting himself apart from his opponents, Hornback positions himself as a worker from one of the largest industries regulated by the OCC, offering practical, first-hand knowledge rather than a traditional political background.
Outrageous:
Because many tribal car tags are effectively unregistered with the state of Oklahoma, drivers with tribal tags have run up millions of dollars in unpaid tolls on state turnpikes in recent months that cannot be collected.
Now a tribal official says tribes are willing to end that problem—but only if the Oklahoma state government agrees to divert potentially millions of dollars in turnpike revenue to tribal governments, effectively negating any financial benefit from the collection of tolls on drivers with tribal tags.
Washington, D.C. (May 24th) – Congressman Josh Brecheen issued the following statement after the sentencing of Pennsylvania’s Bryan Hagerich—one of five Americans being detained by the Turks and Caicos government for inadvertently having ammunition in their luggage.
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 23, 2024)—More than four years after Paycom’s lawsuit against the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs was originally filed, Paycom’s attorneys at the McAfee & Taft law firm have just now realized they want to take more depositions in the case.
Attorneys with McAfee & Taft have filed a motion requesting depositions from three staff members at OCPA and one OCPA board member. One of the OCPA staff members that McAfee & Taft lawyers want to depose did not even work for OCPA four years ago when Paycom first filed its lawsuit.
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 22nd) – Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, today released the following statements after Senate and House negotiators reached an agreement on the state’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
The budget agreement is the first time all meetings were hosted in public and gave Oklahomans a behind the scenes look on how the state budget is negotiated.
