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Will you support our consistent coverage of the Oklahoma Legislature?
Will you support our consistent coverage of the Oklahoma Legislature?

Yahoo

time10-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Will you support our consistent coverage of the Oklahoma Legislature?

Members of the Oklahoma Legislature listen as Gov. Kevin Stitt gives his State of the State Address in the House chamber of the state Capitol on Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) The legislative session has come to an end, and our team at Oklahoma Voice has been on the ground at the Capitol every step of the way. We dug into the budgetary disarray at the state's mental health department. We explained the controversy surrounding the state's new social studies standards. We analyzed the impact of a measure that could affect citizens' ability to place items on the ballot. And more! From covering key policy debates to breaking down what new laws mean for you, we're here to ensure that all Oklahomans can stay informed about what their elected officials are doing. This journalism is free for you to read, but it isn't free for us to produce. If you can, consider supporting our nonprofit newsroom today. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Thank you for being a part of this work. Every gift, no matter the size, supports our mission. Janelle Stecklein Editor

Who were the winners and losers of this Oklahoma legislative session?
Who were the winners and losers of this Oklahoma legislative session?

Yahoo

time08-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Who were the winners and losers of this Oklahoma legislative session?

VETO OVERRIDES: Republicans in the Oklahoma Legislature demonstrated some independence to close out the 60th legislative session overriding several bill Gov. Kevin Stitt had veoted. Among those bills was expansion of mammography for women. VOTE THEM OUT: The Oklahoman's editorial board has taken the position that Oklahoma lawmakers who voted to weaken initiative process must be voted out. Sign up for our Public Square newsletter here. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Were Ryan Walters, Stitt among session's winners or losers? | Cartoon

Who were the winners and losers of this Oklahoma legislative session?
Who were the winners and losers of this Oklahoma legislative session?

Yahoo

time08-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Who were the winners and losers of this Oklahoma legislative session?

VETO OVERRIDES: Republicans in the Oklahoma Legislature demonstrated some independence to close out the 60th legislative session overriding several bill Gov. Kevin Stitt had veoted. Among those bills was expansion of mammography for women. VOTE THEM OUT: The Oklahoman's editorial board has taken the position that Oklahoma lawmakers who voted to weaken initiative process must be voted out. Sign up for our Public Square newsletter here. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Were Ryan Walters, Stitt among session's winners or losers? | Cartoon

Oklahoma lawmakers were trying to finish for the year. Then everything stopped over this bill
Oklahoma lawmakers were trying to finish for the year. Then everything stopped over this bill

Yahoo

time30-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Oklahoma lawmakers were trying to finish for the year. Then everything stopped over this bill

A stalemate dominated what was expected to be the final day of the 2025 session of the Oklahoma Legislature, with a Senate vote to override the governor's veto of a House bill taking five hours and delaying action on 49 other attempted veto overrides. Both legislative chambers remained in session well into the night of Thursday, May 29, and early Friday morning, to handle those overrides – all but two of them eventually succeeded, and those could be considered when the House returns for a final session later Friday morning. Both chambers also voted to approve a resolution to oust state mental health commissioner Allie Friesen. The Senate adjourned sine die, ending its 2025 session, at 12:25 a.m. Friday. By law, the Legislature has to adjourn by 5 p.m. Friday. The marathon Thursday was due to the fact that work in both chambers stalled for hours — from the afternoon until 9:13 p.m. — and only resumed after a Republican legislator in the Senate switched his vote to complete a successful override of House Bill 2769. The measure, authored by Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, would create a financial assistance program for Oklahoma guard members who enroll in a technology center. It also would create a fund to pay members when they become eligible for retirement benefits from the Defense Finance Accounting Service. It was the first measure the House voted on earlier Thursday when both chambers were voting to override Gov. Kevin Stitt's vetos of bills that had originated in their chambers. Once bills passed their original chambers, the measures moved across the Capitol rotunda to the other chamber. But the tradeoff turned into a stalemate over HB 2769. The House did not act on any vetoed bills until the Senate approved the measure, a process that took hours. What to know: Oklahoma governor signs income tax cut deal It's common practice late in a legislative session for one chamber to not act on a priority of the other chamber until the first chamber's priority is dealt with. Apparently, HB 2769 was such a priority for the Republican-led House. To override a veto, a bill must receive a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, and a three-quarters majority in both chambers if it has an emergency clause attached that would make it take effect immediately. At 4:11 p.m., the Senate opened its override vote for HB 2769, which needed 32 Senate votes to succeed. An initial vote was 30-16, without the votes of two senators – Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, and Sen. Dana Prieto, R-Tulsa. Pugh was out of state on personal business, a Senate spokesman said – although he arrived in time for the post-midnight votes. Prieto's whereabouts were unknown, although he had been present during a morning session. The margin was just short of the bar needed to pass HB 2769 into law. Bargaining over votes occupied the ensuing hours. About 5:50 p.m., Sen. Nikki Nice of Oklahoma City, one of two Democratic senators who initially had voted no, re-entered the Senate chamber and changed her vote, pushing the tally to 31-15. But about 6:30, Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, switched his vote from 'yes' to 'no.' Sen. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa – at that point her party's lone 'no' vote – came back into the chamber but soon left again without changing her vote. Murdock could be seen conferring in the rotunda with legislative leaders. But as the bell that summons legislators to their chambers echoed through the Capitol for hours, the 30-16 vote remained posted on the electronic board inside the Senate. Murdock then switched his vote back to 'yes', and then Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, switched his vote. Sen. Brent Howard, R-Altus, who was presiding over the session, quickly closed the vote when the tally reached 32-14. Shortly after 9 p.m., the House voted to suspend its rules to allow food on the floor and to be able to work past midnight. The Senate later did the same. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: This bill sparked a five-hour stalemate in the Oklahoma Legislature

Legislative resolution seeks the dismissal of Oklahoma mental health commissioner
Legislative resolution seeks the dismissal of Oklahoma mental health commissioner

Yahoo

time30-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Legislative resolution seeks the dismissal of Oklahoma mental health commissioner

On the final evening of the 2025 session of the Oklahoma Legislature, two lawmakers have filed a resolution to remove the embattled commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 was filed by Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Josh West, R-Tulsa. Copies of the resolution were distributed in the Senate chamber about 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29. By law, the Legislature must adjourn its current session by 5 p.m. Friday. Both chambers remained active Thursday night considering overrides of vetoes issued by Gov. Kevin Stitt. By 8:45 p.m., neither chamber had acted on the resolution to remove Friesen. Stitt appointed Friesen in January 2024 and has defended her work, even as multiple financial issues have engulfed the state agency. The agency is the subject of multiple investigations, both executive and legislative. Legislators had to make a special appropriation for the agency to complete the current fiscal year. According to the resolution, the budget shortfall is about $30 million. An audit conducted by State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd's office reported that department staff were made to sign non-disclosure agreements and were discouraged from cooperating with investigators who were trying to unravel the cause of the agency's financial crisis. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has called for Friesen to be removed, citing a 'financial meltdown' of her agency that showed 'nothing short of government malpractice.' 'The House and Senate have the legal authority to hold Friesen accountable for her ineptitude and mismanagement, and I urge every legislator to vote in favor of her removal,' Drummond said Thursday night. Stitt said the controversy surrounding Friesen is "a politically motivated witch hunt.""I tasked Allie Friesen with bringing accountability and transparency to the agency," Stitt said. "She disturbed the status quo and questioned long held practices at the agency. An agency rife with sweetheart deals and criminal elements was disrupted, and now, elected officials are quickly working to set the apple cart right for those who seek to get rich off of Oklahoma taxpayers." He said West and Rosino should ask themselves what they stand to gain by removing Frisen. The resolution said Friesen 'has the duty to oversee the delivery of all prevention, treatment, and education of mental health and substance abuse in the state and to ensure that the agency performs those services while having a budgetary and expenditure methodology that serves not only those Oklahoma citizens in need, but the employees and providers that deliver them.' It goes on to cite the budget shortfall and said, '(T)he Senate and the House of Representatives have lost confidence in Commissioner Friesen to identify, oversee, and manage the critical services delivered by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.' The resolution says the Legislature has a right, under law, to remove Friesen with a two-thirds vote of both legislative chambers. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Resolution calls for removal of mental health agency leader

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