Author: Steve Lewis

Oklahoma takes a closer look at its early childhood services (Capitol Update)

With the passage of House Bill 1979, Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, and Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, have taken the right approach to finding long-term solutions to Oklahoma’s childcare crisis and other urgent early childhood needs. The bill creates an Early… Read more [More...]

Managed care and Medicaid expansion shape Oklahoma’s health policy debate (Capitol Update)

Oklahoma’s approximately $3 billion Medicaid (SoonerCare) managed care program is likely to remain a prominent public policy and political issue for the foreseeable future. Known as SoonerSelect, it covers hospital and physician services as well as dental care, mental health… Read more [More...]

Senate divisions come to a head at session’s end (Capitol Update)

Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner was once quoted as saying that “a leader without followers is just a man taking a walk.”  Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, must have found himself feeling that way at times this… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma should not deny transgender people medically necessary care (Capitol Update)

Senate Bill 904, a carryover bill from 2025 that started as amendments to an incentive reimbursement program for long-term care facilities, was plucked from obscurity recently, gutted, and turned into a bill denying Medicaid (SoonerCare) coverage “for any gender transition… Read more [More...]

Lawmakers fund rural prosecutor recruitment, leave defense behind (Capitol Update)

Legislators’ favorable view of the state’s district attorneys is evident in the passage of a couple of measures requested by the District Attorney’s Council (DAC) to attempt to address the shortage of attorneys willing to serve as assistant district attorneys… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s property tax cap proposal raises equity concerns (Capitol Update)

Property taxes are unpopular in Oklahoma. And an ill-advised initiative petition proposal, State Question 843, would eliminate property taxes on homesteads without replacing the funding for schools, cities, and counties. So, it’s not a surprise that House Speaker Kyle Hilbert,… Read more [More...]

The evolving limits of government liability under Oklahoma’s Governmental Tort Claims Act (Capitol Update)

Sovereign immunity was a common law doctrine brought to the United States from England that stood for the axiom, “the King can do no wrong,” meaning generally that a state and its political subdivisions cannot be held liable for the… Read more [More...]

Competing education proposals set the stage for legislative debate (Capitol Update)

The contours of the debate on how much the Oklahoma Legislature can accomplish this year for education are beginning to take shape in the House and Senate. The Senate took the initiative early when Education Chair Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, and… Read more [More...]

Senate plan would shift $254 million to schools by capping teacher retirement funding (Capitol Update)

Senator Adam Pugh, R-Edmond — with the support of Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle — made an interesting proposal for increasing common school funding by $254 million next year . Pugh is a candidate for State Superintendent.  The… Read more [More...]

Culture war and ethics bills stall in House committee (Capitol Update)

The meeting last week of the House Civil Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, was somewhat unusual — three of the 29 bills on the agenda were voted down. It’s surprising these days to see much controversy in… Read more [More...]