Author: Steve Lewis

Lawmakers consider new approaches to Oklahoma’s domestic violence crisis (Capitol Update)

Last week, the Criminal Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Rande Worthen, R-Lawton, held an interim study led by Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-Oklahoma City, on Oklahoma’s persistent and growing domestic violence problem. The study was combined with a request led by… Read more [More...]

Norman encampment cleared again amid broader homelessness crisis (Capitol Update)

Sen. Lisa Strandridge, R-Norman, issued a press release last week thanking Gov. Stitt for his work in clearing a state-owned property site in Norman of a homeless encampment. Standridge said the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has now cleared the encampment three… Read more [More...]

Inola aluminum smelter raises health, environmental and security concerns (Capitol Update)

With the first interim study of this year scheduled for next week, and most legislators preoccupied with their own election, a friend’s election, or who they will have to work with in the governor’s office next year, there’s not much… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma enters Fiscal Year 2027 with billions in reserves and surplus cash (Capitol Update)

As Oklahoma settles into Fiscal Year 2027, which began July 1, advocates for education, health care, public safety, and other state services will begin trying to determine how much funding may become available for appropriation. The new Legislature will convene… Read more [More...]

New education laws take effect in Oklahoma this school year (Capitol Update)

As the school year begins, my thoughts turn to some of the new requirements Oklahoma schools must attend to in the year ahead. As usual, legislators have enacted a variety of education laws they deem necessary to improve student outcomes… Read more [More...]

What didn’t make Oklahoma’s 2026 House interim study list? (Capitol Update)

Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, announced last Friday which interim studies he had approved for the 2026 interim and the committees they were assigned to. Hilbert approved 92 of the 120 studies requested by House members and denied 28. There are… Read more [More...]

Rethinking pretrial detention in Oklahoma (Capitol Update)

Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, has requested an interim study entitled “Does Oklahoma have the Resources Necessary to Implement Criminal Pretrial Supervision Requirement?” The Senate, unlike the House, does not publish the specifics of interim study requests. However, from the… Read more [More...]

Senate Public Safety Committee gets new leadership (Capitol Update)

The first Senate chairmanship change for the upcoming legislative session occurred last week when Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, named Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee. Sen. Spencer Kern, R-Duncan, was named the… Read more [More...]

The problem with Oklahoma’s plan for a tax-free future (Capitol Update)

Another step toward Gov. Kevin Stitt’s goal of eliminating the state income tax largely went unnoticed this session. Although more complicated than his earlier flat-budget mantra, this move is, in my view, just as damaging. At the beginning of the… Read more [More...]

What Oklahoma House members want to study this interim (Capitol Update)

The deadline for House of Representatives members to request interim studies was last Friday, and the House has now published those requests. In the House, studies must be approved by the Speaker, which is expected to happen before July 24th.… Read more [More...]