Author: Steve Lewis

Petition seeks constitutional amendment to guarantee every idea a vote in the Oklahoma Legislature

We seem to be living in a time when the long-agreed-upon principles upon which we have governed ourselves are being challenged. A group of citizens — including former Republican State Rep. Charles Key and former 2014 Republican state senate candidate… Read more [More...]

Breaking Oklahoma’s cycle of incarceration requires coordinated efforts, investments (Capitol Update)

The House County and Municipal Government Committee, chaired by Rep. Eddy Dempsey, R-Valliant, heard an interim study last week sponsored by Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, and Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, that reviews criminal justice funding and outcomes resulting from the… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s county jails face rising insurance and liability pressures (Capitol Update)

Last week, Senator David Bullard, R-Durant, sponsored an interesting and important interim study on insurance rates for county jails before the Senate Local and County Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain. The study featured testimony from several county… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Supreme Court stays HB 2783 over Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Board terms (Capitol Update)

There was an interesting ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently staying implementation of House Bill 2783, authored by the respective chairmen and vice chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations committees. The bill sought to strike statutory language providing… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s booms, busts, and tax cut déjà vu (Capitol Update)

The state received more good revenue news last week. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) reported on Friday that the General Revenue Fund collections for fiscal year 2025 totaled $8.7 billion — $224.7 million (2.6 percent) above the… Read more [More...]

George Nigh’s legacy wasn’t just in policy, but in people (Capitol Update)

After a long life of service, former Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh died last week. He served as governor for six of the years that I was a member of the Legislature. I could share many of the experiences I had… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma legislators to examine child well‑being in 2025 interim studies (Capitol Update)

Last week Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, released the list of approved interim studies for this year’s interim session. With Oklahoma ranking 46th overall for child well-being in the 2025 Annie E. Casey KIDS COUNT Databook, this could be… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Highway Patrol withdrawal sparks legal and legislative pushback (Capitol Update)

Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton announced that, beginning November 1st, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will stop patrolling interstate highways in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas. According to Tipton, the change is intended to enhance statewide… Read more [More...]

Senators request interim study to rethink how Oklahoma cities are funded (Capitol Update)

A couple of freshmen senators from Oklahoma’s two largest metro areas have made a bipartisan request for a legislative interim study to look for ways to “stabilize” municipal funding in Oklahoma. Sen. Christi Gillespie, R-Broken Arrow, and Sen. Mark Mann,… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s “failure to protect” law under scrutiny in new interim study (Capitol Update)

Last week, Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, announced that senators had requested 90 interim studies to be conducted while the legislature is out of session. In the Senate, interim studies are assigned to various standing committees, and the… Read more [More...]