Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1990. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol.
By: Steve Lewis
May 13, 2019 // Updated: May 13, 2019
Although nothing is certain until the session ends, it looks like one of the disappointments for this year will be the failure to pass a method for Medicaid expansion. Thousands of people who need medical and mental health treatment will have to wait. [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
May 6, 2019 // Updated: May 6, 2019
For a while there was speculation that the Legislature would adjourn on May 10th, which would be this Friday, 3 weeks before the constitutionally-mandated deadline. Safe to say that's not happening. Then the speculation moved to May 17th. Given the time frames needed to pass measures, even after agreements are reached, that date is now somewhere between overly optimistic and almost impossible. Speculation now centers on May 24th, one week ahead of the deadline. What happened? [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
April 29, 2019 // Updated: April 29, 2019
A long-awaited ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court was issued last week dealing with the Legislature's ability to place a limit or "cap" on the recovery of non-economic damages by persons injured through the fault of another party. [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
April 22, 2019 // Updated: April 22, 2019
Governor Stitt vetoed his first bill last week. HB 1205, by Rep. Carol Bush and Sen. Greg McCortney, would have created an Oklahoma Home- and Community-Based Services Ombudsman Program Task Force to research, compile data, and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature regarding the creation and operation of an ombudsman program to serve recipients of in-home care and services. [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
April 15, 2019 // Updated: April 15, 2019
Word is beginning to circulate around the Capitol about a possible expansion of Medicaid services in Oklahoma. I don't know what form this would take, but hopefully it will be broad enough to take full advantage of the 90 percent funding available to the state through the Affordable Care Act (ACA.) A recent compilation of studies by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation found many positive effects for the states that have accepted Medicaid expansion. Oklahoma is among only 14 states who still refuse to accept the expansion. [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
April 8, 2019 // Updated: April 8, 2019
It seems a little earlier than usual, but you can tell when thoughts start turning toward adjournment of the Legislature by increased talk about the budget. Because the Legislature runs on a timetable of deadlines, the substantive law and policy… Read more [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
April 1, 2019 // Updated: April 1, 2019
It came to light recently that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) is out of money and needs an emergency $16 million to avoid furloughing employees. Obviously, this isn't going down well with legislators who just went through the same thing in 2017 with the Oklahoma State Department of Health only to later learn that the shortfall wasn't really a shortfall. Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson has filed a bill splitting out the information technology functions of the agency. [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
March 18, 2019 // Updated: March 18, 2019
A defining issue for this legislature and Governor Stitt's leadership in his first session could be a remarkable advancement in criminal justice reform. [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
March 11, 2019 // Updated: March 11, 2019
Last week the Legislature turned its accountability focus toward state government, with leadership announcing agreement between the House, Senate and the Governor on five bills to reorganize the governance of five larger state agencies...It will be interesting to see how things work when the power brokers that have been given new powers strongly disagree with each other. It could be a prescription for "gridlock," which would be the opposite of "turnaround." [More...]
By: Steve Lewis
March 4, 2019 // Updated: March 4, 2019
With the passage of the first committee deadline, it's interesting to observe the bills the two top legislative leaders have filed. If they decide to throw the full weight of their office behind a proposal, it is likely to become law, at least in some form. [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
Although nothing is certain until the session ends, it looks like one of the disappointments for this year will be the failure to pass a method for Medicaid expansion. Thousands of people who need medical and mental health treatment will have to wait. [More...]
For a while there was speculation that the Legislature would adjourn on May 10th, which would be this Friday, 3 weeks before the constitutionally-mandated deadline. Safe to say that's not happening. Then the speculation moved to May 17th. Given the time frames needed to pass measures, even after agreements are reached, that date is now somewhere between overly optimistic and almost impossible. Speculation now centers on May 24th, one week ahead of the deadline. What happened? [More...]
A long-awaited ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court was issued last week dealing with the Legislature's ability to place a limit or "cap" on the recovery of non-economic damages by persons injured through the fault of another party. [More...]
Governor Stitt vetoed his first bill last week. HB 1205, by Rep. Carol Bush and Sen. Greg McCortney, would have created an Oklahoma Home- and Community-Based Services Ombudsman Program Task Force to research, compile data, and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature regarding the creation and operation of an ombudsman program to serve recipients of in-home care and services. [More...]
Word is beginning to circulate around the Capitol about a possible expansion of Medicaid services in Oklahoma. I don't know what form this would take, but hopefully it will be broad enough to take full advantage of the 90 percent funding available to the state through the Affordable Care Act (ACA.) A recent compilation of studies by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation found many positive effects for the states that have accepted Medicaid expansion. Oklahoma is among only 14 states who still refuse to accept the expansion. [More...]
It seems a little earlier than usual, but you can tell when thoughts start turning toward adjournment of the Legislature by increased talk about the budget. Because the Legislature runs on a timetable of deadlines, the substantive law and policy… Read more [More...]
It came to light recently that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) is out of money and needs an emergency $16 million to avoid furloughing employees. Obviously, this isn't going down well with legislators who just went through the same thing in 2017 with the Oklahoma State Department of Health only to later learn that the shortfall wasn't really a shortfall. Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson has filed a bill splitting out the information technology functions of the agency. [More...]
A defining issue for this legislature and Governor Stitt's leadership in his first session could be a remarkable advancement in criminal justice reform. [More...]
Last week the Legislature turned its accountability focus toward state government, with leadership announcing agreement between the House, Senate and the Governor on five bills to reorganize the governance of five larger state agencies...It will be interesting to see how things work when the power brokers that have been given new powers strongly disagree with each other. It could be a prescription for "gridlock," which would be the opposite of "turnaround." [More...]
With the passage of the first committee deadline, it's interesting to observe the bills the two top legislative leaders have filed. If they decide to throw the full weight of their office behind a proposal, it is likely to become law, at least in some form. [More...]
