Category: Capitol Updates

Lawsuit challenges constitutionality of new business court law (Capitol Update)

It didn’t take long for a challenge to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s new business courts to be filed in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The lawsuit, filed last week,  asked the court to declare the law — which is scheduled to go… Read more [More...]

Cash bail doesn’t make us safer, but pretrial reform can (Capitol Update)

It may be time for the legislature to take another look at pretrial release reform in Oklahoma. Cash bail bonds are typically based primarily on the charges filed and include little, if any, evidence-based assessment of flight risk or danger… Read more [More...]

SB 870 establishes strict liability for failing to report misconduct in youth detention (Capitol Update)

A new law passed this session will establish stringent new reporting requirements for any employee, contractor, volunteer, or third party “working in or around” (1) a state-run juvenile facility, (2) a private contractor or group home under the supervision of… Read more [More...]

SB 1168 expands liability for government-caused injuries and property damage (Capitol Update)

One of the more positive results of the leveraging between policy and budget issues at the end of the legislative session was the passage of SB 1168, which deals with the perplexing issue of sovereign immunity [More...]

Contentious budget negotiations opened door for governor’s business court plans (Capitol Update)

During contentious budget negotiations between the House and Senate at the end of the 2024 session, Gov. Kevin Stitt seized the opportunity to make a deal with legislators not to veto the general appropriations bill — if lawmakers agreed to… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma destined to remain poor state without investments (Capitol Update)

It is almost certain those running our state are making a serious mistake with the $340 million tax cut passed by the legislature last week. The best evidence of that is the debate made by the chairman of the Senate… Read more [More...]

When the budget becomes a bargaining chip (Capitol Update)

The state budget for the next fiscal year was announced last week, setting the stage for the legislature to complete its work by the constitutionally mandated deadline: the last Friday in May. The budget process relied on an unprecedented level… Read more [More...]

Building better paths: Oklahoma pilots new domestic violence reform (Capitol Update)

A lot of good things happen in state government that most of us citizens have never heard about. We tend to hear about some bill being introduced in the legislature that we think (or know) is downright stupid or the… Read more [More...]

Supreme Court, Oklahoma lawmakers weigh church-state boundaries (Capitol Update)

While the legislature was plowing its way through multiple bills toward this week’s deadline for floor passage of bills originating in the opposite chamber, issues of private religious faith in the public sector worked their way toward a conclusion. It has been a cardinal rule that public funding of private schools is prohibited by the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.  [More...]

The HB 1200 tax proposal would be a terrible legacy for this session (Capitol Update)

As legislators draft the state budget and conclude the session, they will confront the issue of what to do with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s proposal for an income tax cut and the eventual elimination of the state income tax. House Bill… Read more [More...]