
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…
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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.
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By:
Steve Lewis
April 28, 2025 // Updated: April 28, 2025

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…
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By:
Steve Lewis
April 22, 2025 // Updated: April 22, 2025

Legislative investigative committees in Oklahoma are rare, as they should be. The legislature has only four months to enact laws and policy for state government and to write a balanced budget for the coming year. Time spent taking testimony under…
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By:
Steve Lewis
April 14, 2025 // Updated: April 14, 2025

• OK Policy Advocacy Alert: Tell lawmakers to oppose tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and risk critical services
With seven weeks remaining before mandatory sine die adjournment on May 30, appropriations committee members and leadership are now focusing on…
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By:
Steve Lewis
April 7, 2025 // Updated: April 7, 2025

During the lull in legislative action in “crossover” week last week, a bit of politics filled the void. Crossover week is the week after floor deadlines during which House bills that remain alive officially move to the Senate, and Senate…
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By:
Steve Lewis
March 31, 2025 // Updated: March 31, 2025

In 2004, in response to the business establishment’s perennial call for “tort reform,” House Speaker Larry Adair and Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson authored House Bill 2661 authorizing the Oklahoma Supreme Court to create a Business Court Division within…
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By:
Steve Lewis
March 25, 2025 // Updated: March 25, 2025

Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, Chair of the Senate Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism Committee, has been working more than two years to revamp Oklahoma’s economic development efforts, and the result was passage in the Senate last week of her Senate…
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By:
Steve Lewis
March 10, 2025 // Updated: March 11, 2025

The updated SB 1027 contains arduous requirements that will be a significant barrier to the people in exercising their rights to the state question process.
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By:
Steve Lewis
March 5, 2025 // Updated: March 5, 2025

House Bill 1008 by Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, would permit abortions in Oklahoma in cases where an abortion is required to save the life of the mother. The bill passed out of the House Health and Human Services Oversight Committee…
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