Last fall, we told you about the work of the Oklahoma Occupational Licensing Task Force, a group of leaders from the Legislature, state agencies, and private businesses that formed in 2016 to study occupational licensing in the state. The task…
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By:
Gene Perry
March 30, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In our weekly Bill Watch post, we discuss what happened and what to look for in the bills we’re following most closely in the Oklahoma Legislature. See our advocacy alerts page for more ways to take action on these issues.…
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Advocates for medical marijuana in Oklahoma were riding high after collecting nearly 66,000 signatures to put State Question 788 up for a vote of the people. SQ 788 would allow people to apply for a medical marijuana license with the…
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By:
Gene Perry
March 23, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This week we’re launching a new weekly update to our blog that previews some of the bills we’re watching in the Oklahoma Legislature over the next week. Throughout the week, we’ll continuing sharing advocacy alerts with ways that you can…
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Private prisons have a very bad reputation among criminal justice reformers, and it’s well deserved. In recent years, the ugliest outbreaks of prison violence toward correctional officers and among inmates have occurred in Oklahoma’s private prisons, underlining the dangerous conditions in those…
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Oklahoma has long been among the most punitive states in the country for drug crimes. For years, severe mandatory minimums and tough-on-crime attitudes contributed to simple drug possession being the most common charge for state prison admissions. In 2016, fed-up…
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This post is the second in a series highlighting key bills in several issues areas that we’re following. A previous post looked at legislation affecting economic opportunity for Oklahoma families.
After a disappointing end to the 2017 session, there are encouraging…
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The problem of debtors’ prisons in Oklahoma has slowly come out into the open in recent years. More and more criminal defendants have been unable to pay off the thousands of dollars in fines and fees piled on them by…
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By:
Steve Lewis
January 26, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol.
In preparation for the upcoming session, Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh appeared before the House and Senate appropriations…
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By:
Gene Perry
January 25, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
With the 2018 legislative session fast approaching, today we released OK Policy’s top policy priorities for the coming year.
OK Policy is committed to supporting fair and adequate funding of public services and expanded economic opportunity for all Oklahomans through…
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