Oklahoma Senate 2019 interim studies approved

Oklahoma Senate 2019 interim studies approved

OKLAHOMA CITY – Education, health care and mental health services, criminal justice policies, and retirement issues are among the topics approved for interim studies in the Oklahoma Senate.

The Senate President Pro Tempore’s Office on Tuesday released the list of 72 interim studies.

The members of the Oklahoma Senate use interim studies to take a more in-depth look at and hear from subject-matter experts about potential legislation and policies on a variety of topics. Interim studies are assigned to the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter contained within the request. Committee chairs are responsible for scheduling meetings for interim studies. All interim studies must be completed by November 8. Meeting notices will be posted on the Senate website (www.oksenate.gov).

*indicates a joint request with a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

Agriculture and Wildlife Committee

• Senator Mary Boren, D-Norman, a study on farm-to-table reforms.
• Senator Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, a study of urban agriculture.

Appropriations Committee

• Senator Allison Ikley-Freeman, D-Tulsa, a study of disaster response funding protocols.
• Senator John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton, and Senator Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, a study on innovating state capital asset management.
• Senator Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, a study on digital service.
• Senator Paul Scott, R-Duncan, a study on funding systems providing storm-shelter space.
• Senator Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, a study of how charter schools are funded and the real cost per student.*

Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee

• Senator Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, a study on blockchain, virtual currencies, and potential implementation in Oklahoma.
• Senator Brent Howard, R-Altus, a study on streamlining small business start-ups and entrepreneur growth.*
• Senator Matthews, a study on reducing poverty by increasing home ownership and entrepreneurship opportunities.
• Senator Casey Murdock, R-Felt, a study comparing Oklahoma pawn shop financing with other states.
• Senator Scott, a study of requirements for obtaining a barbering license.
• Senator Scott and Senator Howard, a study on stopping “robo calls”.
• Senator Rob Standridge, R-Norman, a study on how the state and subdivisions put Oklahoma first.
• Senator Standridge, a study of consolidation of workforce innovation boards.

Education Committee

• Senator Boren, a study on textbook adoption and funding reforms.*
• Senator David Bullard, R-Durant, a study on how best to use excess revenue from the Commissioners of the Land Office for schools.
• Senator Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, a study of professional development requirements for school districts.
• Senator Ikley-Freeman, a study of school policies on seclusion and restraint.
• Senator Kirt, a study on access to arts education.
• Senator Scott, a study of amending the Reading Sufficiency Act.
• Senator Scott, a study of summer feeding programs for youth.
• Senator Sharp, a study on oversight responsibilities of charter school sponsors.*
• Senator Standridge, a study on Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (TLE).
• Senator Standridge, a study on the impact of cyberbullying on children and ways to combat it.
• Senator Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, a study on House Bill 1017 school mandates.
• Senator Stanislawski, a study on the common education building equalization fund.
• Senator Stanislawski, a study on personalized learning.

Energy Committee

• Senator Boren, a study on solar energy in schools.*

Finance Committee

• Senator Boren, a study on affordable housing initiatives.
• Senator Tom Dugger, R-Stillwater, a study on Oklahoma Green Cards.
• Senator Matthews, a study on accessing community reinvestment act funds.
• Senator Montgomery, a study on conditional cash transfers, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and development.
• Senator Montgomery, a study on student loan debt and its impact on the state economy.
• Senator Montgomery, a study of consumer debt.
• Senator Montgomery, a study on debt affordability and areas of potential investment.
• Senator Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, a study on the aerospace equipment resource program.

General Government Committee

• Senator Joe Newhouse, R-Broken Arrow, a study of municipal regulation of aesthetic design elements in residential construction.*
• Senator Standridge, a study on hospital districts.

Health and Human Services Committee

• Senator John Haste, R-Broken Arrow, a study of the Safe Babies Court Team program.
• Senator Hicks, a study of the cost of prescriptive medications.
• Senator Ikley-Freeman, a study on youth access to mental health programs
• Senator Ikley-Freeman, a study on child care deserts.
• Senator Greg McCortney, R-Ada, a study on raising the smoking age to 21.
• Senator McCortney, a study on medication assisted treatment for addiction.
• Senator Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, a study of requirements for assisted living/memory care units.
• Senator Scott, a study of Department of Human Services practices for investigating daycare facilities.
• Senator Scott, a study of the Family First Prevention Services Act.
• Senator Frank Simpson, R-Springer, a study on solutions to the opioid epidemic.
• Senator Simpson, a study of state services for children with Type 1 diabetes.
• Senator Standridge, a study of the Developmental Disabilities Services Division wait list.
• Senator Standridge, a study on improving Oklahoma health by pharmacy practice.

Judiciary Committee

• Senator Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, and Senator Howard, a study of the Oklahoma Trust Act.
• Senator Sharp, a study on limited liability corporations.
• Senator Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, a study on recovering evidence from abandoned vehicles.

Public Safety Committee

• Senator Bullard, a study on transportation of mental health patients.
• Senator Daniels, a study of fines and fees in the criminal justice system.
• Senator Hicks, a study of current seatbelt laws.
• Senator Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, a study on cellular and electronic devices in Oklahoma prisons.
• Senator Mary Quinn, R-Claremore, a study on driver's license testing.
• Senator Wayne Shaw, R-Grove, a study of the felony larceny threshold.
• Senator Weaver, a study of workplace violence on medical professionals.

Retirement and Insurance Committee

• Senator Montgomery, a study on retirement security.
• Senator Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, a study on pension law reform.
• Senator Rosino, a study of insurance coverage of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).

Rules Committee

• Senator Montgomery, a study of Article 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution.
• Senator Scott, a study on the 2020 Census.
• Senator Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, a study on county home rule.
• Senator George Young, D-Oklahoma City, a study on community impact studies.

Transportation Committee

• Senator Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, a study on advanced transportation technology readiness.
• Senator Bergstrom, a study of state and federal requirements for commercial driver’s license training and testing.

from MuskogeePolitico.com

Heritage: With Budget Deal, Trump’s Fiscal Legacy No Different Than Obama, Bush

Winfree: With Budget Deal, Trump’s Fiscal Legacy No Different Than Obama, Bush

WASHINGTON — Tonight, Secretary Mnuchin and Speaker Pelosi released the final details of their backroom deal to bust through 2011 Budget Control Act caps and raise the debt ceiling. Paul Winfree, director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, released the following:

In a rare moment of fiscal discipline, Congress’ passage of the Budget Control Act (BCA) in 2011 placed caps on discretionary spending. Since its passage, Congress has routinely violated the spending caps with no regard for the consequences. This latest deal effectively renders the BCA dead. 

On top of the new spending, the deal suspends the debt limit for the next two years, piling on as much as $2 trillion more in debt. Hitting the debt limit ought to be a wake-up call for lawmakers to confront our nation’s unsustainable spending. Instead, many in Washington will celebrate the increased spending from BCA’s demise. But anyone concerned about the nation’s fiscal health should be alarmed. 

This deal comes less than four years after President Trump campaigned to balance the budget by cutting spending and after his administration produced three budgets to move toward fiscal sustainability. Few forces would threaten the president’s pro-growth agenda more than $22 trillion in debt fueled by unchecked government spending. If President Trump takes this deal—the worst in a decade—his fiscal legacy will be no different than the Obama and Bush administrations that he has criticized.

from MuskogeePolitico.com

2019 Republican District Ratings for Oklahoma Legislature

Here's the 2019 update to my Republican District Ratings, the 2017 version of which can be viewed here.

This rating system is to determine how "Republican" each state house and state senate district is. The formula is comprised of three elements: federal-level (most recent Republican presidential nominee's in-district vote percentage), state-level (most recent Republican gubernatorial nominee's in-district vote percentage), and local-level (in-district voter registration).

If a district might be rated 50.0, that does not mean the Democrat rating would also be 50.0, as I didn't split the remaining portion up between Democrat, Libertarian and Independent. This system simply rates on how Republican a district is. Perhaps another way of putting it is this: a generic Republican candidate should be able to get no less than the RDR in his district.

Have a look at each full list. Given the massive turnover in the 2018 election, I marked which members are freshmen (i.e. elected in 2018). I also added in a new feature, the upward or downward movement of each district compared to my first rating in 2016.

I'll post the related 2019 Conservative Performance Index soon, likely in the next month or so, where we'll examine each legislator's conservative score (an average of two different conservative rating systems) and compare it to their district's Republican rating.

Up first, State House:


Northwest Oklahoma has the top three Republican districts; HD61 maintained top-status with a rating of 72.4, with HD58 (71.4) and HD59 (70.9) in second and third. There's a four-point gap to fourth place, where HD41 comes in with a rating of 66.9. Broken Arrow's HD80 comes in fifth at 66.5, which is a drop of 3.1 since my first ratings were released in 2016.

The five least Republican districts are HD73 in north Tulsa (10.2), HD99 (16.3) and HD97 (22.6) and HD88 (26.0) in Oklahoma City, and HD44 (28.0) in Norman.

The average rating for all House seats is down 0.2 points to 52.0 (2016 average was 51.9). For Republican-held seats, the average held flat at 56.7, the same as in 2016, while Democrat-held seats fell 3.3 points to an average of 37.1 (2016 was 40.4).

The five most-Republican seats held by Democrats are HD7 (51.5) in the northeast, HD79 (50.3) in Tulsa, HD83 (48.0) and HD85 (46.6) in OKC, and HD46 (46.5) in Norman..

The five least-Republican seats held by Republicans are HD62 (39.8) in Lawton, HD13 in Muskogee and McIntosh counties, HD64 (40.7) in Lawton, HD95 (44.4) in Midwest City, and HD14 (46.0) in Muskogee and Cherokee counties.

Average change since 2016 for urban House districts:

• OKC metro, GOP-held: -3.52
• OKC metro, Dem-held: -4.7
• OKC metro, combined: -4.07
• Tulsa metro, GOP-held: -2.74
• Tulsa metro, Dem-held: -3.92
• Tulsa metro, combined: -3.09
• Other urban (Lawton/Stillwater/Enid): -2.4
• All urban, GOP-held: -3.15
• All urban, Dem-held: -4.47
• All urban, combined: -3.58

Average change since 2016 for rural House districts:

• Rural, GOP-held: +4.32
• Rural, Dem-held: +2.9
• Rural, combined: +4.23

Now, let's look at the State Senate:


The most Republican district is again in far northwest Oklahoma and the Panhandle - SD27 at a rating of 72.8. Next are SD19 (65.9) in the Enid area, SD20 (63.7) in the Guthrie and Pawnee area, SD23 (63.6) on the west side of the OKC metro, and SD25 (63.6) in south Tulsa.

The five least Republican districts are SD11 in  north Tulsa (26.3), SD48 (27.3) and SD46 (35.8) in Oklahoma City, SD16 (41.2) in Cleveland County, and SD9 (42.7) in Muskogee and Cherokee counties.

The average rating for all Senate seats is up 0.6 points to 54.1. For Republican-held seats, it's up 1.1 points to 56.6, while for Democrat-held seats it's up 1.7 points to 43.5.

The five most Republican seats held by Democrats are SD34 in Owasso at 58.7, SD37 in Tulsa (57.5), SD44 (50.2) and SD30 (49.6) and SD40 (44.7) - all in OKC.

The five least Republican seats held by Republicans are SD9 (42.7), Midwest City's SD42 (47.0), Lawton's SD32 (47.5), two rural southeast districts, SD8 (47.5) and SD7 (48.7).

Average change since 2016 for urban Senate districts:

• OKC metro, GOP-held: -3.41
• OKC metro, Dem-held: +1.37
• OKC metro, combined: -1.36
• Tulsa metro, GOP-held: -3.32
• Tulsa metro, Dem-held: +4.0
• Tulsa metro, combined: -1.23
• All urban, GOP-held: -3.38
• All urban, Dem-held: +2.03
• All urban, combined: -1.32

Average change since 2016 for rural Senate districts:

• Rural, GOP-held: +4.91
• Rural, Dem-held: [none]
• Rural, combined: +4.91

If you'd like to see maps to show where all the different districts are, go here for State House maps and here for State Senate maps.

BONUS

I've added two more sheets: one showing all House and Senate districts together for comparison, and the other sorted by the percentage changes each district had since the 2016 rating.

Here's the House and Senate combined, to show the RDR for all 149 districts:

This one is is sorted by the percentage changes each district had since 2016:


from MuskogeePolitico.com

And then there were two: rural Dem legislator won’t seek reelection

One of the last remaining rural Democratic state legislators is bowing out of the Legislature, announcing today that he will not seek reelection.

State Rep. David Perryman was the only rural Democrat west of I-35 (or US 69, for that matter) the only rural Democrat south of I-40, and one of just three Democrat legislators outside of the Tulsa/OKC metros or the city of Stillwater.

Press release is below:

Perryman Announces He Won’t Seek Reelection

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma House Minority Floor Leader David Perryman (D-Chickasha) has announced that he does not plan to seek a fifth term as House District 56’s state representative.
Perryman was elected to the Oklahoma House in 2012 and has served as Minority Floor Leader since 2016. Prior to serving as the floor leader for the Democrats, Perryman served one term as secretary of the caucus and has served on a number of House committees, including Agriculture, Banking, Pensions, County and Municipal Government as well as Judiciary and a number of Appropriation and Budget subcommittees.

“After much consideration, I have decided not to seek reelection in 2020,” Perryman said. “I am so thankful for my wife, Jo, and my children who have supported me during my terms in the legislature and who have covered so many personal obligations that have allowed me to faithfully and diligently serve the people of District 56.”

Known for his grasp of parliamentary procedure, Perryman has been one of the most respected representatives in the Oklahoma House.

“David has been a great resource for not only our caucus but the entire body,” Minority Leader Emily Virgin (D-Norman) said. “He has dedicated himself to understanding how the House works so that he can best serve his constituents and the state of Oklahoma. By doing so, he has made himself an invaluable leader in our caucus.”
Perryman has used his time as floor leader to mentor caucus freshmen on the nuances of legislative procedure. In addition to day-to-day duties of a floor leader, Perryman’s caucus presentations include in-depth analysis of legislative language and how to advance the purpose and message of the minority party and still comply with the House Rules that are imposed by the majority party.

“David’s service in the legislature has been a great inspiration to me,” said freshman legislator Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa). “He is a true son of Oklahoma.”

“David will leave a huge hole in the legislature,” said Rep. Trish Ranson (D-Stillwater). “He will be missed.”

“David is a gifted and very capable leader,” said Rep. Andy Fugate (D-Midwest City). I am glad that I was able to serve a term with him and have him ‘teach me the ropes’.”

“Leader Perryman is a tireless worker who will be impossible to replace,” said Rep. Shane Stone (D-OKC). “He is to be thanked for all that he has done for our caucus. I was already going to miss him, but now I know the rest of the caucus will too.”

Perryman’s service has focused on public education, rural economic development, rural infrastructure and the quality of life in rural Oklahoma. He has tirelessly devoted his service to the youth of the district in an attempt to give students the same opportunities that were available to him growing up.

“Sometimes it is an elementary teacher or a principal or an agriculture instructor that help open doors to leadership opportunities for young Oklahomans,” Perryman said. I see that as a part of my role as a State Legislator and believe that I have been successful in assisting to prepare tomorrow’s leaders today.

“I am very appreciative of both former Minority Leader Scott Inman and current Minority Leader Emily Virgin for allowing me to serve as their Floor Leader through both the 56th and 57th Oklahoma Legislatures. There have been wins and losses and I believe that many of our accomplishments, including restoring revenue for increased funding for education, will reverberate for years to come.

“Politics is all about timing,” Perryman said. “I see more youth and vigor and ability in our caucus than I have in a long time, and because of that optimism, I feel like it is time for me to move over and find a different way to apply myself. I look forward to continuing to mentor for the rest of my current term and am anxious to see how members of our caucus can effect positive change over the coming years and I plan to help them do so anyway that I can.”

Although Perryman is leaving the caucus early, he still plans to be involved in his community, resume his full-time law practice in Chickasha and to continue to advocate for Oklahoma families across our state.

“It has been a true honor to serve the people of District 56 for the past seven years, particularly since the district is where my great grandparents settled in 1902 and has been home to six generations of my family,” Perryman said.

from MuskogeePolitico.com

LOFT oversight committee to hold first meeting July 30

LOFT oversight committee to hold first meeting July 30

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) oversight committee will meet for the first time later this month at the Oklahoma Capitol.

LOFT is legislative office created this year in a bill by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat. LOFT will provide the public and policymakers with independent, objective research and data on state spending and program evaluation and performance.

The Speaker and President Pro Tempore appointed a bipartisan group of legislators to serve on the committee that will oversee and guide the work of LOFT. The oversight committee will meet at 3:30 pm Tuesday, July 30, in Room 419-C at the Oklahoma Capitol.

“LOFT will be a game-changer because it will enhance and expand transparency and accountability in state spending by providing independent, objective data on state spending and program performance,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “I’m confident the oversight committee will do a great job guiding LOFT. I’m excited to see the progress made in the coming weeks as LOFT begins to take shape.”

“I am excited for the LOFT Committee to meet and begin the process of getting implemented,” said McCall, R-Atoka. “LOFT is a much-needed resource for the Legislature that, frankly, should have been created long ago. We have members that are ready to roll their sleeves up and solve problems, but it is difficult to do without timely and accurate information about agency spending and programs. LOFT will provide the House and Senate the information and analysis we need to make good, informed decisions on behalf of Oklahoma’s citizens.”

Treat appointed Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah and Senate Appropriations Committee chair, to serve as the co-chair of the oversight committee, while McCall named Representative Kevin Wallace to serve as co-chair.

“LOFT is a tremendous concept that will serve the Legislature and the public by increasing transparency and accountability in the expenditure of our tax dollars. We’ve already been at work behind the scenes and I’m looking forward to our first oversight committee meeting. We’re going to hit the ground running and set LOFT up for great success moving forward,” Thompson said.

“It is the Legislature’s job to ensure agencies are spending taxpayer dollars wisely and without waste, and LOFT will help us do that more effectively,” said House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. “LOFT will ensure that lawmakers from both chambers are working off the same information, and it will get that information to us prior to agency budget requests so we are making decisions based off of what we know rather than just trusting what agency leaders tell us. I believe LOFT will drastically improve our budgeting process and help us work more efficiently for our citizens.”

LOFT Oversight Committee members:

• Kevin Wallace, co-chair
• Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow
• Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City
• Mike Osburn, R-Edmond
• Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa
• Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City
• Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa
• Senator Roger Thompson, co-chair
• Senator Kim David, R-Porter
• Senator Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee
• Senator Frank Simpson, R-Springer
• Senator Chuck Hall, R-Guthrie
• Senator Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City
• Senator Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City.

from MuskogeePolitico.com

State Election Board Urges Voters to Respond to Address Confirmation Notice

State Election Board Urges Voters to Respond to Address Confirmation Notice

(Oklahoma City) – This past spring, more than 181,000 Address Confirmation Notices were mailed to certain Oklahoma voters, as required by law. Nearly two months later, more than 134,000 notices remain outstanding, state election officials said today. Voters who do not respond to the Address Confirmation Notice by July 27 will be declared “inactive.” State election officials urge any voter who has not responded to the notice, to do so as soon as possible.

State Election Board spokesperson, Misha Mohr, said voters can respond to the Address Confirmation Notice by mail or online at http://ok.gov/elections.

“An Address Confirmation Notice has to be signed and dated by the voter in order for election officials to confirm or make changes to a voter registration. Those who respond online will be asked to take an oath. It’s one of the many safeguards we have in place to protect the integrity of our election system,” said Mohr.

State and federal law require that Address Confirmation Notices be mailed to certain voters every two years. Voters who do not respond by the deadline will automatically be designated as “inactive” voters. “Inactive” voters are still registered voters who are eligible to vote, and can automatically change their status to “active” by voting or updating their registration during the next two General Election cycles.

Mohr reminds Oklahomans that voters who are designated “inactive” this year and remain “inactive” following the 2022 General Election are required by law to be removed from the voter rolls.

Next-of-kin who need to cancel the registration of a deceased relative or those who have moved out of state can complete a Request to Cancel Voter Registration form which can be found on the State Election Board website at https://www.ok.gov/elections/Voter_Info/Cancel_Voter_Registration/index.html.

To learn more about the address confirmation and voter list maintenance process, see 26 O.S.§ 4-120.

For more information, contact State Election Board Public Information Officer, Misha Mohr, at: mmohr@elections.ok.gov or by phone at (405) 522-6624.

from MuskogeePolitico.com

[MuskogeePolitico.com] Stitt, Hofmeister call for investigative audit of Epic Charter School

The latest news on MuskogeePolitico.com

Advertise with MuskogeePolitico.com! View this email in your browser The latest news on MuskogeePolitico.com: OCPA column: Putting politics ahead of children’s learning **Stitt, Hofmeister call for investigative audit of Epic Charter School** Neese hits Horn for flip-flop on "corporate PAC" money ODOT seeks input for next 25-year long range plan, invite public to take survey Music Monday: Bach's "Little" Fugue in G Minor Bice reports $180k raised in first fundraising quarter in 5th District race Tribal council advances measure to reject pay raises for elected officials AG Hunter celebrates Pro-Life win as judge upholds dismemberment abortion ban Stitt responds to Inter-Tribal Council resolution on Gaming Compacts Walkingstick to introduce pay raise for Cherokee Nation employees Lucas, Hern decry partisan NDAA bill Association of Oklahoma General Contractors endorses Bice for Congress Read more stories and news on MuskogeePolitico.com. Read about our experience with health care sharing! If you are interested in advertising on MuskogeePolitico.com, or have news tips, send an email to JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com. Copyright © 2019 Muskogee Politico, All rights reserved. You are receiving these emails because you opted in at MuskogeePolitico.com or through social media. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

from MuskogeePolitico newsletter Archive Feed