Capitol Insider

With a little less than two months until the end of this legislative session, the Oklahoma House and Senate are considering bills covering a wide range of topics, from gun rights to teacher pay raises. Bill to loosen Oklahoma gun laws failed in Senate House Bill 2323 would have allowed a citizen 21 or older, without a felony, to carry a loaded gun in their vehicle without a valid handgun license. eCapitol news director Shawn Ashley said the bill was hotly debated in the legislature. “A number of

Monthly revenue shortages have led Oklahoma finance officials to dip into the Rainy Day Fund again this year, draining it completely. If the state does not have enough money to pay its monthly bills, it typically takes the difference from a state department. “Normally, they would look to something like the Department of Transportation, which usually has large amounts of cash,” eCapitol news director Shawn Ashley said in his weekly interview with KGOU. That money was not available because ODOT

Bills in the Oklahoma legislature faced a major deadline Thursday: they had to pass in their chamber of origin to continue through the legislative process. Bills affecting anti-discriminatory laws were not successful, but two teacher pay raise measures will move ahead. Senate Bill 694 by J o s h B r e c h e e n , R -Ada , would have limited local governments from passing anti discrimination laws more stringent than the state anti discrimination law. The measure did not pass. “The state’s anti

Leaders in the Oklahoma senate wasted little time to strip state Sen. Ralph Shortey of most of his privileges last Wednesday when allegations emerged that the Oklahoma City Republican had allegedly offered money for sex with a teenage boy. “Abruptly, late Wednesday morning, the Senate took a recess and the Senate Republicans began caucusing behind closed doors,” eCapitol news director Shawn Ashley told KGOU during his weekly Capitol Insider interview. When Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schultz,

The Oklahoma legislature faces an approximately $880 million budget shortfall, and proposals to increase revenue have not gained traction. Meanwhile, the House passed a bill this week that would incrementally increase teacher pay. House Bill 1114 passed through the Oklahoma House on Tuesday. The bill proposes a $6,000 teacher pay raise that will be implemented over the course of three years. The raise will begin with a $1,000 increase this year. In the 2018-2019 school year, salary will increase

Oklahomans will have the option to get new identification cards in compliance with the federal government’s REAL ID Act. Also this week, a major rating agency decreased the state’s credit rate, which could make the capitol restoration more expensive. Governor Mary Fallin signed the REAL ID Act into effect on Thursday to make Oklahoma state licenses comply with federal minimum safety standards of identification. The Department of Public Safety must now find a provider to issue the IDs. “Like we

Gov. Mary Fallin announced this week that Oklahoma will face a revenue failure during the current fiscal year. At the same time, Republican lawmakers are backing away from one of Fallin’s proposals to bring more revenue into the state - a $1.50 tax increase on cigarettes. The state will not bring in as much individual income, corporate income and sales tax collections this fiscal year as the state equalization board had budgeted for. This revenue failure will result in a 0.7 percent mid-year cut

Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb stepped down from the governor’s cabinet due to his opposition to the governor’s tax plan during a busy legislative week that included moves on an abortion bill and several teacher pay raise proposals. Lamb’s resignation was well received by the 14 legislators who pledged to fight against service sales taxes. Some of those same legislators also oppose House Bill 1841 , which moves for a $1.50 tax increase on cigarettes to go toward Oklahoma health care. The bill

The Oklahoma legislature could make big changes to the state sales taxes this session in an attempt to balance an estimated $870 million budget shortfall and provide a pay raise to teachers. In her state of the state speech on Monday, Governor Mary Fallin proposed a pair of tax cuts, coupled with an expansion of the state’s sales tax system that would raise Oklahoma’s tax revenue by $1.1 billion. A large portion would come from sales taxes on services, such as residential utilities and child

As Governor Mary Fallin prepares for her State of the State address on Monday, February 6th , the Oklahoma legislature looks at changes involving taxes, criminal justice and disciplining some of their own. At the Associated Press Legislative Forum on Thursday, Gov. Fallin said she wants to see, “a major overhaul of our tax system.” One tax change Oklahomans can expect is to begin paying sales tax on purchases from online retailer Amazon starting next month. eCapitol news director Shawn Ashley