House sends bill to Governor to subject OMES to transparency and accountability act

Bill Making OMES Subject to Central Purchasing Act Sent to Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 25th) – A measure making Oklahoma's state employee management agency and the Chief Information Officer subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act has been sent to the governor's desk.  

House Bill 3057, authored by Rep. Jay Steagall, R-Yukon, would require all purchases of equipment, products and services within the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) and the Chief Information Officer to be subject to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act and the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974 without exception. 

Drummond praises Gov. Stitt for signing crime-fighting bills, urges signing of HB 4156

Drummond praises Gov. Stitt for signing crime-fighting bills, urges signing of HB 4156

OKLAOMA CITY (April 24, 2024) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today praised Gov. Stitt for signing two bills into law that are critical for cracking down on crime. Drummond also urged the Governor to take swift action in signing House Bill 4156, the immigration reform legislation Drummond called for weeks ago. 

State Auditor finds systemic lack of oversight at critical state agency

Oklahoma's official government watchdog, State Auditor Cindy Byrd, is out with an absolutely scorching audit of OMES, finding all sorts of improprieties:

FEDERAL SINGLE AUDIT UNCOVERS OMES LACK OF OVERSIGHT

“I believe Oklahoma is rapidly becoming a no-bid state. This is a grave disservice to the taxpayers.”

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (April 23, 2024) -- Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector (SAI) Cindy Byrd today released the Federal Single Audit of expenditures made during FY 2022. This annual audit is a federally-mandated examination of whether the State of Oklahoma spent federal grant money in compliance with federal regulations.

The audit report covers more than $13 Billion of expenditures which are audited through a formula provided by the federal government. A majority of the $13 Billion came from COVID relief funds.

The most compelling information revealed in this audit is that COVID allowed the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to establish a new set of rules for vendor contracts. SAI has determined these new rules are not in the best interest of Oklahoma taxpayers.

Cursive handwriting bill signed into law

I was in a store just the other day and overhead a cashier and customer discussing how kids don't learn cursive any more, and the need for them to have this skill. Looks like they weren't the only ones thinking this!

Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society

Cursive handwriting bill signed into law

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 24th) – Oklahoma House Representative Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, had his bill HB 3727 signed into law yesterday by the Governor. The bill’s Senate author is Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa.

The bill requires cursive handwriting instruction for students in third through fifth grade.

OCPA announces Oklahoma Judicial Scorecard

Glad to see this project taking place, as it would be a very helpful tool, especially around judicial retention vote time:

OCPA Announces Oklahoma Judicial Scorecard

Who are the nine justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court?

How have their rulings impacted Oklahoma's ability to attract and keep jobs—and job creators—in our state?

Have the Court's rulings strengthened or undermined the rule of law and Oklahoma values?

These are some of the questions that will be covered by the Oklahoma Judicial Scorecard, a new project announced today by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

In what is often seen as the “reddest state in America,” with a Republican governor and supermajority across the legislature, people are often surprised to learn that Oklahoma’s Supreme Court is considered one of the most liberal in the country.

Lankford pens op-ed on why the US must continue to stand with Israel

Continue to pray for peace in Jerusalem

By US Senator James Lankford (originally published in the Tulsa World)

In the past six months, the Iranian regime has launched thousands of rockets at Israel through its proxies: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Iran has also launched hundreds of attacks on American forces in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Now, Iran has directly attacked Israel.

In addition to the ongoing threat now hurled at Israel from Iran, the US should clearly oppose the violence of Hamas terrorists and support the freedom for every hostage in Gaza. Some in Washington, DC, and around the world have forgotten that the current war in the Middle East started on Oct. 7 when Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret. 

OCPA: Paycom and trial lawyers’ SB 1737 weaponizes courts against conservatives

Paycom and trial lawyers’ SB 1737 weaponizes courts against conservatives

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 18, 2024)—Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small issued the following statement after the passage of Senate Bill 1737, which was supported by trial lawyers and strongly supported by Paycom, an $11 billion publicly traded company with a track record of attacking conservatives in Oklahoma.

“SB 1737, which could provide a windfall to trial lawyers, is a bill that the author has said is supported by Paycom, which has had a track record of attacking conservatives in public and in the courts because Paycom and its CEO Chad Richison prefer the far-left’s plan for Oklahoma,” Small said.

“SB 1737 amends a current state statute to make it even easier to harass political opponents by allowing someone to pursue civil action for ‘online harassment’ that allegedly impacts a company’s intangible assets. 

OK House Republicans vote to protect Oklahomans from illegal immigration crisis; Dems oppose

Oklahoma House Republicans are aiming to do something to protect Oklahoma from Biden's illegal immigration crisis, while, naturally, the House Democrats oppose doing anything except embracing it.

House Republicans Vote to Protect Oklahomans from Illegal Immigration Crisis

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 18th) – Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, today received passage of House Bill 4156 by a vote of 77-20. The legislation, aimed at addressing the illegal immigration crisis, creates the crime of impermissible occupation. Details include:

Gov. Stitt signs bill to protect privacy of homemade food producers

Gov. Stitt Signs Bill to Protect Privacy of Homemade Food Producers

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 18th) – Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday signed into law legislation that amends the Homemade Food Freedom Act to protect the private information of producers.

House Bill 2975, authored by Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener, and Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, will allow producers of homemade food products to obtain a registration number to affix to their product labels instead of the current requirement that they list their name, phone number and the physical address where the food is produced on all products sold. The $15 registration fee is voluntary.

Border Security First: Brecheen opposes 'America Last' foreign aid package rule; Hern against Ukraine funding

As Congress looks to send nearly $100,000,000 in foreign aid to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel (and Gaza, apparently), a meager few Republicans are saying "No" -- or at least, "not until our border is secure."

According to CBS:

The three foreign aid bills would provide $26.4 billion to support Israel, $60.8 billion to bolster Ukraine and $8.1 billion to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, including billions for Taiwan. The Israel measure also includes more than $9.1 billion to address Palestinian humanitarian needs, which Democrats said was necessary for their support. 

Read below for why Oklahoma Congressmen Josh Brecheen and Kevin Hern oppose all or part of this plan:

Small: No need to "fix" Oklahoma elections with "ranked choice" voting

No need to “fix” Oklahoma elections

By Jonathan Small

Oklahoma has one of the nation’s best election systems. We use paper ballots that allow hand recounts, our ballot machines are not Internet connected, and results are completely tallied on Election Day.

Yet some people want to get rid of that system and replace it with one notorious for voter errors, lengthy delays in counting, and growing public distrust of results – “ranked choice” voting.

In a ranked-choice voting system, voters designate their first choice in a race, their second choice, and so on down the ballot. If no candidate receives majority support, the second-choice votes of the candidate who finishes last are reallocated to the remaining candidates. If no candidate clears 50 percent of the vote at that time, the process repeats again and again until one candidate has received a majority.

This idea has been tried elsewhere and the results speak for themselves. The system is a disaster.

Conservative Jonathan Hewitt launches candidacy for State House District 101

It's been a while since a conservative held the House District 101 seat; Jonathan Hewitt aims to change that, and is challenging incumbent Robert Manger in the GOP primary. No one else filed, so this is a winner-take-all head-to-head race:

Jonathan Hewitt Launches Candidacy for Oklahoma State Representative, District 101 

Choctaw, OK — 04/03/2024 — Today, Jonathan Hewitt proudly announces that he has filed for the position of Oklahoma State Representative for House District 101 with the Oklahoma State Election Board. Jonathan has a deep-rooted commitment to community service and an unwavering dedication to Oklahoman values, he steps forward to be a representative who will serve with integrity and transparency for his constituents.