Oklahoma News
Oklahoma Senate committee advances $12.8 billion budget: Oklahoma’s nearly $12.8 billion state budget bill is one step closer to becoming law after passing out of a Senate appropriations committee Monday, but Democrats say it lacks funding for critical childcare and Medicaid programs while sending millions toward corporate handouts and tax breaks for wealthy Oklahomans. [KFOR]
SCOTUS denies petition to hear tribal tax case: After nine weeks of conferencing, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal of the Stroble v. Oklahoma Tax Commission case on Monday, effectively confirming tribal citizens‘ state income tax liability even if they work for their tribe and live within their tribe’s McGirt-affirmed reservation. [The Journal Record]
- U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear 'Stroble' Oklahoma income tax case [KOSU]
- SCOTUS declines to hear Stroble income tax case, Muscogee Nation weighs options [NonDoc]
- Nation’s high court rules Oklahoma Indigenous woman must pay income taxes [Oklahoma Voice]
- Stroble petition for writ of certiorari denied [Mvskoke Media]
Oklahoma Republicans move to reverse Medicaid expansion: In 2020, Oklahoma voters passed Medicaid expansion, adding more people to Soonercare. Republican lawmakers are advancing proposed constitutional changes to reverse that vote: House Bill 4440 and House Joint Resolution 1067. [KOSU]
- Bill to create state question to put Medicaid expansion in state statute moves forward [Fox 25]
- Lawmakers to possibly shake up voter-approved Medicaid expansion [KFOR]
- Video: In Depth: Oklahoma voters could face multiple votes on Medicaid expansion this year [Fox 23 on YouTube]
State Government News
Public comment, once contentious, quietly disappears from state Board of Education meetings: It once attracted crowds of overnight campers, furious remarks, adoring praise, a middle finger and even an arrest. But since state Superintendent Lindel Fields took office in early October, public comment has disappeared from the board’s meetings. [Oklahoma Voice]
With $3 million budgeted for new state plane, Stitt family flights scrutinized: Eight years after he sold a state airplane in one of his first efficiency-focused executive orders, outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt has asked the Oklahoma Legislature for $3 million to upgrade a Department of Transportation plane he and his family have used for official state business and personal and political travel. [NonDoc]
TSET director resigns as Oklahoma legislature looks to remake agency: The executive director of Oklahoma’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, Julie Bisbee, is expected to leave the agency April 24, following more than a decade of service. The shift in leadership comes as lawmakers continue to push for the trust to change course. [KOSU]
Federal Government News
‘Where is our dad?’ – Decades after a non-violent conviction, an Oklahoma farmer faces deportation: Van Vu and thousands of other Southeast Asian immigrants have been confined to ICE detention over non-violent convictions that are decades old. Families are left torn apart. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Trump says a 'whole civilization will die tonight' as Iran Hormuz deadline looms: President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran on Tuesday morning that a wave of expected U.S. military attacks on critical infrastructure would leave the country unable to recover. [USA Today via The Oklahoman]
Democratic states sue Trump over mail-in ballot order, joining rush to courts: President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots faced a fresh challenge on Friday, as a coalition of Democratic states filed a lawsuit seeking to block an order that experts say is an extraordinary attempt by the president to assert authority over elections. [Oklahoma Voice]
Makeover in store for Congress with flood of lawmakers headed for the exits: Congress will look considerably different next year, after dozens of its members move on to other political offices or retire. Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole said the retirements from members of his own party could have an impact on the elections. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Native Programs Targeted for Major Cuts as White House Requests Historic Defense Spending in FY 2027 Budget: The White House released the 92-page Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 President’s Budget Request on Good Friday, asking Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion in defense spending. At the same time, the administration proposes $73 billion in cuts to domestic programs — programs that disproportionately support low-income communities and communities of color, including Indian Country. [Native News Online]
Remains of Missing Chickasaw Citizen Molly Miller Identified After 13 Years: Federal and tribal authorities have confirmed that human remains discovered in southern Oklahoma earlier this year belong to Molly Miller, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation who had been missing since 2013, officials announced. [Native News Online]
Voting and Election News
Elections 2026: Oklahoma to vote on local measures today. Sample ballots, poll info: The April 7 election in Oklahoma will include several school board races, sales tax votes and other local measures. [The Oklahoman]
- Use the OK Voter Portal to find your polling place, change an address, change your political affiliation and view a sample ballot.
Candidate filing brings surprises. One new Oklahoma statewide office seeker wins by default.: Just before the curtain closed Friday on candidate filing, a few surprises emerged. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma sees surge in candidate filings, signaling voter frustration, officials say [The Oklahoman]
After pleading no contest to watching cockfight, former gamefowl lobbyist is running for Oklahoma statehouse: The former president of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission has filed to run for a seat in the state House of Representatives. This, after he recently pleaded no contest to criminal charges related to cockfighting. [KOSU]
- Candidate for Oklahoma House convicted of viewing a cockfight [Oklahoma Voice]
Education News
Questions grow over seclusion rooms in Oklahoma schools as Stillwater district is targeted: Questions are growing in Oklahoma about the use of “seclusion rooms” in schools — padded spaces used to isolate students for behavioral control — and how often they are being used. [Fox 25]
Criminal Justice News
Restraining order called for against OK county jail trust chairman: A criminal justice nonprofit has filed an emergency application for a temporary restraining order against the financially troubled Oklahoma County jail trust and Chairman Jim Holman related to what it calls "unlawful and unauthorized actions in granting jail staff salary against the trust's suspension of pay raises. [The Oklahoman]
- Hear activist's concerns on OK county jail financing, chairman's actions (video) [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma AG opens registration for 2026 Partners for Change Conference: Since 2004, the annual conference has brought together professionals from Oklahoma and surrounding regions to strengthen coordinated responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and trafficking. [The Journal Record]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
City closes downtown Tulsa to outdoor sleeping: he city on Friday closed downtown to outdoor sleeping and initiated a ramped-up effort to ensure it stays that way. The program coordinates existing work being done by social services providers for the homeless, law enforcement and others to establish a comprehensive carrot-and-stick approach to addressing the problem. [Tulsa World]
Nonprofit begins construction on four affordable houses in Capitol Hill: A nonprofit is pouring foundations for four new affordable houses in partnership with the City of Oklahoma City at SW 26th Street and Robinson Avenue, previously a vacant lot. These houses should be available for first-time home buyers and community members who meet the income requirements. [The Journal Record]
50 more Tulsans moved into housing as mayor cheers progress on $10M homelessness plan: Mayor Monroe Nichols said Monday 50 people experiencing homelessness have been housed over the past three months. Councilors and homeless advocates joined Nichols as he shared the latest update on Safe Move Tulsa — a $10 million initiative launched in November to rehouse 300 people in nine months. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
Economy & Business News
Oklahoma has the lowest price of gas in the nation, for now: GasBuddy on Monday listed Oklahoma as having the lowest average price per gallon at $3.22, followed by Kansas ($3.35), and North Dakota ($3.41). Gasoline prices have typically been less expensive in Oklahoma than in most areas of the country. The reason: transportation costs and lower taxes. [Tulsa World]
Community News
Oklahoma National Guardsman, county jail officer, dies in training: Oklahoma County jail detention officer Clinton Vaught, a corporal in the Oklahoma National Guard, died in a training exercise at Fort Benning, Georgia, the jail said Monday, April 6. The jail did not report the date of the accident or any other details. [The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- Tulsa Remote marks 4,000 arrivals as program evolves post-pandemic [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- Northwood Investors acquires iconic Utica Square shopping center in Tulsa [The Journal Record]
- 'We're on the move': Thunder, arena, Olympics begin a new era for OKC [The Oklahoman]
