Oklahoma News
White smoke: FY 26 budget deal contains tax cut, #oklaed bump, prison purchase, OU/OSU projects: After setting low expectations for months owing to slumping revenues and a slew of errors at the state mental health agency, House and Senate budget leaders stepped to the plate Tuesday and connected on a grand deal that funds major health care projects, increases common education funding and cuts the state income tax rate 0.25 percent. Pushed by Gov. Kevin Stitt for the past two years, the tax cut agreement also eliminates the three lowest tax brackets and will include a "path to zero" revenue-increase trigger that Stitt said is still being negotiated. [NonDoc]
- Gov. Stitt, legislative leaders announce budget deal including tax cuts, tort reforms: What we know [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma Republicans tout proposed $12.6 billion budget deal [Oklahoma Voice]
- Gov. Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma lawmakers announce budget deal: See photos [The Oklahoman]
- Republican legislators announce state budget deal, democrats respond [News 9]
State Government News
Oklahoma Gov. Stitt using veto pen more than he ever has before during 2025 session: Gov. Kevin Stitt has vetoed 39 bills so far during the 2025 legislative session – a record for his six years in office. The governor's office lists legislation that would exempt religious schools from accreditation, remove federal funding requirements for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to create the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, and make aggravated DUI a felony. [KOSU]
Oklahoma mental health department needs $27 million to pay its employees, providers: An emergency one-time appropriation of $27.4 million is needed for the Oklahoma mental health department to make it through the current fiscal year and pay its employees, according to an official request made public Tuesday, May 12. [The Oklahoman]
Bill expanding gun rights for Oklahoma municipal employees heads to governor's desk: House lawmakers on Wednesday sent a measure to the governor to allow elected officials to carry firearms at approved municipal buildings, despite concerns it could intimidate constituents. [Oklahoma Voice]
Lawsuit renewed over Oklahoma immigration law: Several Oklahoma civil rights groups on Tuesday filed an amended lawsuit seeking to block the enforcement of a controversial anti-immigration law after they said state officials have been allowed to enforce it. The latest legal wrangling comes after the U.S. Department of Justice in March dropped its objections to the implementation of House Bill 4156, which created the crime of "impermissible occupation" for undocumented immigrants in the state. [The Journal Record]
Latino lawmakers sit down with Gov. Kevin Stitt about immigration issues: It's more than just fear and animosity that's growing, Latino lawmaker said they've seen an increase in deportations and misinformation with what's actually going on, and they brought others from the community to talk about what they've seen, too. While the Capitol Rotunda was filled with Latin music, food and different displays of Heritage for this year's Cultural Day on Wednesday, there's a more serious undertone. [KOCO]
- Hispanic festivities combine cultural celebration with immigration anxiety at Oklahoma Capitol [Oklahoma Voice]
Glitch in Oklahoma marijuana licensing portal cancels thousands of business licenses: A glitch in the licensing portal that the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority uses inadvertently canceled thousands of medical marijuana business licenses. [Fox 25]
- OMMA blames software glitch for accidental cancellation of thousands of marijuana business licenses [KGOU]
Nearly 26,000 Oklahoma families affected by EBT, SNAP fraud: How to protect against scams: The federal government and Oklahoma Department of Human Services replaced over $11 million worth of benefits so those Oklahoma families could still purchase food. But because Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) money isn't insured and reimbursements stopped in December, anyone who has that money stolen now may be out of luck. [The Oklahoman]
New law 'such a relief for child cares' by removing hurdle for home-based facilities: A bill championed by a Tulsa lawmaker to make it easier for people to set up home-based child care facilities has passed into law. Passage of House Bill 1847 had been identified as a priority among Democrats headed into this year's legislative session. [Tulsa World]
Lawmakers advance bills aimed at increasing regulation of hunting on Oklahoma's public lands: Lawmakers advanced two bills this week designed to tighten the state's hunting regulations on Oklahoma public lands by instituting new requirements for guides and nonresidents. Senate Bill 448 heads to the governor's desk after passing off the House floor with a nearly unanimous vote while Senate Bill 208 heads to the House floor moving through a committee Wednesday. [KOSU]
Federal Government News
What's in Trump's big bill? Trillions in tax cuts, changes to Medicaid and more: Republicans in Congress are moving with rapid speed to advance President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security funding as leaders work to enact many of his campaign promises. [AP via KFOR]
- Divisions emerge among House Republicans over how much to cut taxes and Medicaid in Trump's bill
[AP via KSWO]
- U.S. House Republican plan would force states to pay for a portion of SNAP benefits [Oklahoma Voice]
- GOP senators raise red flags over House's ambitious Trump legislative package
[The Hill via KFOR]
Trump official acknowledges 9 detainee deaths in ICE custody, disputes overspending: Democratic lawmakers clashed with the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over funding, deaths while in federal custody and information the agency shares with the public while in pursuit of one of President Donald Trump's most high-profile second-term priorities. [USA Today]
Oklahoma arts organizations feeling fundraising pressure after federal budget cuts: President Donald Trump released his budget recommendations on May 2, which listed the National Endowment for the Arts as a program he hopes to eliminate. Hours later, organizations like the Sunny Dayz Mural Festival and the prestigious Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain received news of their awarded NEA grants being withheld. [KOSU]
Tribal Nations News
More than a fifth of Indigenous Oklahomans are uninsured. The price they pay can be steep.: IHS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, does not act as insurance but is responsible for providing health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The U.S. Census Bureau counts individuals with only IHS coverage as uninsured, saying it "is not considered comprehensive." [KGOU]
Voting and Election News
Oklahomans speak out, write letters against bill restricting statewide ballot initiatives: For three straight days, peaceful demonstrators have stood outside the Oklahoma State Capitol holding signs against Senate Bill 1027. "It makes it virtually impossible for a ballot initiative to work," said Dan Epstein, a peaceful protester. The group was forced to stand behind a locked door after camping out near a set of doors on the Capitol grounds Monday. [KFOR]
Open primary advocates will file legal challenge if efforts thwarted (audio): A state question is seeking to open up Oklahoma's primary elections. Advocates allege it will stop more extreme candidates. But some prominent lawmakers say the state question process is skewed to favor Oklahoma's most populated areas. KWGS' Elizabeth Caldwell spoke with Ros Elder, a retired public school teacher who supports the state question. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Oklahoma special elections fill Senate seat, narrow field in House vacancies: Voters filled a Senate seat and narrowed the field of candidates in two House vacancies in Tuesday's special elections. Election results are unofficial until they are certified by the Oklahoma State Election Board. [The Journal Record]
- Oklahoma voters select new state senator, determine House candidate slate [Oklahoma Voice]
- One election may have reshaped Oklahoma Senate GOP's politics. Could it shift even further right? [The Oklahoman]
Results: School bond elections across southern Oklahoma: Tuesday was special election day in Oklahoma. Bryan, Carter, Garvin, and Murray County voters decided the fate of three school improvement bond issues. [KTEN]
Education News
Stitt's anti-DEI policy for Oklahoma colleges and universities now state law: Oklahoma colleges and universities in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education will be banned from using state funds for diversity, equity and inclusion activities and positions after Governor Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 796 into law Wednesday. [KGOU]
'We're using it aggressively': Walters touts first-of-its-kind lifetime ban process: Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters shared an update on the Oklahoma Department of Education's (OSDE) new lifetime ban policy for teachers. The lifetime ban process, which is the first of its kind in the United States, enters lifetime surrenderers into a national database, notifying other states and school systems to prevent future employment. [News Channel 8]
- OSDE issues multiple lifetime teaching bans for former educators [News 9]
OSU Agriculture offers research, education to extend life of Ogallala Aquifer: Researchers in the OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture regularly collaborate with OSU Extension experts to educate rural and urban residents on the importance of statewide water conservation. For agricultural producers in western Oklahoma, that often involves understanding the fragile state of the Ogallala Aquifer and improving irrigation practices through water usage sensors and other pumping technology. [High Plains Journal]
Three Dove Science Academy OKC campuses earn an 'A' on latest report card: 'I brag on us': At Dove Science Academy, it isn't uncommon to see kids flying drones through the air or operating small robots. It's a routine part of the school's focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Dove Science Academy Superintendent Abidin Erez is proud that the district's students are granted these opportunities, especially since 80% of them are low-income. [The Oklahoman]
At these small schools in rural Oklahoma, students rise to meet high expectations: A small high school about 60 miles northwest of Oklahoma City hosts about 500 people each year to celebrate fewer than 20 students as they walk across the auditorium stage and earn their diplomas. [The Oklahoman]
Thrivepoint Academy of Oklahoma offers alternative education, more choices for parents: "What's nice about Thrivepoint, they are targeting an audience for kids that are credit-deficient. And they are going after the kids who are struggling," said Brian Shellem, Chairman of the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board. Clark Jolley, who's a Board Chair of the school, said they have a unique approach to helping those credit-deficient kids: Equipping them with a tutor-like assistant that goes above and beyond. [Fox 25]
Criminal Justice News
A Tulsa County Judge will allow a police union to review disciplinary actions after it sued to keep records secret: A Tulsa County judge is letting a police union review 66 pages of officer disciplinary records before it continues to fight their public release in court. The police union sued after The Frontier requested the documents from the City of Tulsa. [The Frontier]
- City will let Tulsa FOP examine police disciplinary records in dispute over their release [Tulsa World]
- Open records request sparked battle between FOP and city of Tulsa [News Channel 8]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
For the first time since the 80s, the Census Bureau won't conduct the biennial American Housing Survey this year: This year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development won't fund a biennial Census Bureau survey on the nation's housing stock, disrupting more than 50 years of data collection and breaking a decades-old federal law. Data collection for the American Housing Survey was supposed to begin May 1, but now won't happen until January or later next year, a HUD press release said Monday. [Streetlight]
Hail No! Hail Storms Do Not Explain Oklahoma's Outrageous Homeowners' Insurance Rates: It's hardly news: Oklahoma homeowners' insurance rates are high, perhaps the highest in the nation. A recent Wall Street Journal article, relying heavily on input from Oklahoma Insurance Department Commissioner Glen Mulready, said that hail damage explains the elevated rates. Puzzled weather experts wondered whether that might be an excuse to stifle questions, as the data used to blame hail shows the opposite: Oklahoma has had less hail than states with lower rates. [Oklahoma Watch]
Economy & Business News
Oklahoma officials prep for screwworms, as pest spreads into North America: New world screwworms have been spreading in South America, and Oklahoma lawmakers and officials with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture discussed the pests' impact and what is being done to prevent their spread. In Oklahoma, officials are focusing on a response because they say an outbreak would be costly to producers and result in economic losses. [KOSU]
Community News
Tulsa faith leaders gather in support of immigrants, call to fund legal defense: Leaders and worshippers from Tulsa's various faith communities gathered Tuesday night at All Souls Unitarian Church for a vigil in support of immigrants amid fears over the Trump administration's deportation policies. [Public Radio Tulsa]
