State Government News
Oklahoma legislative leaders aligned on property tax elimination impact: Oklahoma Senate Republican and Democrat Caucus leaders found themselves somewhat aligned on Thursday when discussing the proposed state question to eliminate property taxes championed by two sitting lawmakers and a former one. Both sides agree that terminating property taxes without a substitute funding stream for schools and public safety would be detrimental. [The Journal Record]
Oklahomans worried if Medicaid gets stripped from them: Hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans rely on Medicaid. Six years ago, Oklahoma voters approved Medicaid Expansion. Now, our governor and some of his constituents are trying to undo the will of the people to curb rising Healthcare costs. [KFOR]
Proposed bill could force non-profits and churches to turn away people based their immigration status: A proposed bill has some non-profits and church officials worried they may have to turn people away from receiving resources based on their immigration status. "We're not going to walk past somebody in dire need of help and check for papers first," said Jon Middendorf, a pastor at OKC First Church and member of the Oklahoma Justice Circle. Senate Bill 1554 states, "No NGO (nongovernmental organization) shall knowingly or recklessly provide material support for the benefit of any illegal immigrant or asylum seeker within this state. Any NGO that violates this subsection shall be permanently ineligible to receive any state or local funding." [KFOR]
Gov. Kevin Stitt signs worship protection bill amid Oklahoma church protest investigation: The governor has signed a new bill into law aimed at protecting places of worship from disruptions, following a protest incident at a church in Creek County. [KOCO]
Oklahoma senate panel advances bill banning credit scores in insurance rates: A Senate panel on Thursday passed a measure that would prohibit insurance companies from using credit information in determining rates. Senate Bill 1435, by Minority Leader Sen. Julia Kirt, passed the Business and Insurance Committee by a vote of 5-3. [The Journal Record]
Senate Energy Committee advances $50 million water infrastructure bill, low-interest loan program: Among the largest single recurring budget requests before lawmakers this year is the Oklahoma Water Resources Board's $50 million investment into fixing the state's dire water infrastructure needs. One state senator hopes his bill will jumpstart the work. [KOSU]
What are the odds Oklahoma legalizes sports betting? It may be closer than you think: The Super Bowl is widely recognized as the biggest day for legal sports betting, consistently shattering records in the billions. Many fans in Oklahoma are expected to place wagers on the game, but the state itself will not see any of that revenue. What are the odds that sports betting could become legal in Oklahoma this year? [News on 6 via Tulsa Flyer]
Fact check: What Stitt got right — and wrong — in his final State of the State address: Gov. Kevin Stitt delivered his final State of the State address on Monday as he enters his last year in office. The Frontier used historical archives, interviews, government data and other records to fact-check some of his remarks. Stitt's office supplied source documentation for some of the information in the governor's speech but did not provide a comment on statements we rated as false. [The Frontier]
Weekly rewind: Stitt calls for statewide votes on medical marijuana, property tax reform: Gov. Kevin Stitt said last week that he would favor statewide votes in Oklahoma to potentially shut down the medical marijuana industry, freeze property tax growth and reform the Medicaid system to rein in spending. [Tulsa World]
- Stitt wants to 'send the marijuana issue back' for a vote: 5 things to know [Tulsa World]
Monday Minute: They said what?: The weekly newsletter rolls out a new section — "They said what?" — that includes quotes from the prior week at the State Capitol. With any luck, this section will help the Monday Minute chronicle things what has happened while still previewing what's on deck. [NonDoc]
Capitol Insider: Analyzing the Executive Budget as 2026 legislative session begins: Last Monday, we heard Governor Kevin Stitt's priorities in his final State of the State address. But something that has flown under the radar this week - and it's big - is the governor's executive budget. That document provides a starting point for budget discussions. What stands out about the governor's recommendations? [KGOU]
Opinion, Rep. Ronny Johns: Aerospace is essential to Oklahoma's economic future: Oklahoma has never lacked ambition. In fact, it is taking off from our runways and reaching toward space. When people talk about Oklahoma's future economy, they often point to agriculture or manufacturing, industries that will always matter. But aerospace is now one of the state's largest and fastest-growing economic engines. [Rep. Ronny Johns / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: The Guess Who? game isn't just for kids. It's the latest trend for tracking Oklahoma lawmaker antics: There's a new game for cynics to play each time they watch the Oklahoma Legislature convene. You might call it a drinking game, but the participants aren't the ones taking swigs of the nearest beer. I'll unaffectionately name this one Guess Who? The Wasted Edition. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
Oklahoma Congressional Republicans Remain Silent After Trump Shares Racist Depiction of the Obamas: Oklahoma's congressional Republicans have not publicly responded after President Donald Trump shared a racist post depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, imagery long associated with the dehumanization of Black people in the United States. After more than 24 hours, none of Oklahoma's U.S. senators—James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin—nor Representatives Kevin Hern, Josh Brecheen, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole, and Stephanie Bice have issued statements condemning the post. The absence of response stands out given Oklahoma's history and the well-documented racial violence. [The Black Wall Street Times]
An asylum seeker was thriving in Oklahoma. Then, an ICE detention led him to self-deport: Toro Sepulveda and his wife signed a self-deportation agreement after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained them, their 7-year-old daughter and their 1-year-old twins while on a visit to Texas. Rather than risk months in detention with three young children, two of whom are U.S. citizens, he said they chose voluntary deportation as a quicker resolution that kept the family together. [Oklahoma Voice]
'It is astonishing': Congress rebuffs Trump push to slash $33B from health, human services: Congress has approved the first public health funding bill since President Donald Trump began his second term, with lawmakers largely rejecting his proposed spending cuts and the elimination of dozens of programs. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Former Caddo Nation employee pleads guilty to embezzling from the tribe: A former employee of the Caddo Nation pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma last week to embezzling and stealing from the tribal nation. [KOSU]
Voting and Election News
Democrats Hope For Upset in Special House Election: Oklahoma Republicans hope a national bellwether passes them by as voters in reliably red House District 35 head to the polls tomorrow to elect a new state representative. The seat was vacated following the August departure of former Rep. Ty Burns, who resigned two days after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor domestic abuse and assault charges. The district covers a large swath of rural northeastern Oklahoma, including Perry, Pawnee and the outskirts of Stillwater. [Oklahoma Watch]
Campaign finance reports show wide gaps in Oklahoma governor's race as primary nears closer: With just four months left before Oklahoma's gubernatorial primary, new campaign finance reports show stark differences in how candidates are funding their campaigns and who currently holds the biggest financial advantage. Political advertising has flooded the airwaves as candidates spend heavily to boost name recognition ahead of the June primary. [KFOR]
Education News
Trump Education Department bolsters protections for prayer in schools: The U.S. Department of Education reinforced the right to prayer in public schools in guidance issued Thursday. Under the guidance to state and local education agencies, students, teachers and school officials have "a right to pray in school as an expression of individual faith, as long as they're not doing so on behalf of the school," the department said. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma officials say they're eager for new social studies standards: State lawmakers and education officials say they're eager for a retry on Oklahoma's academic standards for social studies after last-minute changes last year caused significant controversy and were thrown out in court. [Oklahoma Voice]
'Appalled' parents accuse Kingston Public Schools of ignoring hazing, sexual assault: Leaders at Kingston Public Schools knew about but were "deliberately indifferent" to stopping "traditional freshman hazing initiation" that subjected female basketball players to sexual assault, two parents in Marshall County are alleging in a lawsuit. [NonDoc]
TPS addresses lunch concerns raised at board meeting: Tulsa Public School officials acknowledged that the letters of concern about food quality and safety that were read at Monday's board meeting have prompted conversations about the school's lunch program. [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signs order to halt tenure at regional universities, colleges: Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order that ends the awarding of lifetime tenure to faculty at the state's regional universities and community colleges. [The Oklahoman]
Health News
Oklahoma's overdose deaths are down 43%. Is drug prevention working?: After years of being among the worst states plagued by a sprawling opioid crisis, Oklahoma is now leading the nation for decreases in drug overdose deaths. [The Oklahoman]
Criminal Justice News
Fired employees hit OK County jail, trust with whistleblower lawsuit: Two former high-ranking employees of the Oklahoma County jail have filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the jail trust, saying they were fired after refusing to obey what they called illegal orders and later reporting "fraudulent conduct" by jail leadership, including former CEO Brandi Garner. [The Oklahoman]
After 'fantasy' about his children, former prison chaplain receives suspended sentence: A former prison chaplain for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections received a suspended sentence Wednesday for possessing child sexual abuse material after his state-issued laptop was flagged for discussions of sexual "fantasies" involving his minor children. [NonDoc]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
2 more homeless encampments decommissioned, City of Tulsa says; 68 total re-housed: The city unveiled a new website Thursday detailing its efforts to end street homelessness in Tulsa and make homelessness in general rare, brief and nonrecurring. The safemovetulsa.com website lists everything from the amount of trash removed during the decommissioning of homeless encampments to a map showing where those encampments were located. [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa launches website to track progress on ending homelessness as more encampments close [Public Radio Tulsa]
Economy & Business News
Expand Energy, formerly Chesapeake, to move headquarters out of Oklahoma City: Expand Energy is set to follow Devon Energy in moving its headquarters to Houston. The company, previously known as Chesapeake Energy, however, is promising to leave its full local workforce of 500 in Oklahoma City, while the number of surviving Devon employees is not yet known. [The Oklahoman]
- Expand Energy relocating its headquarters out of Oklahoma City [KFOR]
Jury awards $8.5M to Oklahoma woman in Uber sexual assault lawsuit: A federal jury in Phoenix on Thursday, Feb. 5, ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a driver in Arizona when she was 19, a verdict that could influence thousands of similar cases against the ride-hailing company. [USA Today via The Oklahoman]
Possible change in Tulsa's data center zoning code classification could limit future development: A Tulsa city councilor is working to change how massive data centers are classified in the city's zoning code, a move that, if approved, would reduce the area within the city where they would be allowed by right. [Tulsa World]
State Farm Denies Roof Claim of Agency Employee Dying of Cancer: When a storm destroyed the roof of Karen Powers' Yukon home, her love for State Farm — for which she had helped sell their insurance products — was not enough to prevent the insurance giant from denying her claim. It was one of hundreds of denied roof claims in Oklahoma that have come to light since early December, when Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced an intervention in a claim that has come to represent all of them. In most of the cases, State Farm denied policyholders who had no connection to the company beyond paying their premiums. [Oklahoma Watch]
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