In just 10 months the federal govt. will commission yet another census of the nation's inhabitants for the purpose of insuring equal representation of the government and the delivery of resources & services.
  When those results are delivered to the states, the 58th Oklahoma legislature will be tasked with drawing all new lines for every electoral subdivision.  From the local town councils to the makeup of congress. every district will have it's boundaries reconsidered.
​  Let's look at the urban sprawl of the state's two largest cities. Much of that population shift will flow outward and impact the populations of the outlying counties. 

  And then there's the very odd shaped districts which attract allegations of Gerrymandering. (Named after Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate in 1812).
​

  The Oklahoma senate gave final passage to a broad statutory overhaul bill to replace the current Medical Marijuana Law that was passed as SQ788, last june.  The measure changes several parts of the rollout parameters both in the text of SQ788 and the emergency rules of the Oklahoma Health Dept.
  This 90 page proposal broadens some interpretations while removing many protections of privacy and employment.  Several representatives of Medical Marijuana Businesses(MMBs) supported the measure because it stabilizes the marketplace and helps the industry plan for long term investments.
​  But the bill fails to address Banking needs, the abuses of the Oklahoma Tax Commission, and 
  The bill gives absolute powers to the Health Dept.'s inspectors to make up more rules without statutory approval, and shut down MMBs. 
  The bill appears to give any doctor the ability to check the license status & medical records of any patient they suspect is a licensed patient.
   But many advocates say that the many changes it makes to the current rollout are more positive than negative.
   What it does establish is that 93% of the House and 90% of the senate approves of this structured Cannabis Medicine program. Most of those voting 'No" to the bill, wanted a less restrictive alternative.

Oklahoma courts recently adjudicated some cases which ought to embarrass our people. Those who challenged us to step up to their standards of conduct,  seem to have been trying to hide their worst moments regarding their weakest attributes.
  At a time when other lawmakers loosened up liquor laws, these and other state & local leaders reveal that liquor has severe dangers when placed into the wrong hands.
  Russell Hunter is known for lecturing pro life legislators and even churches. He's been a campaign advisor to gubernatorial candidate Dan Fisher and lately he's been collaborating with senator Joseph Silk. It's recently been revealed that he is facing a year of probation, community service hours, DUI school, and over $1000 in fines & fees for his late summer drunk driving. Sooner Tea Party reports the details of that case.
  Bryce Marlatt had a successful run as the state senator for 9 NW Oklahoma counties. He had a 'frat boy' habit of partying in Oklahoma City (hours away from the constituents of Cimarron County). No, he wasn't driving drunk, but he made aggressive sexual advances to the female Uber driver who was taking him from club to club, in the summer of 2017. He resigned when he was indicted later that summer. Yesterday he accepted a plea bargain to reduce the felony sexual battery charges down to a misdemeanor. NewsOk has that story.

  SoonerPolitics has secured the unpublished 6 audits commissioned by the Oklahoma Agency Performance & Accountability Commission(APAC). The APAC report was not completed by early January as was expected to be released well before the 2019 legislative session began.

  On February 11th, The Commission did finally complete their summary report and send it to the Governor, House, & Senate. It did not reach the recipients before the State of the State Address or the deadline of filing bills for the spring session. But many of the details of the report have guided the actions of the governor and the legislature, as we can now clearly see.

​ While the commission is not technically a part of Oklahoma's legislative branch of government, the reports sat in Speaker McCall's office for nearly a month without so much as a press statement, explaining when or how the research would be revealed. We were told that the hold up was caused by a compatibility problem with the PDF file formats and the official web servers where the reports would be publicly accessed.
​
  The good news is that a simple 2nd request at the Speaker's office is all that was needed to get the coveted research results.

  This afternoon Majority Floor Leader, Jon Echols, presented a series of bills to fundamentally change the top structure of 5 state agencies which currently are completely managed by unelected boards. His language empowers the legislature and the governor to select the board members and allow the governor to directly appoint the commissioner with advice & consent of the senate. The governor may remove the commissioner at will and set the commissioner salary. The legislature would also have power to remove by super-majority.
  The first bill restructured the Dept. of Juvenile Affairs (HB2479) That measure was met with lengthy questions and robust debate.  Echols declared that Oklahoma had failed the challenge that Ben Franklin presented to the early Americans in Philidelphia in 1787; "You have a republic, if you can keep it."  Echols declared that Oklahoma had not kept that republic form of government by keeping the agencies accountable to the voters.
The vote was 76-22, with one Tulsa Democrat voting with the Republicans. The emergency clause passed and the bill goes on to the senate. 

  The voters of Oklahoma have recently been leading the legislature on a few issues. One such matter is on criminal justice reform. Too many lawmakers have fallen for the intimidation from prosecutors and private prison lobbyists who suggest that the next election cycle will feature 3rd party expenditures claiming that the incumbent is 'soft on crime'. 
   But two lawmakers are willing to face down this intimidation. Majority floor leader Jon Echols is working with Democrat Representative Jason Dunnington. the two represent portions of Oklahoma City.
  The bill directs state courts to hear motions for setting aside the sentence of a nonviolent convict. Courts will then apply the new sentencing guidelines that SQ780 put in place after the voters overwhelmingly passed the initiatives on election day of 2016.
  Violent crime felons are not eligible under this proposal.  But those who were caught a 3rd time with small amounts of marijuana or other drugs would have a chance to establish their medical basis for treatment.  Many veterans suffering PTSD would fall into this category.
  The House could have a floor vote on HB1269 as early as next week.

   It is somewhat unthinkable, but 3 1/2 years ago it was a felony 5 year prison sentence if a mother was caught with a simple bottle of pure CBD oil.  But Rep Jon Echols sought to change that, for some Oklahoma children who were suffering debilitating seizures and other terrible disabilities. Even though the oil had no psychoactive content (THC) there were plenty of those who needed a lot of 'encouragement to vote for it. In the end, there were still a handful of legislators who refused to allow any product of the cannabis plant to be legal.
 On February 28th the members supporting the bill totaled 85. 5 voted against it, including a licensed physician; and 9 did not register a vote.
 Today, CBD oil is sold in all 50 states without any prescription, patient license, or dosage limits.
  It is found to be therapeutic in far more treatment protocols than even the house author of HB2154 even knew of.
  It would take until November 1st of 2015 before mom's could legally possess the essential oil,  It seems asinine today. Considering how far we've come.
 Today Rep. Echols' HB2612 passed the House with 93 votes of support. That bill authorizes permanent framework for patients to utilize all parts of the cannabis plant. But the restrictions are immense and the cost is expensive, because of the regulations.
  How many will look back 4 years from now and wonder what all the fuss was about.

  In a strong showing of near unanimous support, the medical marijuana laws passed by the voters of Oklahoma last June, were affirmed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Only 5 of the 101 House members disapproved of the core set of statutes in HB 2612. But at least one of those 5 debated that the statutes were too restrictive and that the voters would not accept added limitations to their law. Majority Floor Leader, Jon Echols, built the omnibus bill around the consensus of patients, industry leaders, professional clinicians, and community govts.
  Shane Stone (D-OKC) expressed disappointment while openly expressing admiration to Echols, Fetgatter and the bicameral interim study group who recommended the set of statutory amendments to SQ788.
  Rep. Scott Fetgatter was the floor sponsor of HB2612. He emphasized, in closing debate, that this bill is a consensus framework for a new, budding industry in Oklahoma. He said that the legislature is tasked with providing that framework because the people have spoken and called for this medicinal option in treating serious ailments.

  With ink still drying on the Senate documents, the governor's team went into swift action and organized a blue-room signing event. Today, Governor Kevin Stitt signed his first new law. 
  What's been called "Constitutional Carry" has been an effort which took the efforts of many strong conservative lawmakers over the past 10 years, to bring about. Last year it failed the last hurdle and was thrown into Governor Mary Fallin's trash can.
  But this year there were three new lawmakers and 2 former lawmakers on hand to lobby the final senate support.
  The bill removes the mandated license, fees, and several weeks of waiting, in order to keep and bear arms.
  Firearms owners may still seek the license, which may provide interstate privileges while traveling, butfor the average Oklahoman, this means that they can move about in public in greater safety, having the means to defend their lives and the people who depend on their protection.
  The law takes effect on Nov. 1st of 2019.  There are still some limits expected on a few public places and some scenarios may require that the arms be concealed.

  Today, Senator Paxton is seeking passage of his first legislation to effectively hinder patients from their treatment for severe pain, cancer, and Post-Tramatic Stress, among other ailments.
​  SB1030 is full of language to increase the costs, limit where treatment can be administered, and what the criminal sentencing will be, for disobeying his edicts. 
 The Senate Health & Human Services committee will be taking action on HB1030, in their afternoon meeting.
  Senator Paxton cannot cite actual community harms from the current availability  that patients finally acquired. He's campaign to defeat SQ788 appears to rely almost exclusively on fears that the Federal govt. created with their Reefer Madness propaganda of the 1950s. That broadly debunked media ploy has done great harm to the essential trust of government, for many citizens. Especially those citizens who are now fighting for their very lives and winning, because of the cannabis medicines which the people of Oklahoma demanded.
  The Committee convenes after the 1:30pm senate floor session. The members voting are Senator Jason Smalley - Chair, Senator Greg McCortney - Vice Chair, Senator Bill Coleman, Senator Julie Daniels, Senator Carri Hicks, Senator Allison Ikley-Freeman, Senator Adam Pugh, Senator Paul Rosino, Senator Paul Scott, Senator Joseph Silk, Senator Frank Simpson, Senator Rob Standridge, Senator George Young

On a unanimous vote, the House Rules Committee gave support to the work of the Bicameral Interim Study; Approving their recommendations for establishing statutory laws to replace the expiring emergency rules created by the Health Dept. Board.​
  Echols assured the committee that he would be back to the committee with a handful of other bills to address the taxes, disposal, and other issues which still do not have clarity.
  Other legislators also have filed measures but this appears to be the first piece of legislation which will be debated on the floor, this session. It may be presented as early as Monday.

  In 2016 he convinced the Libertarian Party to place him on the ballot as Gary Johnson's running mate.  Libertarians soon had buyer's remorse when Weld spent much of his campaign efforts in praising Hillary Clinton.
  SoonerPolitics is conducting a poll of voters to gauge support for the Weld campaign. It appears to be below 25%. We did find some indications of what kind of voter would opt for a change. In reviewing social media profiles we found that the drug policy reform effort was a consistent theme. Most of these Weld supporters supported a move to reschedule medical marijuana and Weld seems to support that objective. Trump has not yet signaled any intention to end the federal oppression of medical applications of "full spectrum" cannabis medicines.