Rep. Tom Gann is the lead author of a bill (HB3440) which taps into a long-disguised trust fund which has over $2 billion dollars and is accruing about $300 million in dividends annually. It's been called the School Land Trust. It was created at the time of statehood and is designed to assist in the expense of public common education.
  Rep. John Bennett is another House author. Here's his explanation of how he & Gann, and some other Platform Caucus members may very well provide the teacher pay raise that no other faction at the capitol has been able to accomplish in nearly 10 years.

  The Oklahoma Senate Health & Human Services Committee decided to pass a very restrictive "Medical Marijuana" bill, today. The biggest complaint by those opposing the bill is that the bill is too restrictive and carries far too harsh of felony penalties for those who allow non-patients to access the medicines.
  Senator Frank Simpson strongly criticized the chairman for pushing a matter  which has earned a direct vote of the people, this June. He also expressed earlier regrets that the bill (authored by committee chairman, Ervin Yen, on behalf of the State Dept. of Mental Health & substance Abuse Services) excludes several illnesses from the list of authorized use diagnoses. Simpson has long been a champion of the state's military veterans as well as the mentally ill.  Many veterans are seeking treatment for severe Post Traumatic Stress and Panic Attacks with Cannabis Medicines by traveling to other states where physicians are free to direct the treatment, using Cannabis medications.
  Senator Pugh expressed serious problems with the Senate being out of touch with the citizens and said the issue belongs to the people. He said the senate will be able to 'tweak' the regulations next January, after the people have spoken.
  Senator Dave Rader gave a qualified 'yes' vote, stipulating that the bill must address more issues in committee at a later date, or he will vote against it on the Senate floor.  

  Senate Bill 1120 barely passed in  Senate Committee, today. If it gets the title restored at a later date, it will ask the entire legislature to approve major limitations on the use of Cannabis medications.
Glaucoma patients, Severe Pain Management patients, Advance deteriorative arthritis sufferers, and a vast group of mental health patients will be denied access to promising new Cannabis medications.
  Of the many health conditions being effectively treated by Cannabis medicines, Serious mental health diagnoses are the most common. Veterans suffering PTSD are coming forward to celebrate their restored mental stability and the end of 'flashbacks', panic attacks, and other generalized anxiety symptoms.
  Navy Vet., Cody Barlow is just one young man who took part in a medical study of Cannabis treatment for his severe Panic Attacks and flashbacks. The Veterans Administration have been treating him with highly addictive Benzodiazepine class tranquilizers which have debilitated him to an almost catatonic state. His medical trial (in another state where law allowed) effectively restored his mental stability and capacity to return to productive work.
 Most other states now allow the utilization of Cannabis medicines. Oklahoma voters will vote on a state ballot question this June 26th. Senator Yen's bill will add another severe layer of prohibition to that medical practice.
  Senate Bill 1120 barely passed in  Senate Committee, today. If it gets the title restored at a later date, it will ask the entire legislature to approve major limitations on the use of Cannabis medications.

  Grassroots Oklahomans don’t want to miss this exciting opportunity to hear from experts across the state on how our budget process works.

• What are the pitfalls and obstacles in creating a budget for the many agencies and departments within Oklahoma.
• Do tax credits benefit Oklahoma citizens?
• What influence does the Oklahoma state constitution have on our budget process?

  The Oklahoma Growth and Opportunity Summit 2018, focuses on the facts behind Oklahoma’s state budget, and the sharing of knowledge to arm citizens with a better understanding of the budget process. Once again OCPA (Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs), AFP-OK (Americans for Prosperity – Oklahoma) and Tulsa 9.12 Project, join forces to deliver a day long educational opportunity to explain the state budget, how departments and agencies are funded, tax credits and our state constitution.

  Former Oklahoma U.S. Senator, Dr. Tom Coburn, will keynote the opening session.

 Lunch is included for this conference. The cost is only $20 when signing up online, here.

  Lori Fullbright of KOTV News on 6 reports on the effort of law enforcement to punish a woman who saved a young girl from being battered by two men, outside a Tulsa movie theater.  Here's her report. Please follow the full story on  News On 6.

​  "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

  Tulsa Conservative Civic clubs presented a debate of the announced GOP candidates for governor, last Tuesday night. The event drew a large audience and regional media coverage. Four leading candidates were on hand for the event. Brookside Baptist Church provided the venue.
  Journalist Russell Mills of Cox Media Group moderated the event and presented more that 40 questions during the 90 minute event. In the last 30 minutes, audience members submitted about a dozen questions in topics not discussed earlier.
  Every single candidate in attendance had a great night. The large auditorium was full and the crowd energy was expressive with applause for the answers they heard. There were no negative attacks by any of the candidates.
  Tulsa citizens lived up to the expectations of the organizers. Tulsa Area Republican Assembly, Tulsa 912 Project, and Tulsa County Republican Mens Club produced the event and staffed the production.
  Tulsa Mortgage Capitalist, Kevin Stitt showed a lot of energy & optimism. Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb mixed his dead-pan humor with folksiness. Former Federal Prosecutor Gary Richardson connected to his hometown base with a conservative populism, while State Auditor Gary  Jones drew upon his classic wit to decry the nonsense of the bad habits of current govt. practices.
  Two additional candidates were invited but chose not to attend. The stage had two empty chairs with their names.

  In the demise of the HB1033 big tax ploy, House leaders have become vengeful and predatory to those who have long held for a more responsible solution. Former Budget Chair, Leslie Osborn has repeatedly voiloated House rules on decorum with there personal disparagements and political threats against not only the other party's caucus, but now she's launched an overt civil war in an effort to throw many of her own party's representatives out of office. It is shameful that no one in the House, not  Josh Cockroft (who was at the gavel during Monday's session, nor the Speaker  Pro Temp (Harold Wright), nor the Speaker himself, who proceeded Osborn in the floor debate; said a word in chastisement of this unbecoming rudeness, defamation, and series of threats.
  But let's leave that matter as another reason to question  Speaker McCall's fitness to lead the chamber's work.
​ Let's move on to talk about the many good ideas that the members of the House have long pushed for but have gotten blocked from advancing to a real floor vote.
  There are hundreds of special funds in the state government which are for specific uses. Some of them are protected by constitutional language. They total several billions (yes, billions, with a 'b').
  Any House or Senate leader who dismisses the idea of reapplying constitutional trust funds, is thinking small. Yet there is a defeatist attitude prevailing in that seat of govt. on Lincoln Blvd.

  One of the more clarion and rational voices for fiscal soundness has been Tess Teague, of Midwest City. Last fall she stood on the House floor to call for a return to real legislative oversight of how agencies spend the $7 billion that the state takes from us citizens.
  This week she made some excellent points about the tax scheme that the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce and 'tall building' corporations are trying to sell to the legislature.  Rather than telling you what salient points she made, I'll just post up her excellent letter to her districts's residents.

  As the House drags on their failed 12 month effort to fund this year's budget and begin next years appropriations, former Budget Committee Chair, Rep. Leslie Osborn started getting ugly in her floor debate rhetoric. She said that just as President Trump is committed to draining the swamp in Washington, House leaders need to recruit primary opponents against those who don't go along with her massive new taxes.
  Never mind that Trump is battling the bloat and cronyism of the federal govt.; Osborn is seeking to expand that massive and corrupt bloat in Oklahoma. If lawmakers don't vote like her, she openly threatens to raise up challengers against them in the upcoming summer primary elections, followed by general elections in November.
  Is Osborn's 'over the top' hostility anything new? For most lawmakers it is classless and demeaning of the honor of the office and the chamber. But even that standard has been brought much lower during her time in the State House.
  As a divorced woman she often lectures the deliberative body on how to have a harmonious marriage, even as she admits her own failures in this area of her life.

What have our legislative leaders been working on, for the past 6 weeks? We will all see, today. The fog will lift when the House convenes. When the members went home for Christmas, they were 'licking their wounds' from a 3rd failure to raise more additional tax dollars than any previous liberal legislature ever did... in our state's history.
 Now they're trying a fourth time. This time the barons of Corporate Cronyism were employed to brought in to put a new veneer of 'business sense' on a tired old ploy to send tax dollars in fresh state contracts into the big business world. Oh yes, and don't forget that the teachers are the poster child for this push, just like every other ploy.
  The fact remains that teacher pay increase is always the justification. Yet these same bureaucrats will NEVER let teachers be paid a satisfying wage. Why? Because they NEED the teachers to stay hungry. How else will they get Susie's 4th grade teacher to march on the capitol?
  Have you ever heard of a demonstration by the state's 500+ school superintendents? No! Because they already make more than twice the median salary of the rest of us. You can be sure that the top school administrators will get a larger salary hike than the teachers will, if this week's money-grab becomes law.
Later this week the State Board of Equalization tell us that most of the shortfall has disappeared due to economic growth.

  The effort to reform Oklahoma's drug policy is moving into high gear this winter. Like so many other issues where the lawmakers lose touch with the pulse of the people, this issue involves another voter initiative to bypass the elected officials, all together. 
  Two years ago the voters overwhelmingly decided that simple possession of some controlled substances without a prescription, is no longer a felony crime. It's still a misdemeanor, and real incarceration is still a penalty. The initiative also mandated the funding of drug treatment instead of more prisons.
  This year the combined efforts of several organizations is calling for licensed physicians to have the option to treat some patients with more Cannabis byproducts.  The current State Question (788) is an effort to let the people of the state decide the fundamental question of medical Cannabis, but the legislature is still being trusted by the proponents, to finish setting up proper state oversight.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh applauded Gov. Mary Fallin’s State of the State Address on Monday, which included comments urging lawmakers to pass smart-on-crime justice reform, and a pledge to sign bills proposed by the Oklahoma Justice Reform Task Force.

  Fallin also called for renewed "focus on care for the mentally ill and addicted accused of crimes – instead of cramming them into a prison system without regard for their treatment."

  “The governor’s statements today on criminal justice reform should have a galvanizing effect on our state’s elected officials,” Allbaugh said. “At DOC, we deal with reality, not fantasy. And the reality is the state is failing by continuing to put people in prison with no regard for how they got there in the first place, and little support for reentry programs."

  “This morning, our state prisons were at 113 percent of capacity. The Governor’s dedication to sentencing reform is crucial to ease inmate population growth, reduce spending and prevent individuals from becoming felons in the first place. That helps them lead more productive lives, which makes for better neighbors for us all.

  Brittany Warrior was removed from the Governor's State of the State Address for partaking in a verbal protest with others who unfurled a tapestry in the House Gallery. The woman's epileptic daughter suffers severely and Mary Fallin has continually blocked the family from getting the medical treatment that little Jaqie's medical team recommends. Brittany Warrior has been a pioneer in bringing the Medical Cannabis state question to the ballot, next June.
  Frontier News caught up with Brittany and her suffering daughter in a hallway of the capitol. There was a short interview until the staff had her removed from that part of the building, as well.
  This is the plight of families in Oklahoma who cannot get the treatment for their children which is available in 29 other states. All of that can change if the legislature & the governor will devise a workable plan which respects the voters' wishes in the June 26th state question, 788.
​  The measure would allow licensed physicians to oversee treatment using cannabis products, such as the CBD oils which Gov. Fallin has eventually allowed small does of. CBD contains no THC (the content which produces the 'high' associated with Marijuana.

As the Oklahoma legislature convenes to finished last year's budget, and struggle with the next one; Governor Fallin is getting more visible indicators of just how frustrated many citizens are.
Two young women unrolled a massive tapestry of discontent and displayed it from the gallery seating in the balcony of the House chamber.
​We are working to get more details of the plot...