Looks like the State House has been busy with some really important matters...

McBride Bill to Name Rescue Animals the State Pet Passes House

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Mark McBride’s dog Cali gets another shot at fame this year after her owner once again successfully won passage of a bill designating rescue animals the state pet.

House Bill 1816 – known as Cali’s Law – is a revision of a bill that passed the House last year but was sidelined because of COVID-19.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 27, 2021) – Governor Kevin Stitt is one of 22 governors who have released a joint statement opposing the new standard in President Joe Biden’s stimulus bill for how federal funds would be allocated to states:

“Unlike all previous federal funding packages, the new stimulus proposal allocates aid based on a state’s unemployed population rather than its actual population, which punishes states that took a measured approach to the pandemic and entered the crisis with healthy state budgets and strong economies.

"A state’s ability to keep businesses open and people employed should not be a penalizing factor when distributing funds. If Congress is going to provide aid to states, it should be on an equitable population basis.”

Governors who joined the statement include Kay Ivey (R-AL), Mike Dunleavy (R-AK), Doug Ducey (R-AZ), Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Brian Kemp (R-GA), Brad Little (R-ID), Eric Holcomb (R-IN), Kim Reynolds (R-IA), Laura Kelly (D-KS), Tate Reeves (R-MS), Mike Parson (R-MO), Greg Gianforte (R-MT), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Chris Sununu (R-NH), Doug Burgum (R-ND), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Kevin Stitt (R-OK), Henry McMaster (R-SC), Kristi Noem (R-SD), Bill Lee (R-TN), Spencer Cox (R-UT) and Mark Gordon (R-WY).

A Plan to Put Teachers in Charge, Give Parents Choices, and Benefit Children

Our education model is puzzling when compared to other industries. But it’s been this way so long it’s difficult to imagine anything else. We group children by age, not by knowledge or ability. We send them to schools based on address, not teaching methodology. Parents have very little say over which school their children can attend. And teachers are answerable to more and more people who lack the qualifications to teach, which is the sole mission of the public schools.

Teachers have always answered to the principal, which does track with other professions. The managing partner of a law firm has ultimate authority too. The principal is usually a former teacher, but he no longer spends his days in the classroom. For him, a successful day is one free of dealing with troublemakers. Rather than maintaining proper discipline he can simply shuffle them back to class. But the senior partner defers to an experienced attorney in matters of case strategy. He hasn’t been in settlement conferences, and hasn’t read the judge’s disposition in case management conferences. How often do teachers get the same consideration?

Beyond this disconnect, a teacher might answer to librarians, counselors, and technology staff. A lawyer would never be answerable to administrative staff. As schools trend towards social programs, the focus on education wanes. So too does the teacher’s status. They used to be the reason schools existed; now they are cogs in the social-work machine.

1889 has proposed a solution to put teachers in the driver seat, and give parents meaningful options for educating their children. The Professional Teacher Charter Act allows experienced teachers to open their own school, funded on the same basis as other charters. Parents will be free to choose the school that best fits their child.

The freedom inherent in the plan will allow Oklahoma to become a laboratory of pedagogy. Schools will be able to test and improve their teaching methods. Parents will be free to choose a school that they believe works best for their child. Not every child learns the same way, and what works for nine students might not work as well for a tenth.

“More funding to the classroom” is the mantra and excuse for nearly every demand for increased public education funding. But the single most important classroom expense is the teacher. Yet the system puts the teacher at the very bottom of the decision-making ladder.

1889’s model flips the ladder and puts teachers in charge of schools and then empowers parents to choose the school that is best for their child. Ultimately, this can only benefit Oklahoma’s schoolchildren.

Mike Davis is a Research Fellow at 1889 Institute. He can be reached at mdavis@1889institute.org.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The House State and Federal Redistricting Committee was appointed Friday to continue the House’s public-focused redistricting process throughout the 2021 legislative session.

House Speaker Charles McCall appointed the 29-member bipartisan committee to establish the formal policies and protocols for House redistricting. After the delivery of final U.S. Census data, the committee will advance legislation containing new districts to the full House for consideration.

“The unprecedented public involvement and outreach completed to date will continue to be the basis of House redistricting going forward,” said McCall, R-Atoka.

The standing committee will base its work on public input gathered by the House’s eight regional redistricting subcommittees, which conducted dozens of town halls across the state to hear from citizens about the composition of districts for the next decade. In a historic move, every House member was appointed to a regional subcommittee to ensure total representation of the full state in the redistricting process.

The State and Federal Redistricting Committee will hold its first meeting next week to adopt policies, protocols and a public map submission process.

Photo credit: KOCO's Michael Armstrong via Twitter

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 14, 2021) – The State of Oklahoma continues to provide a comprehensive, coordinated response to the ongoing winter storm which has brought heavy snow, strong winds and prolonged, historically cold temperatures.

Governor Kevin Stitt and state officials are encouraging all Oklahomans to continue to stay off the roads as conditions deteriorate and to conserve energy where possible due to historic demand levels.

“State and local crews are working around-the-clock to clear the roads as quickly as possible,” said Gov. Stitt. “Please stay home if you can to allow them to work more effectively and consider lowering your thermostat to 68 degrees or cooler and avoid using large appliances like your washer and dryer. Oklahomans take pride in helping their neighbors and we can make a big difference by taking a few small steps together.”

To further help conserve energy, Gov. Stitt has asked state agencies not providing essential public-facing services to work from home through Wednesday wherever possible.

Oklahoma Natural Gas has provided additional tips for Oklahomans to deal with the extreme cold here: https://www.oklahomanaturalgas.com/customer-awareness/severe-cold.

Gov. Stitt issued Executive Order 2021-06 on Friday, declaring a State of Emergency across all 77 Oklahoma counties and clearing the way for state and local agencies to provide mutual aid in accordance with the State Emergency Operations Plan.

Whether parents are truly getting their money’s worth when paying for a child’s college tuition is a growing question not just in other states, but Oklahoma as well.

That’s because an increasing share of tuition money today funds things that have little to do with academics and preparing for a career, and much to do with political indoctrination.

Consider the University of Oklahoma, which has mandated diversity training for all students. Thanks to that training, OU students now know that chanting “Boomer Sooner” is racially problematic. They’ve been informed that supporting equality and treating all people the same are bad things. (I kid you not.) They’ve even been told the lives of all black citizens are comparable to house fires. Nothing shows your racial awareness like stereotyping all people by race, I guess.

Not to be outdone, Oklahoma City Community College recently removed a longstanding depiction of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. Why? Because it supposedly offended American Indians, who were often displaced by those settlers. Fair enough. What if the campus also had a monument recognizing the history of American Indians in Oklahoma? It seems that was never considered. Better to erase the past than grapple with it.

Photo by Sgt. Anthony Jones, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Oklahoma Congressional Delegation Thanks National Guard for U.S. Capitol Service

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (OK-05), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, together with U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01), Representative Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), Representative Frank Lucas (OK-03), Representative Tom Cole (OK-04), and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), wrote a letter to the Oklahoma National Guard this week, thanking them for their exemplary service at the U.S. Capitol last month.

Bice and several Oklahoma Congressional members met with the troops while they were in town guarding the U.S. Capitol during inauguration. Oklahoma National Guard Members spent a week guarding the nation’s capitol.

“It was an honor to have the Oklahoma National Guard in Washington to ensure the safety and security of all who work within the Capitol complex. The sacrifices of these men and women are truly appreciated and will not be forgotten,” Bice said.

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Pro Tempore Terry O’Donnell, R-Catoosa, on Tuesday secured unanimous committee passage of a bill that would provide income tax credits for doctors practicing in rural areas of the state.

House Bill 2089 is authored by House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka and Speaker Pro Tempore O’Donnell. The bill would grant up to a $25,000 tax credit for income from compensation directly related to the practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine by a qualifying physician.

“The lifestyle of rural physicians doesn’t always appeal to young students getting out of medical school these days,” O’Donnell told members of the House Rules Committee. “This tax credit would help us incentivize doctors to go into practice in our state’s rural communities, an effort to bolster rural health care.”

“This measure will help us build the ranks of rural doctors to serve residents who choose to live in our state’s smaller communities,” said Speaker McCall. “These residents are as deserving of access to a family physician, obstetricians and or other health care specialists as people who live in more populous areas.”

GOVERNOR STITT SIGNS FIRST BILL OF 2021 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 10, 2021) – Governor Kevin Stitt today signed Senate Bill 1031 into law, his first bill of the 2021 legislative session, reinstating temporary modifications to the Open Meeting Act allowing for virtual public meetings.

“I want to thank Pro Tem Treat, Speaker McCall and the Legislature for getting this across the finish line to my desk,” said Gov. Stitt. “We’ve all heard from constituents, state agencies, local school boards and other public bodies requesting this, and I’m pleased we were able to deliver so quickly.”

SB 1031, authored by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) and House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols (R-Oklahoma City), reinstates the same exemptions to the Open Meeting Act that were signed into law in 2020 with some minor changes, including requiring public bodies to post documents or materials online that are provided to participants of the meeting.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Bipartisan legislation to address concerns over data privacy and data manipulation unanimously passed out of the House Technology Committee today with a vote of 6 to 0. 

The Oklahoma Computer Data Privacy Act, House Bill 1602, requires internet technology companies to obtain explicit permission to collect and sell personal data. 

The legislation has bipartisan support and is co-authored by more than 40 representatives and senators. The legislation’s primary authors, Reps. Josh West and Collin Walke, see the bill as an opportunity to claw back privacy rights from companies that continue to abuse them.