Oklahoma Congressman Josh Brecheen was in attendance at the service, and walked out in protest.

State Sen. Regina Goodwin (D-Tulsa) had a recent run-in with the law after a Tulsa County sheriff's deputy observed her rolling through two stop signs in downtown Tulsa. What could have been a routine, brief encounter and a warning turned into almost a half hour of verbally sparring with the officer and refusing fifteen requests to hand over her driver's license.

One thing led to another, and Tulsa mayor Monroe Nichols and City Councilor Laura Bellis showed up at the scene (not the type of assistance Joe Citizen gets, I'm sure), which ended in Goodwin being briefly handcuffed and ticketed. NonDoc has a good synopsis of the traffic stop here, along with bodycam footage. As NonDoc pointed out, this is the third legislator-and-law-enforcement encounter in the past two-and-a-half years that left significant egg on the overly-entitled and self-important legislators' faces.

Goodwin was elected to the State Senate in November, after serving nine years in the State House. The Tulsa County GOP is calling on her to apologize for her inexcusable behavior:

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 17th) – The Oklahoma House of Representatives completed bill filing Thursday, Jan. 16, for the first regular session of the 60th Legislature. A total of 1,928 House Bills, 29 House Joint Resolutions, three House Resolutions, and two House Concurrent Resolutions were filed before the deadline. 

California election system fuels California fires

A group called Oklahoma United wants to set fire to our state’s primary election system and replace it with the California model, which places all candidates from all parties on a single ballot with all voters casting ballots to winnow the field down to two candidates for the November election.

The California system has produced inane results, such as statewide November races that involve only two candidates from the same political party, but the reality is worse than that. The California system has also produced the types of politicians whose policies have made California a literal tinderbox.

As is well known at this point, wildfires have left a trail of destruction through the Los Angeles area that resembles the aftermath of a nuclear bomb: charred rubble as far as the eye can see.

As I write this, the largest fire has already impacted more than 37 square miles and a second fire has impacted more than 22 square miles. More than 12,000 buildings and structures have been destroyed. More than 190,000 people have been under evacuation orders. And those numbers are expected to increase.

Worse yet, it didn’t have to be this way. Unfortunately, the policies adopted by California politicians made the devastation worse and the fires harder to contain. For years, in the name of “environmentalism,” California officials focused on restricting the use of gasoline-powered cars rather than boosting fire-mitigation efforts. They have dumped huge quantities of rainwater runoff into the ocean rather than build new reservoirs. They have failed to update water infrastructure to provide fire departments with sufficient water pressure to combat large blazes, which are going to happen in an area prone to dry spells and high winds. They have touted “diversity, equity and inclusion” over merit in hiring, including fire department leadership.

The list goes on and on.

Officials with Oklahoma United insist that adopting the California election model will produce more “moderate” elected officeholders and build “consensus.” But the results in California show that is not true. The California system has given that state a political class completely out of touch with the average citizen’s basic needs and indifferent to the consequences of bad policy.

In Oklahoma’s election system, there may be election results that – at least on a case-by-case basis – do not make you happy even though a majority of voters supported that candidate. 

But even if you don’t like the results of various Oklahoma elections, they have not produced a leadership class that literally devastated a state the way California’s politicians have.

As voters consider the proposal to adopt the California election system in Oklahoma, they should ask themselves one simple question: How’s it working for California?

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 13th) — Rep. Gabe Woolley, R-Broken Arrow, has introduced House Bill 1100, a legislative measure aimed at ensuring accountability within the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS). The bill would require clear and convincing evidence to keep a child away from their parent or guardian. HB1100 would also impose felony kidnapping charges on the DHS employee who is responsible for approving the continued holding or release of a child for noncompliance.

“Due process appears to be an idea that has gone out the window in many cases here in Oklahoma,” said Woolley. “House Bill 1100 ensures the government is not above the law and requires concrete evidence of a crime or misconduct before the Department of Human Services can keep a child away from their family.”

Now here are some Democrat-filed bills I think I would be fully on board with! The Legislature absolutely has to rein in the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority... or make them free like they were promised to be originally.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 16th) – House Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman, introduced two bills pertaining to Oklahoma toll roads. 

“As Oklahomans, we have a Legislature of Representatives and Senators designed to best express and meet our concerns and needs. We work hard to maintain close relationships with our constituents and my constituents have been abundantly clear with me about their concerns and needs when it comes to turnpikes.” Menz said. “Oklahomans should not be kept out of the loop when Oklahoma Turnpike Authority wants to raise their tolls. Additionally, folks should be allowed to know the financial standing of something they are paying into. I believe that with my proposed legislation creating a bond debt ceiling for Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, and requiring legislative approval for toll increases, we would ensure Oklahoma taxpayers and turnpike users the kind of transparency that they deserve. Oklahomans should have a say in their toll increases and where their money is going, and these bills are a great start.” 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - [On January 13th], Americans for Prosperity (AFP) launched a $20 million nationwide campaign calling on Congress to protect prosperity and renew President Trump’s highly successful Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) – a cornerstone of AFP and the Trump Administration’s shared economic agenda this year. The campaign, the largest effort by a conservative organization to support President Trump’s second-term legislative agenda, launches this week with an ad blitz across all 50 states urging Americans to unite in telling Washington that now is not the time for higher taxes.

AFP-OK State Director John Tidwell said:

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 21st) – Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola,  an opponent of corporate welfare, today issued a stark warning regarding the ongoing misuse of public funds.

"Corporate welfare is when the government takes the public's money to manipulate the economy, choosing winners and losers in the free market," Gann said. "In recent years, this practice has intensified, creating an era of corporate welfare on steroids, as Oklahoma government has pushed massive green-energy giveaways that align more with a liberal agenda than Oklahoma's conservative values."

Gann pointed to last week's bankruptcy of the high-profile, green-energy, electric vehicle startup, CANOO, as a prime example of why government must stop interfering in the free market. Canoo's manufacturing plant in Pryor is in Gann's House district.

State Sen. Dusty Deevers has filed a bundle of new bills that are well worth consideration by the Oklahoma Legislature:

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan 15th) — Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, has introduced a slate of legislation to reduce the tax burden on Oklahomans, including the following.

• SB305 to immediately eliminate the State individual income tax.
• SB322 to immediately eliminate the State corporate income tax.
• SB308 to gradually reduce the income tax by 1 percent per year until eliminated by 2029.
• SB323 to gradually reduce the State corporate income tax by 1 percent per year until eliminated in 2028.
• SB311 to reduce the gross production tax on the oil and gas industry from 7 percent to 5 percent.
• Various tax credits for Oklahoma families and family-oriented initiatives, including SB228, SB281, and SB328.