OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, this week called on State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister to follow through on the announcement of pornography in Tulsa Public Schools.

"It's not enough to acknowledge the existence of this inappropriate material in the district and call for its removal, follow-through in all Oklahoma schools will be essential for this to be resolved," Conley said. "I want to reiterate that materials such as these are not just in Tulsa Public Schools but in other school libraries throughout the state as well."

I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike completes transition to PlatePay/cashless tolling

(Oklahoma City - July 27th)  As of Wednesday, I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike has fully transitioned to PlatePay/cashless tolling. The final leg of the conversion was completed at the Walters toll plaza Wednesday morning, meaning drivers can now travel along I-44/H.E. Bailey Turnpike from the Texas state line to Oklahoma City without having to stop to pay a toll.

(Oklahoma City -- July 26th) Post-election audits authorized by 26 O.S. § 3-130 will be conducted on Thursday, July 28.

County election board secretaries in thirty-three (33) counties will conduct a manual audit of ballots pursuant to the procedures established by the Secretary of the State Election Board. Thirty-six (36) different races are included in the audit. Audits are open to the public. Start times vary from county to county, but will begin between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Please contact your County Election Board for more details.

State law defines post-election audits as a "manual or electronic examination of a limited number of ballots” “for the purpose of maintaining the security of the election system by ensuring that voting devices and software used in a particular election correctly tabulated votes." Audit results cannot be used to change or alter certified election results.

An audit report will be posted on the State Election Board website following the audit.

Information, including a list of counties, ballot types, and races being audited, can be found on the State Election Board website.

This is definitely not my topic of expertise, but it's something to keep an eye on.

AERO, Oklahoma Businesses, Seek Law Change Allowing Choice and Competition in Electricity Market

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Alliance for Electrical Restructuring in Oklahoma (AERO) today announced that it will advocate for reforms during the 2023 legislative session that would restructure Oklahoma’s electricity market to allow for choice and competition. If successful, the effort would end the monopoly status of Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OG&E), Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) and Liberty Utilities as brokers of electricity for commercial and industrial consumers.

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to introduce the Protect Our Children’s Schools Act to enhance school safety and prevent school-based violence. The legislation would allow schools to use unspent previously appropriated federal COVID-19 education-related funding to improve school security. Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

State Chamber Research Foundation Urges “Supply Side Revival”

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The State Chamber Research Foundation (SCRF) is sharing a series of tax proposals for policymakers to consider as they work on tax policy and budget issues in future legislative sessions. The policies, which include both tax cuts for individuals and the elimination of business taxes that discourage growth and investment, are aimed at tackling inflation while promoting long term economic growth and tax relief. 

The 14-member 2nd Congressional District GOP primary has been whittled down to State Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee) and former State Senator and Coburn staffer Josh Brecheen. Frix is posturing himself as a "next-gen MAGA warrior" who named a highway after Donald Trump, while Brecheen is campaigning as a proven conservative reformer. Frix received 14.74% of the primary vote, while Brecheen took 13.75%.

Brecheen's record demonstrates deeply-held conservative principles. Frix, on the other hand, may be a registered Republican (now), but he's by no means the super-conservative fighter his campaign is depicting him as. In fact, on many issues, he's simply not conservative. At all. 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) to introduce a bill that would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a universal application across federal agencies for disaster survivors who are seeking federal assistance to recover from hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and more. Currently, individuals that require federal aid to recover from a disaster must fill out separate and detailed applications depending on what agency they need help from—a process that can take weeks or even months. This bill would streamline this process to reduce the burden on disaster survivors.