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Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider, your weekly look inside Oklahoma politics, policy and government. I m Dick Pryor with eCapitol news director, Shawn Ashley. It s mid-May, which means it s time to talk seriously about the state budget, with just a couple of weeks left in the session. And right on cue, Governor Stitt and legislative leaders announced a budget agreement on Thursday. Shawn, how did this year s budget come together?
Shawn Ashley: Well, you know, House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat emphasized Thursday that this was not something put together in just a few days. Throughout session we ve heard talk and reported on the House desire to put more money in the common education. We saw McCall advance his individual and corporate income tax reduction proposals. And the Senate talked about limiting spending growth, particularly avoiding using one time money for ongoing programs. And the governor talked about the opportunity to save
Oklahoma House Republicans are calling for a common education funding increase next fiscal year that would make up for cuts this year driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and then some. I think we are a top-10 state in how we’ve managed our money and are able to actually put as much money back into education this year. The House’s position is to put around $140 million back into common ed. So, I think that is just a tremendous feat, House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education Chair Mark McBride (R-Moore) said in a video the caucus posted to its Facebook page.
Hamilton: Senate must deal with dirty laundry By: Arnold Hamilton Guest Columnist April 29, 2021
Arnold Hamilton
Legislative sessions’ final weeks can be fraught with political land mines. Budget haggling intensifies. Pet bills get torpedoed. Sizable egos are bruised.
For House speakers and Senate presidents, it’s part of the sausage-making rhythm. Less than appetizing, of course, but hardly unexpected.
What does get under leadership’s skin, though, is a senator or representative whose bad behavior takes center stage, unnecessarily diverting time and attention from serious, last-minute matters of state.
One of those steaming cow patties splattered onto Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat’s desk last week, courtesy of Broken Arrow Sen. Nathan Dahm, a term-limited, back-bencher whose mug shot belongs in the dictionary next to the phrase “loose cannon.”
By: Storme Jones
OKLAHOMA CITY -
It was a long and contentious deadline week at the Oklahoma state Capitol. Thursday was the deadline for most bills to have passed both the state House and Senate.
Protestors made their voices heard this week. One group shut down House business for about 10 minutes, objecting to two bills signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt this week.
One new law provides legal cover to motorists fleeing a riot. The other limits some photos of police that could be used as harassment.
Second Amendment activists rallied at the Capitol, calling on Senate leaders to take up a bill that would allow the legislature to declare federal laws and executive orders unconstitutional.
Controversial Bills Become State Law During Deadline Week At The Capitol thebulltulsa.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thebulltulsa.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.