Credit: Brad Gregg Brecheen apparently has had it up to here with couples in Oklahoma — which the U.S. Census Bureau reports has the country’s highest divorce rate — not taking marriage seriously. “Love is a choice,” he said. (It’s also patient, kind and not jealous, we hear.) “You don’t fall in and out of […]
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Tobacco road
Credit: Mark Hancock Currently, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the only states that fully bar local governments from ordinances that restrict tobacco. And therein lies the rub. State Health Commissioner Terry Cline is on the side of local control. “We expect big opposition from this multibillion[-dollar] industry,” he said. “There are plenty of paid tobacco lobbyists […]
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Be cautious with a dopey idea
California’s experience is instructive. With the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, that state authorized patients with doctor-issued identification cards to grow or possess specific amounts of marijuana for medical use. Sadly, that system has been widely abused. Storefront pot dispensaries with names like OMG Collective or Happy Meds resemble hippie crash pads more than […]
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Same ol’, same ol’
How does that work? Both bills claim to support teachers’ freedom to address scientific strengths and weaknesses of scientific issues (House Bill 1674 cites evolution specifically, Senate Bill 758 doesn’t). The most obvious problem is that we do not need new laws to free science teachers to do that: such discussions are always part of […]
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The next move
Rep. Randy Grau To some, it’s a sad day. For others, it’s a celebration of a woman’s reproductive rights. Regardless, some state legislators are counting on another try at placing restrictions on the law in Oklahoma after suffering a legal defeat by the state Supreme Court. Rep. Randy Grau, R-Edmond, is one of those lawmakers. […]
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Looking ahead
Speaking before a joint session of the Legislature, Fallin touched on both accomplishments over the past few years as well as some of the initiatives and measures she hopes to implement over the coming year. Among the issues she hopes to see movement on this legislative session are:• a cut of the top state income […]
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Artful dodge
State appropriations are vital to the agency, which funds more than 300 organizations and programs throughout Oklahoma. House Bill 1895, by Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-Tecumseh, would have cut funding to the arts council by 25 percent each fiscal year until 2017. Cockroft placed HB 1895 as his ninth priority bill, he said. In the House, […]
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Game change
Sen. Constance Johnson Credit: Mark Hancock Senate Bill. 902 would direct the state Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to “develop and adopt rules permitting the prescription of medical cannabis by physicians” to patients with debilitating medical conditions. The legislation would also enable that board to set fees for the production, distribution and consumption of […]
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Watching the feds
Speaker T.W. Shannon State legislators in 2011 attended a WallBuilders conference in Texas for “pro-family” lawmakers. According to Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, the idea for a States’ Rights Committee emerged from that gathering. Moore, who will chair the panel, said he approached House Speaker T. W. Shannon, R-Lawton, following the conference. “I asked the [then] […]
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Bills of goods, the sequel
Credit: Brad Gregg Well, wouldn’t yah know, we couldn’t get to ’em all. So here are more. Several bills seek to prohibit the use of “foreign” (read: Sharia) law in court. Speaking of foreigners, a proposal by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma, House Bill 1866, would require that a charter school’s board members and top administrators […]