March 4, 2024
Most of the work last week was in committees working to complete their consideration of bills before Thursday’s deadline. Any bill not heard in a committee of their chamber of origin following Thursday’s deadline is now dormant for this legislative session.
 
Measures that received committee approval will begin working for position on the floor calendar in the coming weeks. The deadline for House and Senate members to act on the bills on their respective floors is March 14. Those failing to get a hearing on the respective floor by then also are considered dormant, but their language could be incorporated into other measures. Certain rules apply, though, such as making sure they deal with the same subject.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs bill to eliminate state’s grocery sales tax
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed a bill to eliminate the state’s 4.5% sales tax on groceries.
 
“This has been in the making for years now,” Stitt said. “I am proud of the bipartisan support that made this possible.”
 
Oklahoma was among 13 states that taxed groceries, Stitt said.
 
“To us in leadership, the grocery tax was one of the most regressive taxes that we had,” Stitt said. “It affected people on the lower income bracket much more than people that made a lot of money.”
 
Stitt said the measure is needed to combat higher inflation.
 
The measure is expected to reduce state revenue by $418 million a year.
 
It is the largest single year tax cut in state history, Stitt said.
 
House Bill 1955 will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns and likely become effective in late August.
 
The measure does not eliminate the local sales tax on groceries, but prohibits cities and counties from increasing it until July 1, 2025.
 
Food items prepared to be ready to eat, such as warm pizza and fruit bowls, are not tax exempt.
 
While House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Stitt are hopeful for additional tax cuts, such as a .25% cut in the income tax, Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said his caucus will not go further this session.
 
“We went to what we think is the maximum we could do this year and delivered it early,” Treat said.
 
Stitt is advocating for a pathway to get the state income tax to zero.
Sen. Roger Thompson offers update on Senate’s budget transparency efforts
Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, said the Oklahoma Legislature’s upper chamber is on its way toward making this year’s budget process more transparent than ever.
 
The public got its first glimpse at proposed state agency appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year in a Wednesday meeting of the Appropriations Committee.
 
The Board of Equalization certified lawmakers will have nearly $14 billion to appropriate for the fiscal year that begins July 1. About $11.6 billion of that is recurring revenue, according to Senate estimates. After taking into account the $312 million estimated cost of eliminating the state portion of the grocery sales tax in the upcoming fiscal year, only about $132 million in recurring revenue remains above base level state agency expenses, according to Senate estimates.
 
The Senate panel approved funding recommendations for about 10 health and human services agencies on Wednesday. The panel also made real-time changes to the Senate’s proposed budget for the upcoming year as it heard dozens of bills with fiscal impacts.
 
Thompson stressed that the budget figures are subject to change.
 
“We are still at the beginning of the process so these numbers will not be our final numbers,” Thompson said. “This is a dynamic process. It is a fluid process, and it is a work in progress.”
 
Senate appropriations subcommittees invited state agency heads to discuss their proposed budgets in public meetings, which has allowed senators to dig deep into the funding for various areas of state government. Then, for each agency, those subcommittees are making appropriation recommendations to the full Appropriations Committee.
 
“The Senate’s new budget transparency process has led senators to ask more questions on proposed agency budgets and appropriations bills, spurring robust discussions on state spending priorities,” Thompson said. “Never before has the public had such an in- depth look at how we determine which budget priorities are most important for the people of Oklahoma.”
 
The Senate Appropriations Committee will finalize in March a proposed state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which will then go before the full chamber.
 
Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, has said ushering in a more transparent budget process is a top priority for his final year in office.
Oklahoma senators to recommend school support staff wage boost, but not Walters’ ‘Back to Basics’ plan
Senate education officials plan to propose $2,500 stipends for school support staff, but they won’t pursue state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ $60.55 million “Back to Basics” plan, a leading lawmaker said.
 
Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, estimated support staff stipends could cost about $85 million in one-time funds. Pugh leads the Senate Education Committee and a subcommittee on education funding.
 
On Wednesday, the subcommittee approved its recommendations for state agency budgets, including allocations for public schools and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
 
Although it wasn’t discussed in Wednesday’s meeting, the $2,500 stipends will be part of the subcommittee’s recommendation to the full Senate Appropriations Committee, Pugh said.
 
What wasn’t included in that recommendation was the $60.55 million Walters suggested spending on recruitment and tutoring bonuses for teachers, which he called a “Back to Basics” initiative.
 
Pugh said the subcommittee dropped the idea because of “limited funds.”
 
“It wasn’t something that we prioritized, and with finite resources, we didn’t want to do that,” he said.
 
The state Education Department didn’t return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Legislature agreed to raise teacher salaries by $3,000 to $6,000 last year, with Pugh as a leading architect of the pay increases. The raises were part of a $625 million increase to public education funding.
 
School support employees — such as custodians, cafeteria workers and paraprofessionals — didn’t receive a dedicated pay raise from the Legislature last year. However, school districts were free to use the extra funding to boost support staff wages.
 
Pugh also proposed a second consecutive teacher pay raise of $1,500 to $3,000, depending on years of experience. The measure passed the Senate Education Committee this month and advanced to the appropriations panel.

Oklahoma House passes bill to give Legislature a say on state Board of Education

If House and Senate lawmakers can agree on one thing, it might be this: They want more of a voice on the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

Both chambers have advanced bills to add four more seats to the influential state board to include members chosen by the House speaker and Senate pro tem. Currently, the governor appoints six of the seven members of the board, with the final seat occupied by the elected state superintendent.

“I am excited that we both are in agreement that something needs to be done,” said Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore. “The Senate and the House need to have an appointment on this board.”

The Governor’s Office declined to comment on the pending legislation. The Oklahoma State Department of Education did not return a request for comment.

McBride said he co-wrote a bill to expand the board in hopes of seeing more members with experience in school administration, a background none of the sitting members have.

McBride’s legislation, House Bill 2562, would require the House and Senate leaders to each appoint to the board a former superintendent from a district with fewer than 10,000 students. It also would direct each legislative leader to choose a “rural resident of the state.”

The bill passed the full House on Wednesday in a 60-29 vote. It now heads to the Senate.

Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, wrote a similar bill that passed this week in the Senate Education Committee, which he leads.

Senate Bill 1395 also would have legislative leaders add four more members to the board, but there would be no requirements for the appointees’ credentials or residence.

Pugh said the Legislature should have a say on the board that heads Oklahoma’s most expensive state department. With a budget of $3.9 billion, the Oklahoma State Department of Education receives more state funds than any other agency.

“We’ll have priorities, the House will have priorities, the state superintendent has priorities, the governor will have priorities,” Pugh said. “And so the board should be reflective of that as to the max extent possible.”

Pugh said he’s considered this legislation for several years, not because of any recent concerns.

While some lawmakers have grumbled over decisions made at the state Education Department, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s board appointees have stayed in lock step with state Superintendent Ryan Walters, the head of both the board and the agency.

The board unanimously approved a litany of new rules and budget requests that Walters proposed, many of which reflect the state superintendent’s political and fiscal priorities.

Board members also helped Walters leverage the accreditation status of Tulsa Public Schools to force changes within the district. The board and Walters have said their goal is to see a turnaround in Tulsa’s academic results and financial oversight.

The state Education Department also threatened to downgrade Edmond Public Schools’ accreditation status when demanding the district remove “The Kite Runner” and “The Glass Castle” from its high school libraries.

Walters’ threats seem to have turned heads at the state Capitol. Bills have surfaced in both chambers that would curtail the state superintendent’s authority over school accreditation, a rating system that allows public schools to operate in the state and holds them accountable for deficiencies.

The state Board of Education decides each school’s accreditation annually.

A bill that would give the Legislature the final say on all accreditation decisions passed the House Common Education Committee on Tuesday.

On the same day, Pugh proposed a bill that would take away the state Board of Education’s accreditation powers. SB 520 would have given that authority to the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability.

But, the bill is effectively dead this session. Hinting at negative feedback from Republican colleagues, Pugh tabled it Tuesday, the last day it could be heard in committee.

He declined to comment on the bill while speaking with Oklahoma Voice on Wednesday.

McBride said he isn’t sure if moving accreditation powers to another agency is the answer, but adding lawmaker input to the state Board of Education could address concerns with the accrediting process.

McBride said threats to school accreditation have left administrators and teachers “in fear.”

“This fear mongering has to stop,” McBride said.
Public schools are being “inappropriately attacked” for doing their jobs, Oklahoma AG says
Oklahomans have lost their “mooring in society” and public schools are being “inappropriately attacked” for doing their jobs, the state’s attorney general said Wednesday during a speech to public school advocates gathered at the state Capitol.

Gentner Drummond told several dozen Public Schools Day attendees that schools are being attacked for taking children irrespective of their ability, nationality, religion and preferences, and “teaching them dignity and teaching them life skills and teaching (them) to read and write and interact with society.”

“But for public schools, the United States that we love would not be what it is today,” Drummond said.

The Republican did not point the finger at any particular policies or officials. However, other speakers noted that educators have become scapegoats. Schools are being blamed for failing, and teachers for “indoctrinating” students, echoing language from state Superintendent Ryan Walters

Drummond said his second grade teacher taught him to read. He first fell in love with his kindergarten teacher and joked that he was devastated when she married.

Oklahoma has 700,000 children currently attending public schools. He’s a public school product himself, and several of his grandchildren also now attend public schools.

“We owe it to this generation, the next generation, and the future of Oklahoma and the United States of America to have strong public schools,” he said.

He said nationally, 9 out of 10 young people go through the public school system. It serves the equivalent of 50 million children, who are not all made equal.

The attorney general pledged to the crowd of educators he “will always be your defender” and is “forever a public school advocate.”
State Regents, CareerTech Sign Statewide Nursing Articulation Agreement
To address the state’s nursing shortage, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish guidelines for public two-year colleges to award students credit for prior learning in practical nursing programs at technology centers across the state.
 
“When we come together for the benefit of Oklahoma students, the sky is the limit,” said Secretary of Education Nellie Sanders. “I applaud the State Regents and Oklahoma CareerTech for working to remove barriers and uplifting the next generation of nursing students. Through this partnership, we’re investing in the future of healthcare in Oklahoma by expanding opportunities for students now.”
 
“This agreement between CareerTech and Higher Education is a massive win for nursing students and for expanding our healthcare workforce pipeline,” said House Speaker Pro Tempore Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. “The transferability of credits is both time- and cost-effective for our nursing students. This partnership is a fantastic avenue to get more nurses into the field at an accelerated pace to help meet a vital need in our state.”
 
Comprised of representatives from public higher education and the CareerTech system, the Oklahoma Statewide Nursing Pathways Advisory Group met over the past year to discuss potential solutions to increase the number of nurses in our state. One approach is to reduce barriers for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) to earn college credit for completing the practical nursing program at a participating Oklahoma technology center.
 
“As a state, our health outcomes are impacted by an ongoing shortage of medical professionals,” said State Regents’ chair Jack Sherry. “This initiative to expand course articulation between technical and collegiate nursing programs will provide additional educational opportunities for nursing students and improve workforce development in this critical sector.”
 
Through the new articulation agreement, the following campuses will award up to 18 college credit hours to CareerTech students who pass the LPN NCLEX exam:
 
  • Carl Albert State College
  • Connors State College
  • Eastern Oklahoma State College
  • Murray State College
  • Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
  • Northern Oklahoma College
  • Oklahoma City Community College
  • Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City
  • Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
  • Redlands Community College
  • Rose State College
  • Seminole State College
  • Tulsa Community College
  • Western Oklahoma State College
 
Applicants must have a valid, unencumbered practical nursing license to practice in the state of Oklahoma and meet all college or program admission requirements.
 
“Our public colleges and universities are focused on supporting student success and increasing degree completion in high-demand fields,” said Chancellor Allison D. Garrett. “The new nursing articulation agreement reflects the shared commitment of our state higher education and CareerTech systems to create streamlined pathways between practical nursing and associate degree nursing programs, which benefits both individual Oklahomans and the state labor force.”
 
The new articulation agreement supersedes a prior system-level MOU and prior MOUs developed between individual institutions and technology center partners. Twenty-eight technology centers offering practical nursing programs approved by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing are participating in the new articulation agreement:
 
  • Autry Technology Center
  • Caddo-Kiowa Technology Center
  • Canadian Valley Technology Center
  • Central Technology Center
  • Chisholm Trail Technology Center
  • Francis Tuttle Technology Center
  • Gordon Cooper Technology Center
  • Great Plains Technology Center
  • Green Country Technology Center
  • High Plains Technology Center
  • Indian Capital Technology Center
  • Kiamichi Technology Centers
  • Meridian Technology Center
  • Metro Technology Centers
  • Mid-America Technology Center
  • Mid-Del Lewis Eubanks Technology Center
  • Moore Norman Technology Center
  • Northeast Technology Center
  • Northwest Technology Center
  • Pioneer Technology Center
  • Pontotoc Technology Center
  • Red River Technology Center
  • Southern Oklahoma Technology Center
  • Southwest Technology Center
  • Tri County Technology Center
  • Tulsa Technology Center
  • Western Technology Center
  • Wes Watkins Technology Center

“This new agreement does a better job of coordinating strategies to alleviate the pressures on Oklahoma’s nursing workforce and making the state’s health care system more equitable and stable,” said Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Brent Haken. “Applying credit from CareerTech’s LPN programs to degree programs will lead to an elevated workforce and a more stable and reliable health care system in Oklahoma.”
 
The State Regents’ Undergraduate Transfer and Articulation of Courses policy facilitates the transfer of students between institutions of higher education and career technology centers, and the Credit for Prior Learning policy allows institutions to award credit for demonstration of knowledge upon professional licensure. These policies ensure maximum applicability of credit hours and course work to advance degree completion.
 
Under the new articulation agreement, which is effective July 1 of this year, the specific number of college credit hours awarded for prior learning to LPNs who complete a practical nursing program at a participating technology center will vary depending on the course structure at the awarding institution, up to a total of 18 credit hours.
Gatz can’t hold three posts simultaneously, AG says
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Wednesday that transportation czar Tim Gatz cannot hold his three positions at the same time.
 
Following the opinion’s release, Gatz resigned his cabinet post.
 
Gatz served as Gov. Kevin Stitt’s transportation secretary. He also ran the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
 
As a result of the opinion, Gatz was deemed to be serving as transportation secretary after having vacated the ODOT and OTA posts.
 
Gatz resigned his cabinet post and was reappointed as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation executive director.
 
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority must consider the appointment of a new director.
 
The opinion said the state Constitution prohibits dual office holding.
 
An individual can’t serve in all three posts at the same time, the opinion said. The prohibition against dual office holding has some exceptions.
 
“However, none of these exceptions apply to the secretary of transportation, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, or executive director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority,” Drummond said.
 
The office holder who takes a second office effectively vacates the original office, according to the opinion.
 
The opinion was requested by Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman.
 
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission in January voted to give Gatz a $60,000 pay raise, bringing his salary to $245,000 a year.
 
The opinion said actions taken by Gatz while holding all three offices are valid, binding and enforceable.
 
The opinion does not address the validity of Gatz’s actions after he received notice that he could not hold all three offices.
 
In response to a separate request by Sen. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow, Drummond affirmed the constitutionality of a recent law changing the appointment authority to the OTA.
 
Prior to House Bill 2263, the Governor made all six appointments to the OTA. The legislation lowered that to two appointments. It gave the House speaker and Senate president pro tem each two appointments. 
Impact of Oklahoma AG’s opinion on other Stitt cabinet posts unclear
A recent Oklahoma Attorney General opinion prohibiting dual office holding might have implications for other members of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s cabinet.
 
Two cabinet secretaries have resigned since Wednesday.
 
The same day the opinion came out, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell resigned as Stitt’s secretary of workforce development.
 
In his resignation email, Pinnell did not reference the opinion, but said it was time to step away from the cabinet.
 
“With the number of boards and commissions that I currently serve on, and with the number of lieutenant governor requests for my time, I believe it’s the best path,” Pinnell wrote. “I look forward to continuing to advise the Governor on workforce and economic development.”
 
On Wednesday, Tim Gatz resigned as secretary of transportation. He also was head of both the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
 
He was reappointed to lead ODOT. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is looking for a new executive director.
 
The opinion defined public office as: a position created or authorized by law; the law imposes certain definite duties on the position holder; and the duties imposed involve “the exercise of some portion of sovereign power.”
 
The opinion laid out when a post is vacated.
 
“If a state officer enters upon the duties of a second office in violation of the dual office holding prohibition, it operates as a vacation of the first office,” the opinion said. “The vacation of the first office is self-executing and notwithstanding the person’s intention of continuing to hold the first office.”
 
The Legislature has made some exceptions, but none applied to Gatz, according to the opinion.
 
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office was asked Thursday about the opinion’s impact on other members of Stitt’s cabinet.
 
“The Attorney General’s opinion clearly states that no individual may hold two public offices simultaneously unless specifically authorized by statute,” said Phil Bacharach, a spokesperson.
 
Some Oklahoma officials lead state agencies in addition to serving on Stitt’s cabinet.
 
Blayne Arthur is secretary of agriculture and runs the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
 
She was not available for comment.
 
Shelley Zumwalt serves as secretary of tourism, wildlife and heritage. She is also the executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.
 
Chase Horn, a spokesperson, said the agency is deferring to the Attorney General’s Office.
 
Dr. Deborah Shropshire serves as secretary of human services and Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ executive director.
 
A DHS spokesperson said the agency was studying the opinion.
 
John Laws serves as the state’s chief financial officer and secretary of budget.
 
John Suter serves as the state’s chief operating officer, executive director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and secretary of operations and government efficiency.
 
An OMES spokesperson did not respond late Thursday to a request for comment.
 
Josh Cockroft serves as secretary of state and as chief policy advisor to Stitt.
 
Cockcroft said late Thursday that he was unavailable and referred questions to Stitt’s office.
 
Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, requested the opinion. She asked if Gatz could legally hold all three posts.
 
Boren on Thursday said cabinet secretaries should determine if the opinion applies to them.
 
She said the opinion likely does apply to other cabinet members.
 
Stitt’s office had no comment.
CTE Priority Measures
OkACTE tracks and monitors legislative bills. These bills can vary from CareerTech education policy, common education policy, education funding, teacher pay raise, tax credits, licensing, Ad Valorem, retirement, state employee pay raise, guns, economic development and much more.

Of these bills, we've compiled a listing of CTE Priority Measures linked below.

Visit oklegislature.gov to view entire text of the measures.