Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/tag/politics/)
Oklahoma lawmakers closed out the 2019 session Thursday after nearly four months of debate on hundreds of bills that could impact the state for years to come. Here’s what the Legislature did, and didn’t do, this year, from the $8.1 billion spending bill to criminal justice reform.
The fight over Oklahoma’s recently changed liquor distribution laws shows how donors get around a partial fundraising blackout during the legislative session. One donor in the fight, and his wife, have given at least $95,000 since Feb. 6.
State election officials removed nearly 90,000 inactive voters from Oklahoma’s voter rolls earlier this month during its biennial purging of the list.
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday made his first appointment to the state Board of Education. Carlisha Williams Bradley is the executive director of ImpactTulsa, which connects public school districts with nonprofits, businesses and civic leaders.
A strategic plan laying out one-year and four-year goals for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration, obtained by Oklahoma Watch, includes securing gubernatorial control of all state agencies and boards, changing the educational system and launching an initiative aimed at social issues.
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s nominee for secretary of veterans affairs and the military has withdrawn his name from consideration. His consulting company, Check-6, faces lawsuits alleging he underpaid veterans who work for him by misclassifying them as contractors.
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s financial disclosure form shows varied holdings in real estate, banking and energy across multiple states. Stitt is the first governor since Robert S. Kerr to come directly to the office from a private company without having held public office first.
Opposition to proposed Ethics Commission rules to require disclosure of who’s behind grassroots lobbying efforts united groups on the right and left. The commission discussed but declined to take up the proposed rules, effectively killing the measure.
After being sworn in as Oklahoma’s 28th governor Monday, Kevin Stitt laid out his vision and priorities for improving the state. Oklahoma Watch reporters offer analysis through annotations.
When Kevin Stitt becomes Oklahoma’s 28th governor Monday, he will have 180 days to release the names of the individuals, businesses and trade groups that helped pay for his inauguration. Critics of the disclosure rule say it takes too long for the public to find out who’s trying to curry favor with newly elected governors.