Latest news with #HouseBill2426
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Controversial Oklahoma storm chasing license bill stalls, but lawmakers plan future study
Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, announced he will put his bill creating an optional license for some storm chasers on hold while he looks into the subject more after session. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Lawmakers tabled a bill creating an optional license for 'professional' storm chasers for this session, but plan to study the topic more in the Oklahoma Legislature's interim. House Bill 2426 would allow some chasers to be classified as 'professional severe weather trackers.' For a small fee, they could act as 'emergency vehicles' and do things like subvert road closures and run red lights. Bill author Rep. Scott Fettgater, R-Okmulgee, said in a press release Thursday that he and Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, would be hosting an interim study on the subject and that 'many misunderstood the intent of the legislation.' Mann filed a similar bill in the state Senate. Critics of the bill, including many well-known storm chasers, expressed concern that it would overregulate the industry and define who is considered a 'professional' storm chaser. 'This was not to stop or disrupting any storm chaser that currently comes to Oklahoma to help residents stay aware of dangerous weather,' Fetgatter said in a statement. 'Our interim study will help continue this conversation and determine the path of the legislation going forward. I believe the proper role of government is public safety, and this is a necessary discussion.' He said he hopes people from all sides of the issue will come together after the legislative session to dig deeper into the details of the bill's concept. The bill had cleared the House and was referred to a Senate committee for consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Storm chasers concerned about potential Oklahoma ‘tracker' bill as chasing grows in popularity
Storm chasers watch rotating clouds hovering over in May 2024 in Gove and Ness counties in western Kansas. (AJ Dome for Kansas Reflector) OVERLAND PARK — Weather enthusiasts across the Plains are concerned about a proposed Oklahoma bill that they fear could empower some storm chasers over others. Oklahoma Rep. Scott Fetgatter introduced House Bill 2426 last month to create a special license that would allow personnel from legacy TV stations and weather researchers affiliated with specified universities operating around severe thunderstorms, to act as emergency responders in the immediate aftermath of a tornado. The Oklahoma House Business Committee passed the bill on Feb. 4. If it becomes law, the measure would allow licensed storm chasers to affix flashing lights on their vehicles, giving them right-of-way through red lights and on closed roads. The storm tracker license would cost about $500 with a renewal fee of $250. In a statement, Fetgatter, a Republican from Okmulgee, Oklahoma, said the bill is still a work in progress. WeatherNation meteorologist and storm chaser Erik Fox said he is actively trying to kill the bill because it could potentially create 'some constitutional issues' from people simply watching the weather, although he understands the need for enhanced road safety measures as more people pursue storms. 'When I started chasing, I was lucky to see maybe five chasers on any storm,' Fox said. 'Now it's more like 20 to 30.' Roughly 5,000 people across the country and internationally come to the Great Plains every year to chase storms. Alongside the growing number of chasers is the higher likelihood of them encountering damaged structures and injured people because of their proximity to a storm. Nemaha County emergency management director and storm chaser Eddie Aldrine said anybody who wants to learn about storm chasing should also take a CPR class and 'get to know your first aid kit.' 'Having the knowledge to save your life or someone else's life is paramount because you may be the only help for miles around, due to the rural environments storm chasers normally operate in,' Aldrine said. Aldrine taught a first aid class at the National Storm Chaser Summit, which took place Feb. 14-16 in Overland Park. Previous storm chaser conventions were held in Dallas, Denver, and Oklahoma City. The event was originally called ChaserCon and was created in 2002 by storm chasers Tim Samaras and Roger Hill to provide an opportunity for weather enthusiasts to gather and share stories about their chases. Fox went to his first ChaserCon in 2008 and said he made some lifelong friends there. Severe weather researcher Tim Samaras, along with his son, Paul, and their friend, Carl Young, were killed in 2013 by a 2.6-mile-wide multi-vortex tornado near El Reno, Oklahoma. Following their deaths, the convention morphed from a loosely organized social party with a couple of speakers into a professional education and networking-focused event with two days of presentations. Fox is now president and founder of the chaser summit. 'I vowed when I took it over I was going to move it around to give everybody a chance to attend,' Fox said. 'The Overland Park area has a very, very huge chaser contingent.' This is the second year the summit has sold out of tickets, as interest in both severe weather and storm chasing continues to grow following the 2024 release of 'Twisters,' a sequel to the 1996 Hollywood film 'Twister,' which popularized storm chasing and studying tornadoes. Kansans have other opportunities to learn more about severe weather this spring. National Weather Service meteorologists across the state are preparing for storm spotter talks, which are held annually in all 105 Kansas counties. Spotter presentations began earlier in February in Labette and Neosho counties. Schedules for the spotter talks can be found on individual National Weather Service sites for Dodge City, Goodland, Topeka and Wichita. A virtual spotter training program is also offered through the NWS Topeka office. It will take place March 17. People interested in the virtual program can register online.
