Latest news with #LonniePaxton
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ethics Commission approves campaign money for legislators to use for "reasonable expenses"
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission voted to allow legislators to use campaign money to cover personal security costs, a move that was prompted by the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband in their home. The four commissioners unanimously voted to approve the proposal Thursday, Aug. 14. Campaign funds can cover "reasonable expenses for safety and security," such as security camera systems, motion detectors, cybersecurity software and monitoring services. Candidates cannot use campaign money to hire a security guard or security detail, purchase weapons or install complex, high-end equipment. Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert as well as House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt brought the issue to the commission's attention through a letter July 11, and asked the commission to determine whether it was ethical to spend campaign funds on security expenses. "The tragic assassination of state Rep. Melissa Hortman by shooting at her home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, last month has emphasized to me the need to evaluate what can be done to prevent such an awful event from occurring in Oklahoma," the lawmakers said in their letter. Hortman, her husband Mark and their golden retriever were killed in the shooting. Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was arrested and charged in relation to the shooting. Prosecutors say Boelter disguised himself as a law enforcement officer and also shot and wounded Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Violence toward politicians has impacted officials across the political spectrum. President Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a 2024 campaign rally, and in April 2025, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home was set on fire while he and his family were asleep. A part of the discussion Thursday revolved around whether it was ethical for legislators to spend campaign money on hiring personal security guards. As part of the public comment, Kell Kelly said through a written public comment that he thinks lawmakers should be able to use campaign money to pay for security guards. Hilbert hired Kelly as his chief of staff in February. Vice Chair Commissioner Adam Weintraub said he did not see a reason why legislators would need a security detail outside of protection from law enforcement, which is provided at the Capitol and at some other public events. Previous Coverage: Can campaign funds be used for private security? OK leaders ask for clarification after Minnesota deaths Commission Executive Director Lee Ann Bruce Boone said that approving lawmakers to use campaign money for security guards would need to be approved by the Legislature. In a joint statement issued with other legislative leaders after the commission vote, Paxton said the ruling provides lawmakers "a clear, ethical pathway to address credible threats that arise solely because they hold public office." "It's a commonsense step that will allow us to serve the people of Oklahoma without compromising our safety and security,' he said. Hilbert said the ruling helps lawmakers and ensures campaign finance transparency. "No candidate or official should fear for their life when serving the public," Hilbert said in the joint statement. Kirt and Munson also expressed support for the commission's ruling and noted how the assassinations in Minnesota pushed the issue of legislator safety to the forefront. 'Violence should never be part of our democratic process, but what happened in Minnesota this summer reminded us all that public service can come with risk to elected officials and their loved ones," Kirt said. Munson added: 'When we are unencumbered by threats made to our personal security, we can ensure a better, more prosperous future for everyone.' This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma lawmakers will be able to use campaign money for security Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Oklahoma's MAGA superintendent who demanded Bibles in class faces investigation after TV in his office shows naked women
Oklahoma's Trump-loving top school official, known for mandating Bibles in every classroom, is now facing an investigation after naked women were seen on TVs in his office, according to reports. What should have been a mundane Oklahoma State Board of Education executive session Thursday turned shocking after board members saw naked women appear on a TV screen behind Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction and board chair, in his office, according to The Oklahoman. The Independent has reached out to Walters for comment. A spokesperson for Walters branded the incident as a "junk tabloid lie' to the outlet. Now, the state's Senate has launched a porn probe. Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton told the Oklahoma Voice that 'leadership at the agency is working through proper channels to initiate the investigation.' 'This is a bizarre and troubling situation that raises serious questions about the events and what took place during yesterday's executive session at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting,' Paxton told the outlet in a statement. 'The accounts made public by board members paint a strange, unsettling scene that demands clarity and transparency.' It's not immediately clear who was responsible for showing the women. Some board members said Walters was facing away from the TV during the meeting. His spokesperson told The Oklahoman: "Any number of people have access to these offices. You have a hostile board who will say and do anything except tell the truth, and now, the Wokelahoman is reporting on an alleged random TV cable image.' Becky Carson, a board member who attended the meeting, said she was "disturbed" by what she saw on TV. 'I saw them just walking across the screen, and I'm like, 'no.' I'm sorry I even have to use this language, but I'm like, 'Those are her nipples.' And then I'm like, 'That's pubic hair.'...I was so disturbed by it…I was very stern, like I'd been a mother or a classroom teacher. And I said, 'What am I watching? Turn it off now!'' she told The Oklahoman. Walters then promptly shut it off, Carson told the outlet. She added: "It looked like it was made in the '60s, maybe.' Fellow board member Ryan Deatherage, who also attended the meeting, said the TV was on throughout the session but the volume was turned down. 'Quite frankly, I didn't know how to handle it. I was just in shock. I was being human and I didn't know what to think. … I kept thinking that it was just going to go away and so I quit watching it,' he told the outlet. He told The Oklahoma Voice that Walters should be held to account. 'We hold educators to the strictest of standards when it comes to explicit material,' Deatherage told the outlet. 'The standard for the superintendent should be no different.' Walters has argued strictly against showing what he deemed 'pornography' in schools. Last year, Walters advocated for banning books that he claims contain 'pornography,' such as the novel The Kite Runner, which contains sexual content. He threatened to lower the accreditation of a school district if it didn't remove such books from libraries' shelves. Edmond Public Schools then filed a lawsuit against Walters. "Edmond Public Schools not only allows kids to access porn in schools, they are doubling down to keep pornography on the bookshelves," Walters said in a statement. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school district last June, determining Walters and the state's department of education overstepped. Walters has also touted the teachings of the Bible. Last June, he issued a mandate requiring the historic text be a fixture in classrooms and curriculum— for grades 5 through 12 — across the state. 'The left is upset, but one cannot rewrite history,' he said last June. Faith leaders and parents then sued Walters last October. 'The Mandate interferes with the parents' ability to direct the religious and moral upbringing of their children. The children themselves face coercive instruction on religion in their public schools that is contrary to their own beliefs,' the plaintiffs argued. The state supreme court temporarily blocked the mandate in March. Last week, however, he filed a motion with the state's highest court, demanding it lift the stay. 'The Left has launched an all-out assault on Christianity in this country and will stop at nothing to destroy the Bible's significance in our country and the principles that shaped this country,' Walters said in a statement Tuesday. 'Students cannot fully understand American History without understanding the Bible's role in it, despite the liberal hysteria we continue to see.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$12.59 billion Oklahoma budget bill heads to governor's desk
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma's $12.59 billion state budget bill for Fiscal Year 2026, House Bill 2766, is headed to the governor's desk for final approval after securing Senate approval on Thursday afternoon. The latest budget bill, which passed in the Senate with a vote of 27 to 19, includes $312 million for the purchase of the Lawton Correction Facility from GEO Group and $27.4 million in supplemental funds for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Lawmakers agree on Oklahoma budget, could see income tax cut Here are some of the most notable budget changes listed in the FY26 appropriations summary: Department of Education: +$121.6 million (+3.15%) Oklahoma Educational Television Authority: -$2.9 million (-49.1%) Oklahoma Teacher's Retirement System: -$15.6 million (-3.21%) Oklahoma Tax Commission: -$51 million (-59.88%) Oklahoma Military Department: +$20.4 million (+89.91%) Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics: -$45.4 million (-63.06%) Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: +$16.2 million (+4.18%) Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority: -$4.3 million (-10.19%) Department of Veterans Affairs: -$4.1 million (-9.21%) Department of Agriculture: -$16.1 million (-21.96%) A full appropriations summary of the FY26 budget can be found here. Several state lawmakers weighed in following the passing of the budget bill. This budget is a reflection of Oklahoma's values—responsible, conservative, and focused on real results. We're prioritizing core services like education, mental health, public safety and infrastructure, while maintaining strong fiscal discipline. I'm proud of the Senate's work and the collaboration with our House colleagues to deliver a budget that supports families, strengthens communities and keeps Oklahoma taxpayers in mind. Now we send it to the governor's desk to move Oklahoma forward. Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) This budget is a result of thoughtful collaboration between the House and Senate, and I am proud of the way we came together to put Oklahomans first. We've ensured strong investments in our students, state services and economic developments while keeping government spending restrained. This budget serves the needs of today while protecting the interests of future generations. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) Oklahoma Senate Democrats will always work the aisle to address real problems facing our state, ensuring all kids get a great education, access to health and mental health care, and great-paying jobs. But instead, we got a budget that prioritizes tax cuts that mostly benefit the very rich, more money for private school vouchers, and does nothing to address the everyday issues Oklahomans face. You deserve better. Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt (D-Oklahoma City) A thriving economy depends on a well-educated workforce, but once again, our public schools have been left behind while unaccountable voucher programs grow unchecked. When it comes to the budget, public education should be our highest priority. At a time when our schools continue to face a crisis in teacher shortages, we've not included so much as a cost-of-living increase while hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars continue to fund private schools. This budget fails our schools, our students, and our communities. Senator Carri Hicks (D-Oklahoma City) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma Republicans leaders are cheering their budget deal, but who does it really help?
Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, shake hands during an announcement of a 2026 budget deal on May 14 at the state Capitol. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) Judging by all the backpatting we witnessed last week, Oklahoma's Republican legislative leaders want us to believe their latest budget deal will make our state a beacon of prosperity . In reality, it feels a lot like the opposite. It appears Oklahomans ended up with a budget agreement negotiated behind closed doors by a small group of influential lawmakers and lobbyists that got their hearts' desires at our expense. And, it appears this is a budget that has been crafted in a vacuum by people completely oblivious to the giant pile of flaming dog doo that Congress appears poised to leave on our doorstep. (Maybe that fire is the light from the previously mentioned beacon.) I couch this all with 'appears' because 99.99% of us have no idea how Oklahoma's budget was created. Last year, Oklahomans for the first time were able to watch budget negotiations play out in real time during a series of public hearings. While those conversations at times were as dull as watching paint dry, they really helped the public — including the media — understand how the deal was reached. And, they helped curtail lobbyists' influence. Unfortunately, the House and Senate legislative leaders who championed that strategy termed out or lost reelection. They were replaced by new leaders who, disappointingly, decided to scrap that process and largely revert to conducting budget talks in meetings that aren't publicly accessible. So we don't know why – after years of resistance – that this is the year lawmakers chose to bow to Gov. Kevin Stitt's pressure to cut the state's income tax. The expected impact of the 0.25% cut on state coffers varies greatly depending on who you ask. The timing is a headscratcher because Congress is planning cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, that could require states like ours to foot the difference. Not to mention that pesky inflation that while slowing has not disappeared. That $3.5 billion that lawmakers are bragging about having in savings isn't going to last long if the federal government decides to require our state to pay for federal programs that help low-income residents. Ours is the sixth poorest state after all. I don't understand why our Legislature doesn't want to wait until the dust settles in D.C. before making tax cuts. After all, to raise taxes requires a supermajority legislative vote or a vote of the people. Maybe lawmakers are focused on political points for the moment. But cutting taxes now could leave future Legislatures in a precarious financial position. It wasn't long ago that Oklahoma lawmakers cut taxes and then had to plug a $1 billion shortfall. During that time, in 2018, they had to cut services and even had to raise taxes on gas and diesel, cigarettes and gross production. I'd rather any savings from Stitt's tax cut be invested in fixing our pothole-ridden public roadways or boosting teacher salaries so we can get more qualified educators in our classrooms. Or perhaps we could invest it in growing other state agencies' budgets. Most of those will remain flat next year, which would be great, except for the fact that everything is getting more expensive. That means they're getting cut. Lawmakers increased public school funding by $25 million, but allocated double that in new money to private schools, which serve only a small fraction of school children. In exchange for that $25 million, public schools will be required to add an instructional day to their school calendar, which will pretty much eliminate any financial benefit from that windfall. Private schools face no such requirement. But even beyond that, this budget inexplicably contains over $750 million in special interest projects. Instead of requiring the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University to fundraise to feed their ambitions, lawmakers think taxpayers should foot the $200 million bill to build OU's new pediatric heart hospital and spend $250 million so OSU can improve its College of Veterinary Medicine. Taxpayers are being asked to subsidize those projects at the same time our state's CareerTech is slated to see its budget reduced by about 8.8%, or by over $17 million. CareerTech is an entity that provides career and technical training to over 520,000 Oklahomans each year, preparing them to work in many of our professions that don't require a traditional college degree, but face critical shortages. Health care would be one of those. Maybe we should fund that and our other core government services adequately before spending $312 million to buy a private prison in Lawton. That purchase sounds like a terrible investment for a state whose voters have signaled at the ballot box that they want to reduce our state's incarceration rates. There wouldn't be a need to buy more prisons if lawmakers are taking that missive seriously. Most years these budget agreements sail through the Legislature, but there are plenty of new faces in the Capitol this year that have proven that they're not afraid to challenge the status quo. No budget agreement should ever be a done deal without giving Oklahomans time to weigh in. Like all budgets, it will still need to clear the committee process, be voted on by both chambers and be acted upon by Stitt. Lawmakers have until 5 p.m. May 30 to pass one. So here's hoping that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle take the time to listen to their constituents and that they're thinking critically about whether all the components of this budget along with the proposed tax cut best position our state for success in future years. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats raise alarm over cutting Oklahoma taxes amid D.C. budgetary uncertainty
Gov. Kevin Stitt announces a budget deal for the 2026 fiscal year on May 14, 2025. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, left, and other legislative leaders joined the governor for the announcement at the state Capitol. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY – Some are questioning the wisdom of Oklahoma Republicans' plans to cut taxes amid the ongoing push for budgetary reform in the nation's Capitol that aims to shift the cost for some high-dollar federal programs onto states. Some critics of the plan to cut Oklahoma's income tax 0.25% said the state will likely need the revenue the existing tax generates if congressional Republicans move forward with plans to require states to bear some costs of programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as SNAP or food stamps. Experts also point to broader economic concerns that the Trump administration's tariffs could increase the costs for goods and reduce consumer spending, resulting in less sales tax revenue. But a top legislative Republican said he is not concerned about the budgetary uncertainty playing out in D.C. Republicans said that now is the right time to cut the state's top income tax rate from 4.75% to 4.5%, which will allow Oklahomans to keep more of their money. They said will grow spending and increase Oklahoma's competitiveness in luring new residents to the state. Gov. Kevin Stitt said the state's income tax used to be 7% and has been gradually reduced. 'And every time we've seen that, the economy continues to expand,' Stitt said. 'We've seen revenue continue to grow.' A family of four with an income of $50,000 would save about $137 a year, according to Senate staff. The Oklahoma Policy Institute, a Tulsa-based think tank, said a 0.25% cut will cost state coffers about $338 million annually. Lawmakers are also discussing reducing the number of income tax brackets to three from six. The organization estimates that it will cost an additional $87 million a year. 'It is not wise at all,' said Aanahita Ervin, the organization's fiscal policy analyst, of making tax cuts this year. 'The (federal) costs are going to impact every state.' Oklahoma Democratic lawmakers are also sounding the alarm, though being in the minority they can do little on their own to stop a tax cut. Under the most current plan, congressional Republicans are hoping to reduce Medicaid spending by about $625 billion, and require states for the first time to contribute to SNAP In Oklahoma, nearly 1 in 4 residents are on Medicaid, and about 17% of people receive food stamps. Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said state leaders don't have enough certainty from Congress to cut taxes right now. 'We won't know the federal budget until after session, so we are making decisions in a vacuum,' she said. Even without tax cuts, Oklahoma would still struggle to cover any federal cost shifts, she said. Kirt said the federal government has sent states billions in pandemic relief dollars. That has propped up budgets, not prudent planning, she said. But Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, who supports the cut, said he isn't worried about the federal uncertainty. 'I don't think it is going to impact this budget year,' Paxton said. 'If anything happens, it will be down the road and give us time to plan for it.' Republicans say the state has about $3.5 billion in savings. House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said Oklahoma voters a few years ago approved Medicaid expansion and enshrined it in the state Constitution, so the legislators must pay for it even if the federal government does not, she said. 'There is a lot of uncertainty with what's happening at the federal level,' she said. Ervin, with the Policy Institute, said it will be difficult for Oklahoma lawmakers to raise taxes if revenue is needed in the future. In 1992, voters passed State Question 640 that required a three-fourths vote in both chambers or a vote of the people to raise taxes, something which has only been done once in three decades. Ervin said lawmakers' first instinct would be to cut services and or rely on savings before raising taxes. 'I think they will exhaust all those options before they even come close to talking about raising taxes,' Ervin said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
