Latest news with #Oklahomans'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The "Stitt Show" in the Legislature is over, but the governor mostly got his way
The curtain fell on the 'Stitt Show' last week. Because if there's one thing that defined Oklahoma's 2025 annual legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt finally played a starring role after six years in a row of lackluster performance. The Republican adroitly exercised his power to relegate even lawmakers from his own party to supporting roles in their own production. For better or worse, pretty much every major policy passed during the 60th legislative session had his fingerprints all over it. Income tax cuts. Creation of business courts. Four new appointees to the State Board of Education. Stopping the education department's effort to collect information on students' citizenship. Extending the school year by a day. Banning cellphones in schools. Largely ending virtual school days. Flat agency budgets. Check. Check. And more checks. These victories represent an amazing turn of events for the governor, who year after year, has seen some of his major policy priorities — like calls to cut taxes — stymied by fellow Republicans. In prior years he employed one of the few tools a governor has in the Legislature: forcing lawmakers to return to the Capitol to reconsider his top agenda items during special sessions. But his efforts were futile, and those useless special sessions wasted taxpayer dollars with little to show. In fact, Stitt was so pleased with this session's outcomes, he said last week he doesn't see a reason to call a special session. Lawmakers, meanwhile, sat mutely for days as Stitt vetoed their bills or insulted their priorities. As of Thursday morning – the second-to-last day of session – the governor had vetoed nearly 70 bills, the majority of which were authored by Republicans. He also let an astounding number of bills — over 300 at last count — passively take effect without his signature. When asked about his decision to not sign bills, Stitt said those are the measures that he doesn't 'think are going to move the needle.' He also said the people think it's 'super weird' that there are over 500 new laws proposed each year. This is the same governor who vetoed measures that increase women's access to breast cancer screening or that aim to improve Oklahomans' access to the public records. But later Thursday, lawmakers suddenly emerged from their self-imposed supporting role and spent the final full day of session criticizing the governor's decisions. Against Stitt's wishes, they took the rare step of firing his commissioner of mental health after the agency's finances fell into disarray. Allie Friesen's removal marked one of their final actions and sent a clear sign that the honeymoon is apparently over and it might be a rocky interim. They also overrode nearly four dozen of Stitt's vetoes, including the breast cancer and public transparency measures. But it was too little too late. Stitt astutely took advantage of the legislative power vacuum that existed for most of the session to flex his muscles. Republican lawmakers seemingly wandered into session with no large-scale priorities of their own, and even the House speaker acknowledged early Friday that Stitt had emerged from session with what he wanted. Stitt's clear goals must have been a much needed beacon for a rudderless Republican legislative caucus led by new leadership trying to gain their footing and rein in state Superintendent Ryan Walters. Walters, by the way, was the session's biggest loser amid a meteoric fall from grace and the end of his storied bromance with Stitt. The two men found themselves exchanging escalating verbal jabs over the path forward for public schools. Stitt fired the three education board members that backed Walters, and after closed door budget negotiations, lawmakers revealed that they'd rejected most of Walters' budget requests, including spending $3 million on Bibles. Lawmakers also dealt Walters' citizenship collection rule the coup de grace. But whether the 2025 'Stitt Show' will go down in infamy or herald a renaissance remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, this session will certainly be the one that defines Stitt's legacy in years to come. Only time will tell if he's remembered as the ultimate champ or biggest chump. Janelle Stecklein is editor of Oklahoma Voice. An award-winning journalist, Stecklein has been covering Oklahoma government and politics since moving to the state in 2014 This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: No special session needed. Governor got what he wanted | Opinion
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma's legislative session went Gov. Kevin Stitt's way, even with minor revolts at the end
Gov. Kevin Stitt jokingly shakes Rep. Trey Caldwell's hand on Wednesday after learning that he hadn't yet vetoed any of Caldwell's bills during session. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice) The curtain fell on the 'Stitt Show' last week. Because if there's one thing that defined Oklahoma's 2025 annual legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt finally played a starring role after six years in a row of lackluster performance. The Republican adroitly exercised his power to relegate even lawmakers from his own party to supporting roles in their own production. For better or worse, pretty much every major policy passed during the 60th legislative session had his fingerprints all over it. Income tax cuts. Creation of business courts. Four new appointees to the State Board of Education. Stopping the education department's effort to collect information on students' citizenship. Extending the school year by a day. Banning cellphones in schools. Largely ending virtual school days. Flat agency budgets. Check. Check. And more checks. These victories represent an amazing turn of events for the governor, who year after year, has seen some of his major policy priorities — like calls to cut taxes — stymied by fellow Republicans. In prior years he employed one of the few tools a governor has in the Legislature: forcing lawmakers to return to the Capitol to reconsider his top agenda items during special sessions. But his efforts were futile, and those useless special sessions wasted taxpayer dollars with little to show. In fact, Stitt was so pleased with this session's outcomes, he said last week he doesn't see a reason to call a special session. Lawmakers, meanwhile, sat mutely for days as Stitt vetoed their bills or insulted their priorities. As of Thursday morning – the second-to-last day of session – the governor had vetoed nearly 70 bills, the majority of which were authored by Republicans. He also let an astounding number of bills — over 300 at last count — passively take effect without his signature. When asked about his decision to not sign bills, Stitt said those are the measures that he doesn't 'think are going to move the needle.' He also said the people think it's 'super weird' that there are over 500 new laws proposed each year. This is the same governor who vetoed measures that increase women's access to breast cancer screening or that aim to improve Oklahomans' access to the public records. But later Thursday, lawmakers suddenly emerged from their self-imposed supporting role and spent the final full day of session criticizing the governor's decisions. Against Stitt's wishes, they took the rare step of firing his commissioner of mental health after the agency's finances fell into disarray. Allie Friesen's removal marked one of their final actions and sent a clear sign that the honeymoon is apparently over and it might be a rocky interim. They also overrode nearly four dozen of Stitt's vetoes, including the breast cancer and public transparency measures. But it was too little too late. Stitt astutely took advantage of the legislative power vacuum that existed for most of the session to flex his muscles. Republican lawmakers seemingly wandered into session with no large-scale priorities of their own, and even the House speaker acknowledged early Friday that Stitt had emerged from session with what he wanted. Stitt's clear goals must have been a much needed beacon for a rudderless Republican legislative caucus led by new leadership trying to gain their footing and rein in state Superintendent Ryan Walters. Walters, by the way, was the session's biggest loser amid a meteoric fall from grace and the end of his storied bromance with Stitt. The two men found themselves exchanging escalating verbal jabs over the path forward for public schools. Stitt fired the three education board members that backed Walters, and after closed door budget negotiations, lawmakers revealed that they'd rejected most of Walters' budget requests, including spending $3 million on Bibles. Lawmakers also dealt Walters' citizenship collection rule the coup de grace. But whether the 2025 'Stitt Show' will go down in infamy or herald a renaissance remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, this session will certainly be the one that defines Stitt's legacy in years to come. Only time will tell if he's remembered as the ultimate champ or biggest chump. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$25 million in state budget officially approved for teacher pay raise schedule
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Members of the legislature signed off on part of the state's budget Tuesday, dedicating $25 million to public education. It's tied to House Bill 1087, which was authored by Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) and co-authored on the Senate side by Sen. Adam Pugh (R-Edmond). The bill would give long-standing, or senior teachers, an incentive to stay in the classroom by raising the teacher pay raise ceiling. 'We don't want it to go into administration,' said Pugh. 'We don't want it to go into other things that don't directly affect the classroom learning.' Stitt signs bill limiting Oklahomans' access to support ballot initiative petitions In years past, the state's pay raise schedule for teachers allowed a bump in pay each year through 25 years, depending on a person's degree and certification. Now, with the new law, it would extend those increases through 40 years. 'This is specifically focused on keeping our more senior and experienced teachers,' said Pugh. Part of the bill also required schools to add one day to the mandated number of days in the school year. Democratic lawmakers questioned if $25 million would cover the added costs for districts while also allowing for the pay raise for qualified teachers.'So there will be no increase in salary for teachers who would potentially be required to work an additional day,' said Sen. Carri Hicks (D-Oklahoma City). Pugh said lawmakers had already factored that problem into the funding. '[We] are paying above and beyond what it really costs to run a school district,' said Pugh. Oklahoma's starting pay for teachers is a little below $40,000, which has made it hard to compete with salary offers from schools across the region. 'We know that some of our surrounding states are already there, and we're going to have to continue to evaluate that and look for ways to keep our men and women in the classroom,' said Pugh. He pushed to increase starting pay to $50,000 for Oklahoma educators this session, but his bill fell short. Pugh said he intended to bring the bill back up again in the next session. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Legal challenge expected after Oklahoma governor approves initiative petition restrictions
Oklahoma United Founder Margaret Kobos speaks Nov. 19 at a press conference supporting State Question 835, now called 836, that would let voters decide if the state's primary system should be open. (Photo by Barbara Hoberock/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY – A legal challenge is expected after Gov. Kevin signed a measure that puts more restrictions on the process voters use to get issues on the ballot. Critics said Senate Bill 1027, by Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, is an unconstitutional effort to limit Oklahomans' ability to utilize the state's initiative petition process, while supporters said it is necessary to ensure more input from rural counties and to prevent fraud. 'SB 1027 is bad policy,' said Margaret Kobos, founder and CEO of Oklahoma United. 'It suppresses voter input, makes it harder for Oklahomans to hold their elected officials accountable, and sends the message that those in power don't trust the people who put them there. SB 1027 does nothing but prove that Oklahomans' long held distrust of state government is well-earned.' Oklahoma United is a nonpartisan group backing State Question 836 seeking to open Oklahoma primaries. Robert McCampbell, an attorney representing the three petitioners for State Question 836, has said he did an analysis of the bill and found it unconstitutional on a number of fronts. Those include banning out-of-state circulators, per-signature pay, and out-of-state political contributions. He also found that it gives judicial powers to the Secretary of State, which violates the constitution. Oklahoma United said it is preparing for a legal challenge to Senate Bill 1027, but it was not immediately clear who would file a legal challenge and no lawsuit had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon. Currently, there are no limits on where signatures can be collected. The new law, which takes effect immediately, says that to place a measure on the ballot that would change a state statute, no more than 11.5% of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election could come from a single single county. The threshold increases to 20.8% for a constitutional amendment. Those seeking to place items on the ballot would be prohibited from paying petition circulators based on the number of signatures collected. The measure requires sources of payment to circulators to be disclosed and bars out-of-state interests from donating. Petition circulators would have to be registered voters. Finally, the measure would require a political appointee, the Secretary of State, to approve the gist, the brief summary of the ballot measure that voters see at the top of the signature sheet. Bullard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is already extremely difficult for citizens to place measures on the ballot, but voters have successfully used the initiative petition process to circumvent legislators and expand Medicaid, legalize medical marijuana and make reforms to the state's criminal justice system. Raise the Wage Oklahoma collected enough signatures to get State Question 832 seeking to increase the minimum wage on the June 16, 2026 ballot. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court derails taxpayer-funded Catholic school in major First Amendment case
Oklahoma won't be able to open the country's first-ever taxpayer-funded religious public charter school after a surprise tie from the Supreme Court. A 4-4 decision, with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing, avoids a major ruling on First Amendment protections and the separation of church and state. There was no written decision. A single-page announcement of the court's tie did not note which justices voted in support or against the state. The court did not explain Barrett's recusal, but the Donald Trump-appointed justice has ties with Notre Dame Law School, where she earned her law degree. The law school's religious liberty clinic represents the charter school in this case. A lack of a decision means lower court decisions against the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School will stand, with the school violating the Constitution and state law. 'The Supreme Court's stalemate safeguards public education and upholds the separation of church and state,' according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State president Rachel Laser. 'Charter schools are public schools that must be secular and serve all students,' she added. 'St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which planned to discriminate against students, families, and staff and indoctrinate students into one religion, cannot operate as a public charter school. A religious public school would be an abject violation of religious freedom.' The school, backed by Oklahoma's Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, triggered a high-profile legal battle to decide whether public funds can be used to create religious schools, setting up a major test to the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prevents the government from endorsing any religion, as well as the free exercise clause, which bars religious discrimination. Oklahoma's schools, under the direction of controversial superintendent Ryan Walters, have emerged as a testing ground for a growing movement to integrate religion and conservative politics into public education. Last year, Oklahoma's highest court said the school's contract would 'create a slippery slope and what the framers' warned against — the destruction of Oklahomans' freedom to practice religion without fear of governmental intervention.' The school is an 'instrument of the Catholic church, operated by the Catholic church, and will further the evangelizing mission of the Catholic church in its educational programs,' state justices wrote. A decision on Oklahoma's proposal follows a wave of attempts from Republican lawmakers and conservative special interest groups to move public funds into religious education, dovetailing with efforts within the Trump administration and across the country to let families use taxpayer funds to send their children to private school. In 2023, the nation's highest court ruled that the state of Maine cannot exclude private Christian schools from a taxpayer-funded school voucher program that helps students attend private schools, which critics feared could have broader implications over whether the government is obligated to support religious institutions on the same level as private ones. Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent in that case warned that the Supreme Court 'continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build.' 'The consequences of the Court's rapid transformation of the Religion Clauses must not be understated,' she wrote at the time.
