Former Oklahoma Rep. Ayshia “Ajay” Pittman pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges after an investigation found she submitted a forged cashier’s check to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. She admitted to conspiracy, second-degree forgery, and violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act, and agreed to resign from her seat in the House. Pittman received a seven-year deferred sentence and must pay full restitution of misused campaign funds to a charitable organization. The case stems from allegations that she falsified documents while already under an ethics settlement for improper campaign spending.
Oklahoma largely avoided major damage from Winter Storm Fern, despite heavy snow and freezing rain moving through the state.Utility companies reported that nearly all customers kept power, with only a handful of outages statewide. Conditions were far worse in other states, including Texas and Tennessee, where hundreds of thousands lost electricity amid ice and extreme cold. Emergency declarations were issued across much of the country as the storm affected tens of millions of people.
Governor Kevin Stitt signed an executive order launching a broad review of Oklahoma’s welfare programs aimed at increasing transparency, reducing fraud, and encouraging self-sufficiency. The order directs multiple state agencies to examine programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, and WIC, with a focus on eliminating benefit cliffs and improving work incentives. Agencies are required to audit error rates, seek federal waivers for flexibility, and strengthen identity verification and data sharing. Implementation plans and public reporting timelines are also outlined to ensure accountability.
Regulators with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission are weighing a request from Oklahoma Gas and Electric to recover construction costs from customers before new power projects are completed. The request centers on natural gas units at the Horseshoe Lake power plant and would allow charges during construction under the CWIP framework. Consumer groups and commission staff opposed the move, arguing CWIP for these projects was already rejected and could lead to double recovery from ratepayers. After hearing arguments, commissioners chose not to rule immediately and took the request under advisement.
Weekly Wrap Up
Upcoming Deadlines
02/02 at 12:00pm: First Day of the Second Session of the 60th Legislature and Governor to give State of the State Address
02/11: Deadline to File Shell Language and to Change Top Eight Bill Preference (House)
02/16: President’s Day-Legislature Typically in Session
02/19: Deadline for HBs and HJRs to Report Out if Policy Committees and Appropriations Subcommittees (House)
03/05: Deadline for Bills and Joint Resolutions to be Reported from Committee of Origin (Senate)
03/18-20: Legislative Spring Break-House Not in Session (Senate TBD)
03/26: Deadline for Third Reading and Final Passage of Bills and Joint Resolutions by the Chamber of Origin (House and Senate)
To see the full legislative calendar, click the link to view the House Calendar and Senate Calendar.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“In Oklahoma, we know that there is no better social welfare program than a job,” said Governor Stitt regarding his executive order launching a review of Oklahoma’s welfare programs. “We measure compassion by the number of individuals who no longer need welfare assistance because they have become self-reliant through meaningful employment. To that end, I’m instructing our agencies to take steps to reduce fraud and errors, seek federal flexibility, and design incentives that act as trampolines, not hammocks. I’m grateful to legislative leadership for their attention to this issue and I look forward to discussions to make meaningful changes to these programs.”