NASL member firm A&A Advocates shares the latest Oklahoma legislative news below:
Oklahomans in 24 counties headed to the polls on Tuesday for a special election—voters considered many issues, including a $52 million school bond package in Broken Arrow; a 15-year, one-cent sales tax increase in Skiatook; a $22.5 million bond to construct a new athletic complex in Minco; and an extension of a one-tenth of a penny sales tax to support 12 rural fire departments in Garfield county. View the results here.
The Muscogee Nation filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in Tulsa against the city, Mayor G.T. Bynum, Chief of Police Wendell Franklin and City Attorney Jack Blair—arguing Tulsa police are continuing to ticket Native American drivers within the tribe’s reservation boundaries despite a recent federal appeals court ruling that they lacked jurisdiction to do so. Since that ruling, Tulsa began referring felony and criminal misdemeanor offenses by Native Americans within Muscogee boundaries to the tribe for prosecution, but has declined to refer traffic offenses, according to the lawsuit.
Last week, Gov. Kevin Stitt sent a video to the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission’s annual meeting and gamefowl show, encouraging the agriculture industry and rural economies. While the video has received backlash from some Oklahoma leaders, the governor stood strong, advocating for the protection of about5,000 game fowl farmers and a primary driver for the state’s economy.
An Oklahoma City electric vehicle company, Canoo, announced it had manufactured three vehicles in the state this week—the first Oklahoma-made automobiles since 2006. The announcement marked a significant milestone for both Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma’s economic development officials, as they have continued to champion an increased automobile market and reputation for diversified energy in the state.
“Whether you support capital punishment or not, the system is badly broken. It’s so broken that we can’t know if someone who has been sentenced to death is actually deserving of the ultimate penalty the state can impose. And until significant reforms have occurred, I suggest the Legislature adopt a moratorium on executions.”– Former U.S. Magistrate Judge and former co-chairman of the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission Andy Lester on Oklahoma executions.