The latest Oklahoma legislative news from NASL member firm A&A advocates:
As Department of Corrections Director Steven Harpe attempts to change the culture at the Department of Corrections, he’s trying to give the roughly 23,000 inmates in state custody a greater voice in how the prisons operate. Harpe has tapped Nicole Flemming to lead a first-of-its-kind offender advocacy unit tasked with improving the prison environment and inmate well-being by listening to candid feedback from prisoners across the state. Inmates have been reported celebrating Harpe’s reforms and saying corrections officials are taking their concerns seriously and already making improvements as a result.
During a trip to Israel on Thursday, Gov. Kevin Stitt and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott met with Israeli government leaders and spent time in a Tel Aviv hospital visiting victims and families impacted by the Israel-Hamas war. Abegail Cave, a spokeswoman for Stitt, said she could not confirm Stitt’s itinerary for security reasons. Oklahoma Israel Exchange Executive Director Edie Roodman expressed hope the trip would spur more economic connections between the state and Israel.
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences aims to recruit and graduate medical students from underserved Oklahoma communities to reduce health disparities across the state through a new initiative that will recruit medical students from tribal, rural and medically underserved communities with the goal that those students will return to practice medicine in their home communities. OU will receive $16 million over four years from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to accomplish their goals.
On Wednesday, State Superintendent Ryan Walters said he received a call from former President Donald Trump this week and would join the former president’s reelection team. Walters has long been a supporter of the former president, often echoing Trump’s conservative brand of politics and pro-America approach to education. Presidents often look to officials who endorsed their campaign when making appointments to their Cabinet, putting Walters in a potentially advantageous position should Trump win the 2024 presidential election.