Articles
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Law & Principles
Measures to reduce government regulation pass committee
A state Senate committee approved measures that would restrain the growth of state government regulations and repeal many existing regulations to reduce the size of state government.Ray Carter | February 13, 2025
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Law & Principles
Lawsuit reform moves ahead in Senate
Oklahoma lawmakers are advancing SB 1065, a bill that would cap noneconomic damages at $500,000 in civil lawsuits, aiming to prevent excessive "jackpot" jury awards that drive businesses away and hurt the state’s economy.Ray Carter | February 13, 2025
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Budget & Tax
Effort to end electric-car subsidy advances
Electric-car manufacturers would no longer receive taxpayer subsidies from the Oklahoma Quick Action Closing Fund under a bill approved by a Senate committee. Meanwhile, another bill to require transparency in the awarding of state incentives failed to advance.Ray Carter | February 12, 2025
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Education
Oklahoma House, Senate advance school-board election reform
Committees in both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the state Senate have advanced bills that would move school-board elections to the November ballot to dramatically increase voter participation.Ray Carter | February 11, 2025
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Ban on men in women’s prisons clears committee
Legislation that would prevent officials from housing “transgender women”—men who self-identify as females—alongside women in state prisons has advanced from an Oklahoma Senate committee.Ray Carter | February 11, 2025
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Culture & the Family
Christian foster parents’ rights preserved by Oklahoma bill
Christian couples could not be required to set aside their religious beliefs about transgenderism in order to serve as foster or adoptive parents in Oklahoma under legislation approved by a Senate committee.Ray Carter | February 10, 2025
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Education, Law & Principles
Oklahoma lawmakers oppose schools teaching on evils of communism
Members of a House subcommittee have voted to kill legislation that would require Oklahoma schools to teach children about the evils of communism.Ray Carter | February 10, 2025
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Energy, Culture & the Family
Court ruling a warning for Oklahoma state pensions
A recent ruling by a U.S. District Court validates Oklahoma’s anti-ESG law and fires a warning shot across the bow for the managers of state pension systems.Jonathan Small | February 10, 2025
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Education
Private schools excelling as public schools fall, test shows
Results from the Nation’s Report Card show that academic outcomes in Oklahoma have plunged—despite massive spending increases for Oklahoma public schools. One bright spot: private Catholic schools dramatically outperformed their public-school counterparts.Ray Carter | February 7, 2025
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Budget & Tax
No, tax cuts didn’t cause Oklahoma budget deficits
Over the last 20 years, as Oklahoma reduced its income tax from a top rate of 7 percent to 4.75 percent, state government revenue has continued to grow.Curtis Shelton | February 6, 2025