February, the opening of the state’s legislative session, is a busy month for the CAIR Oklahoma Government Affairs Department. Of the over 4,000 bills and resolutions filed in January, fewer than half will proceed to the next step in the legislative process. The remainder are “dead,” meaning they will not move forward this year; however, they may come back next year during the second session of the 60th legislature.
Of the bills that moved forward in February, a few items of concern remain on our radar.
Immigration
Immigrants remain a target for lawmakers at the Capitol, at the state as well as the federal level. A number of measures targeting our immigrant community remain alive.
- HB 1362 (Hardin, D) – Creates a new felony category for “being present illegally”; does not require conviction, only a charge. Do Pass House Oversight, Judiciary & Public Safety (2/27/25)
- HB 1546 (Patzkowsky, K) – Declares a number of foreign nations, including China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, to be “foreign government adversaries” and restricts individuals from those countries from owning land in the state of Oklahoma. Do Pass House Oversight Judiciary & Public Safety (2/27/25)
- SB 868 (Frix, A) – Prohibits “sanctuary cities” (of which there are none in Oklahoma) Do Pass Senate Judiciary (3/4/25)
Palestine
A few bills remain alive that would enshrine the problematic IHRA definition of antisemitism into state statute – including the “contemporary examples” clauses, which include criticism of the state of Israel. This means that our advocates who are standing up for Palestinian liberation could face expulsion, their universities investigated by the Department of Justice, or even hate crime charges for their activism. We are firmly opposed to antisemitism and anti-Jewish hatred; we are just as firmly opposed to any measure which attacks our First Amendment rights to protest, speak, write, and publish in support of our Palestinian community.
- SB 942 (Thompson, K) – Defines antisemitism using IHRA at colleges and universities, directs them to investigate said antisemitism, and subjects colleges and universities to DOJ scrutiny if they fail to do so. Do Pass Senate Education (2/19/25)
- SB 991 (Thompson, K) – Adopts IHRA definition of antisemitism into state statute for the purpose of tracking and reporting incidents in the state. Do Pass Senate Judiciary (2/19/25)
- HB 1218 (West, K) – Adopts IHRA definition of antisemitism for the purposes of tracking and reporting hate crimes and discrimination. Do pass House Oversight (3/6/25)
We encourage our community to stand firm against these measures and to contact your Senators and Representatives to share your perspective.
Public Health
CAIR Oklahoma remains an advocate for legislation that promotes healthy families, maintains medical privacy for patients, and ensures equal and fair access to medical treatment and decision-making across all Oklahoma’s residents. A number of anti-abortion bills have passed through committee and will head to the floor of the House and Senate for debate. In addition, a new trend is for “personal beliefs” or “personal morals” to be a reason that a physician or provider can refuse medical services to a patient.
- HB 1008 (Olsen, J & Bullard, D) – Modifies abortion exception standards, prioritizing the life of both the mother and the child, only allowing abortion when the baby is a direct threat to the mother. Do Pass House Oversight (2/26/25)
- HB 1168 (Crosswhite-Hader, D & Bullard, D) – Criminalizes the transport or delivery of abortion-inducing drugs with the intent of performing an abortion. Do Pass House Oversight (3/6/25)
- HB 1169 (Crosswhite-Hader, D & Bullard, D) – Repeals existing laws regulating abortion-inducing drugs. Do Pass House Oversight (3/5/25)
- HB 1224 (West, K & Rosino, P) – Grants healthcare providers and payors the right to refuse participation in procedures conflicting with their personal beliefs. Do Pass House Oversight (3/3/25)
- SB 176 (Dossett, J) – Mandates health benefit plans to cover a three-month initial supply and a twelve-month resupply of contraceptives. Do Pass House Oversight as amended Senate Business & Insurance (2/27/25)
Housing
We promote legislation that would make housing more accessible to vulnerable Oklahomans, protect tenants from punitive or predatory landlords, and ensure that all Oklahoma residents have access to a roof over their head where they can live with dignity and in safety. We are supporting a number of measures, including a bill that would extend the timeline for eviction and allow tenants more time to get caught up on rent payments; a bill which expands legal aid funding to include eviction defense for indigent residents; and slightly increasing the fee for rent-related small claims court cases, making landlords more likely to work with tenants instead of hauling them to court.
- HB 1129 (Pogemiller, E & Rader, D) – Increases fees for small claims court cases. Do Pass as substituted House Oversight (2/27/25)
- HB 2014 (Pae, D & Frix, A) – Expands legal aid funding to include eviction defense for indigent individuals. Do Pass as substituted House Appropriations (3/5/25)
- SB 128 (Kirt, J & Pae, D) – Adjusts court scheduling requirements for legal proceedings involving housing disputes. Do Pass Senate Judiciary (3/4/25)
Voting
Voting is one of the most crucial rights for Oklahomans. We support measures that would make voting more accessible, and we oppose any legislation that would keep voters away from the polls due to intimidation, weaken the citizen initiative petition process, or place additional barriers to voter registration or participation.
- HB 1005 (Olsen, J) – Directs Service Oklahoma to develop a statewide voter photo ID system.Do Pass as substituted” (2/26/25).
- HB 1007 (Olsen, J) – Declares school and university-issued IDs invalid for voting. Do Pass House Oversight (3/4/25).
- HB 2191 (Wolfley, M) – Requires notaries handling more than 20 absentee ballot affidavits per election to submit their logs. Do Pass as substituted (2/27/25)
- SB 524 (Weaver, D) – Allows the carrying of firearms at polling places, raising concerns about voter intimidation. Do Pass as substituted Senate Public Safety (2/19/25)
First Amendment
As a civil rights organization, we are concerned about current measures which would restrict rights protected by the First Amendment, such as the freedom of speech, expression, religion, and protest. A concerning trend at the legislature is the unconstitutional favoring of one religious viewpoint to the exclusion of others. Another concern is the curtailing of “DEI” initiatives, restricting the right of schools, universities, and other institutions to increase the diversity of their body and to ensure that all Oklahomans are welcome.
- SB 796 (Pugh, A) – Bans state-funded institutions from promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Do Pass Senate Education (3/4/25).
- SB 244 (Daniels, J) – Establishes a School of American Civic Thought and Leadership at OU to promote certain historical perspectives. Do pass as amended Senate Education (2/25/25); originally by Pugh, R
- SB 1006 (Bullard, D) – Prohibits state agencies from engaging in DEI programs or policies. Do Pass Senate Retirement & Gov Resources (2/19/25)
We strongly encourage our community to contact their legislators to ensure these bills do not proceed further.
Criminal Legal Reform
Changes to our criminal legal system have been at the forefront of policy advocates for many years. We welcome moves that will reduce the harshly punitive approach to criminal justice and that will move our state to a more equitable rehabilitative method. We are concerned about moves at the legislature to increase the penalty for any offense, particularly nonviolent offenses, as our overcrowded prison population is a blight on our state’s history. We also remain concerned about the encroachment of law enforcement at every level on our Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
- HB 1163 (Gann, T) – Reduces the weight threshold for aggravated marijuana trafficking from 1,000 to 25 pounds. Do Pass as substituted House Oversight (2/27/25)
- HB 1592 (George, J & Weaver, D) – Establishes organized retail crime definitions, expands robbery laws, and modifies the Organized Retail Crime Task Force. Passed/Adopted (3/5/25) & Received in the Senate (3/6/25)
- HB 1597 (George, J & Weaver, D) – Creates a misdemeanor offense for obstructing or harassing first responders after being warned. Do Pass House Oversight (2/25/25)
- HB 1993 (Turner, T) – Clarifies law enforcement vehicle light displays used to command vehicles to stop. Do Pass House Oversight (3/4/25)
- HB 2169 (Pfeiffer, J & Weaver, D) – Increases fees and percentages related to the Drug Money Laundering and Wire Transmitter Act. Do Pass House Oversight (2/27/25)
- HB 2720 (Ford, R & Hamilton, W) – Establishes the Targeted Violence Prevention Act under the Department of Homeland Security. Do Pass House Oversight (3/4/25)
- SB 766 (Hamilton, W) – Expands Homeland Security’s role in tracking threats to public safety. Do Pass as substituted Senate Public Safety (3/4/25)
- SB 871 (Reinhardt, A & George, J) – Revises penalties for fleeing a peace officer. Do Pass as substituted Senate Public Safety (2/19/25)
Good progress
A few measures are moving that we feel represent progress on behalf of all Oklahoma’s communities. Advocates across the state have worked hard to see these measures move forward. Some are the product of many years of advocacy, slowly and gradually moving the needle in our state. We encourage you to reach out to the lawmakers who sponsor these bills and to contact your own elected leader to encourage them to keep these bills moving.
- SB 601 (Rader, D & Williams, D) – Places a moratorium on death penalty executions and creates a reform task force. Do Pass as substituted Senate Judiciary (3/4/25)
- HB 2235 (Munson, C & Daniels, J) – Modifies wrongful conviction provisions, setting hearing timelines and increasing restitution. Do Pass as substituted House Appropriations (3/5/25)
- SB 1057 (Goodwin, D) – Modifies the Greenwood Historical District License Plate to honor Tulsa’s Black history. Do Pass Senate Aeronautics & Transportation (2/10/25)
- HB 1833 (Hefner, E & Kirt, J) – Creates a task force to phase out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities. Do Pass as substituted House Oversight (2/27/25)
- SB 1054 (Goodwin, R & Lowe, J) – Expands eligibility for the Tulsa Reconciliation Education and Scholarship program and creates an advisory committee for recommendations. Do Pass as amended Senate Education (3/4/25)
Other notable bills
In addition to the areas listed here and in our Policy Platform, we track other bills that are of interest to our community or that reflect new trends at the legislature.
- SB 1105 (Prieto, D) – Adds “President Donald J Trump day” to the state calendar as a holiday.
- HB 1126 (Grego, J), HB 2829 (Burns, T), and SB 96 (Olsen, J) – all prohibit the sale and cultivation of cell-cultured or lab grown meat, and require the disclosure by vendors if their product contains it.
- SB 1118 (Howard, B and Duel, C), HJR1024 (Moore, A), – seeking to change the Judicial Nominating Commission by forcing justices to retire at age 75 or by abolishing the JNC.
Movement at the legislature is not always easy to track. We do our best to keep you updated and informed of legislation as it moves through the process of becoming law, which will affect every resident within our state. Now is the time to get connected to your legislators and to make your voice heard on these, or any other issues that affect you, your family, and your community.
Connect with the CAIR Oklahoma Government Affairs Department today to learn more: govaffairs@ok.cair.com
Thanks to Missy Washington and Tye Reynolds, our Spring 2025 Policy & Advocacy Interns, for compiling this report!