The deadline for bills to be heard in their chamber of origin was filled with filibusters, last-minute amendments, and a fair amount of legislation that did not get heard and will be dormant for the rest of the session. This leaves us with under 300 bills left of concern for our legislative tracking efforts!
Here are some of those that made it through another deadline.
House Floor
The House always has more bills at the start of the process due to their larger numbers. They also had more days in floor session than the Senate this past week, so many more bills were able to be heard on the floor.
House Bill (HB) 3097, by Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (HD 65, Elgin) and Sen. Jerry Alvord (SD 14, Lone Grove) seeks to establish age restrictions on “adult content” on the internet. This bill was heavily debated by several Democrats, with concerns of enforcement method, phishing scams, and privacy concerns. It would require individuals to scan a form of identification to access certain sites on the internet.
HB 3598 would permit law enforcement agencies to look at footage of dashboard and body cameras before releasing the footage. By Rep. Ross Ford (HD 76, Broken Arrow) and Sen. Darrell Weaver (SD 24, Moore), this bill creates concerns of transparency and equity as they would be able to make their own rules for editing and release of the footage. The author claims it is to allow for a report to be able to line up with the footage. Rep. Mickey Dollens and Rep. Regina Goodwin debated against the bill.
HB 1150 by Rep. Charles McCall (HD 22, Atoka) and Sen. Julie Daniels (SD 29, Bartlesville) aims to create a “Foreign Agents Registration Act” and to “provide public transparency for political and propaganda activities” for individuals or entities from “foreign countries of concern”. It passed the house floor with only 11 No votes.
Another heinous bill passed the house floor that many advocates worked hard to prevent. HB 3071 by Rep. Neil Hays (HD 13, Checotah) and Sen. David Bullard (SD 6, Durant) would prohibit the use of state revenues for undocumented folks. The language of the bill focuses on “illegal immigrants” and pushes hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric that harms many communities across our state.
While several bad public health bills have become dormant after this deadline, there are still a few advancing through the process. HB 3013 by Rep. Denise Crosswhite-Hader (HD 41, Yukon) and Sen. David Bullard (SD 6, Durant) looks to create felony charges for the possession, transportation, delivery, or suggestion of an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant person. Oklahoma already ranks as the worst state for women in a variety of categories, including health care and safety. Bills such as these are not helping anyone in our state, especially women. They are further criminalizing pregnant persons and those aiding them, while exacerbating our state’s poor infrastructure for health and wellbeing.
HB 3329 by Rep. Cynthia Roe (HD 42, Lindsay) and Sen. Brenda Stanley (SD 42, OKC), which aims to provide free menstrual products to students in school passed the house, with 55 Yes votes and 35 No votes.
Senate Floor
With a day spent on new budget hearings, and Thursday being dominated by a filibuster from Sen. Nathan Dahm (SD 33, Broken Arrow), the Senate was not able to hear as many bills as people might have preferred.
A positive bill Senate Bill (SB) 1575 by Sen. Julia Kirt (SD 30, OKC) was one such bill caught in the crossfire that failed to get a hearing. It would have extended the timeline for eviction and helped provide relief to many vulnerable Oklahomans.
SB 1677 by Sen. Julie Daniels and Rep. Denise Crosswhite-Hader passed with only 8 no votes. This bill currently has title off, which will need to be re-instated before the final stages. It would prohibit the Department of Human Services (DHS) from denying potential adoptive or foster parents due to their strict religious or moral views on “gender orientation or sexual identity”. The author claims the aim is to help get more children adopted while protecting parent’s rights, but language such as this is increasingly divisive for many already at-risk youths.
From Sen. Warren Hamilton and Rep. John George (SD 7, McCurtain), SB 1579, is related to the Oklahoma Fusion Center, which was established with federal money after 9/11 and is also known as Oklahoma Counterterrorism Center. This would codify this center that exists for collecting information for individuals suspected of “terrorism, threats to public safety, organized crimes, criminal conspiracies, or any other threats of violent crime”. It only received 5 no votes.
SB 1100 by Sen. Paul Rosino (SD 45, OKC) and Rep. Steve Bashore (HD 7, Miami) would add online platforms and social media posts to statutes related to harassment and subsequent suicide. It would also add felony charges in the instance suicide occurred.
One bill that passed unanimously off the floor, SB 325, by Sen. Julie Daniels and Rep. Collin Duel (HD 31, Guthrie). This bill aims to reduce the maximum amount of time a person can be held in jail before being sentenced.
This next week, the legislature will be on Spring Break and will not be in session. The next step is for bills to get heard in committees of the opposite chamber! Just because some of these bills have made it through one chamber, does not guarantee their success on the other side! Committee schedules, caucus meetings, in-fighting and more can alter the course of any legislation overnight.