Committees

OKLAHOMA CITY – Newly elected Rep. Sam Wargin Grimaldo, D-Oklahoma City, took his oath of office on Friday in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He was elected during the June primary elections to represent House District 92. “I’m thrilled to welcome Rep. Sam Wargin Grimaldo to the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus,” said House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City. ”The House Democratic Caucus is committed to finding solutions to the problems everyday Oklahomans face–whether that be looking at ways to make life more affordable for working families, expanding access to healthcare, or increasing funding for our public schools–to best represent and serve Oklahomans in the State Legislature. I know Rep. Wargin Grimaldo will help to accomplish these goals and more as he serves Oklahoma and House District 92.” Wargin Grimaldo was born and raised in south Oklahoma City and has a passion for serving and supporting communities in the Southside. “Growing up in south Oklahoma City, I experienced firsthand the power of a diverse and hardworking community and what it means to give back to that community,” said Rep. Sam Wargin Grimaldo. “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the Southside and work to ensure those in my district have someone in the State Capitol who understands their needs and brings them to the table. Oklahomans deserve a government they can hold accountable, access to quality public education, and civil rights protection. I am eager to get to work on these issues and more during my time in the State Legislature.” Wargin Grimaldo is a father and a criminal defense and immigration attorney. Formerly a teacher at Oklahoma City Public Schools, he is dedicated to helping advance public education in Oklahoma. Wargin Grimaldo also worked as an education advocate with the GEAR UP program at UCO before going on to be a bilingual public school teacher and then earning his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.  Wargin Grimaldo will join the Oklahoma Legislative Latino Caucus (OLLC), currently composed of Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman, and Sen. Michael Brooks-Jimenez, D-Oklahoma City.  “I am proud to welcome Sam to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. For years I have seen him championing the needs of our community in the Southside of OKC. From grassroots advocacy to professional service, I look forward to continue our work at the Capitol.” — Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval “Sam’s commitment, whether in the classroom as a school teacher or the courtroom as a criminal defense attorney is a true example of exactly what our state needs. He has always shown up for people, and I’m excited to see him show up for them in the legislature.” — Rep. Annie Menz “As someone who has been deeply engaged in the Southside community, I have seen firsthand the impact that dedicated leaders like Sam can make. I know his years in the classroom to the work he does as an attorney will make him an effective leader at the Capitol.” — Sen. Michael Brooks -END-

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement after new data showed the tax-funded private school voucher, or Parental Choice Tax Credit, is mainly going toward the wealthiest families.  “This new data, while upsetting and an indictment of what happens when we use public tax dollars to fund private education, is not surprising,” said Leader Munson. “Before the tax credit was expanded to $275M this session, there were reports showing that 90% of the tax credit recipients were already sending their children to private schools. Now, we are seeing even fewer lower- and middle-income families receive this credit—as Republicans supporting it claimed would help. Public school teachers and support staff are still not getting the pay they deserve while class sizes continue to grow and resources become limited. $275M would be transformative for our public schools, but instead, those millions in public tax dollars are going to families who do not need it. It is unacceptable. “We knew this would happen, but seeing this data is no less discouraging. Our public education system has no chance of advancing from dead last in the national ranking when the legislature prioritizes allocating public dollars to private schools. Every additional dollar for public education this session was attached to a new mandate by the legislature. If we want to use our public dollars for private schools, we should require the same transparency and oversight as our public schools. Until then, we will continue to see reports that show Oklahoma taxpayers subsidizing private school tuition for the wealthiest among us.” -END-

OKLAHOMA CITY – Just a day after winning reelection to his House seat, Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, filed an appeal of another ruling of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He was joined by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore. A June 11 OCC ruling denied the intervention of customers trying to participate in the latest rate case for Oklahoma Natural Gas Company (ONG). The utility is seeking a $29 million rate increase. If approved, it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years, increasing customer bills by more than $128 million. Often joined by Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener, Gann, West and West now have eleven OCC utility appeals pending before the state’s highest court. This latest appeal , filed June 17, brings the total amount of ONG, OG&E and PSO customer payments the representatives have challenged to $500 million in rate increases, $3.2 billion in 2021 Winter Storm bonds, $11 billion in fuel charges, and $1.3 billion in new capacity preapprovals. Six of those appeals are now fully briefed and under consideration by the Supreme Court. “The feedback we’ve received from constituents has been great,” said Kevin West. “Oklahomans appreciate that we aren’t just talking about standing up for them and fighting against inflated utility bills, we’re actually doing it.” “The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition . They go on to describe how the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case, but only set it after that deadline had already passed. ONG’s customers were not even notified about the case until late April.  “This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.” At a June 11, 2026, OCC hearing, an attorney for ONG challenged Gann’s Entry of Appearance filed in the case, arguing he had missed the March 27 deadline to intervene. Gann responded by arguing that as an ONG customer entitled to personal notice in the case, his was an “intervention of right” under the law, not subject to that deadline anyway.  “Oklahoma Administrative Code 165:5-9-4(d)(2) expressly permits ‘a person entitled to personal notice in a case’ to ‘become a party of record by filing an entry of appearance or orally stating an entry of appearance at any proceeding regarding the case without needing to file a motion for intervention,’” Gann later wrote in exceptions he filed objecting to the ruling. The OCC administrative law judge who ruled against him made no mention of that law in her ruling or addressed the fact that the OCC set an intervention deadline that had already passed. Instead, she went on to dismiss Gann’s filed motions and objections as well. Immediately after formally preventing Gann from participating, the OCC conducted an eight-minute Hearing on the Merits with no witness testimony or cross-examination at which the utility, OCC Public Utility Division and the state's attorney general all agreed ONG’s latest $29 million rate increase should be approved exactly as requested by the utility. The commissioners are expected to make a final decision later this year. Gann and more than 300 Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) customers have filed similar entries in PSO’s latest rate case at the OCC in which that utility is seeking an additional $600 million rate increase. With the OCC’s blessing, PSO also did not notify customers about its rate case until after the deadline to intervene had already passed. Those entries, many from residential customers opposed to subsidizing electricity for the proposed Emirates Global Aluminum smelter, are being challenged by PSO with a hearing in that case set for 1:30 p.m. June 25. ONG, the OCC and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal. All the utility appeals can be followed at the Oklahoma Supreme Court: PSO rate case ($250m rate increases; $700m bonds; initial decision 4/21/2026; reconsideration pending): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=122861 ONG, PSO & OG&E CY2023 fuel cases ($1.5 billion; all briefs filed): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=122991 OG&E rate case ($127m rate increase; $760m bonds; all briefs filed): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123021 ONG rate case ($98m rate increases; $1.3 billion bonds; all briefs filed): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123348 ONG CY2024 fuel case ($390 million + $888m for 2021/2022; first brief filed): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123588 OG&E CY2024 fuel case ($925 million + $1.9 billion for 2021/2022; first brief filed): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123608 PSO CY2024 fuel case ($600 million + $2.8 billion for 2021/2022; briefs this fall): https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123905 PSO Preapproval case ($1.255 billion; briefs this winter) https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=124090 ONG Intervention Denial case ($29 million rate increase) https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=124164