Committees

Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, today condemned the governor's veto of House Bill 3320, a move Osburn said ignores the need for smarter, more effective government. HB3320  would establish a sunset review process for all statutorily created entities, requiring them to demonstrate a clear public need to continue operating. After legislative review, entities must implement any required changes within one year or be dissolved. "The governor's veto of House Bill 3320 is a deeply misguided move that prioritizes outdated bureaucracy over meaningful, effective governance. "Under the current sunset process, the Legislature spends numerous hours every year considering dozens of sunset renewals bills without any actual teeth beyond allowing them to entirely expire. HB3320 was designed to bring Oklahoma’s oversight process into the modern era. Instead, the governor chose to protect a broken, bureaucratic ritual that produces more paperwork than progress. "Let me be clear: every agency, board and commission remains subject to open meetings, public records laws, audits and legislative scrutiny at any time. This bill would have allowed the Legislature to focus on underperforming agencies, requiring specific changes and better accountability rather than wasting time on agencies that are already operating efficiently. The governor’s veto rejects a streamlined approach in favor of maintaining an arbitrary system and continues uncertainty surrounding the very boards and commissions that regulate critical services across our state. "The Legislature, and the people of Oklahoma, must continue pushing for reforms that make government more accountable and focused on results. The governor could share in this effort but instead chose the status quo." Osburn quoted former President Ronald Reagan: "The people are the government. What we create we ought to be able to control." He also pointed to the governor's veto last year of a bill extending the operations of the Oklahoma State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering, a move that risked the livelihoods of more than 77,000 Oklahomans and could have risked the health of thousands of citizens.  Legislative action  was taken to allow the Board to continue operating. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, is calling for an Elector Bill of Rights to affirm that every Oklahoma voter has the right to be fully represented by the elected official they sent to the Capitol. Gann said the proposal is aimed at House rules that restrict ordinary members from freely making motions, forcing accountability, advancing district concerns or seeking recorded votes without procedural permission from leadership.  “The people do not elect representatives to come to the Capitol and ask permission to represent them,” Gann said. “They elect us to speak, question, amend, move, object and demand accountability. When a House rule hinders a representative, it does not merely burden that member — it burdens the voters who sent that member here.” The Elector Bill of Rights is built on a simple principle: the right to vote includes the continuing right to be represented after the election is over. Gann said internal House rules should organize the legislative process, not suppress the voice of districts whose representatives are outside leadership or outside favored committees. “Every elector has the right to equal representation,” Gann said. “That means their representative should not be reduced to a passive observer, a silent voter or a member dependent on leadership permission to act.” The proposed Elector Bill of Rights declares that Oklahoma voters have the right to:  Have their representative treated as an equal member of the House; Expect their representative to speak, question, amend, object and seek votes; Know who supports, opposes, delays or blocks legislation; See important public questions debated and voted on in public; Have committee and floor decisions made with transparency and accountability; Be protected from internal rules that concentrate legislative power in the hands of a few. Gann said House Resolution 1002 , the current House rules package, has shifted too much power away from individual members and toward leadership-controlled gatekeeping. “When legislation can be stalled without a committee vote, without a floor vote and without a public explanation, the people lose accountability,” Gann said. “That is not just a procedural problem. It is a representation problem.” Gann said the Elector Bill of Rights reframes the debate over House rules. The issue is not merely whether a legislator has been inconvenienced, but whether the citizens of that district are receiving the full representation they voted for. “The elector’s right is not merely the right to cast a ballot every two years,” Gann said. “It is the right to be represented every day the House is in session.”  Gann said he will continue advocating for rules reform that restores member equality, protects open debate and ensures public accountability.  “A rule that silences a representative does not just silence one member,” Gann said. “It silences the district that sent that member here.”

OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure that would give Oklahoma families an additional end-of-life option while ensuring the process is governed by strong commonsense safeguards is now headed to the governor's desk for final approval. House Bill 3660 , authored by Rep. Eddy Dempsey, R-Valliant, would allow those who want additional options for their loved ones to do so with confidence that those options are safe and responsibly managed. "This bill is about compassion, dignity and respecting the wishes of Oklahoma families during some of the hardest moments of their lives," Dempsey said in a statement. "Families deserve the freedom to choose how they honor and lay their loved ones to rest without unnecessary government interference. At the same time, this legislation puts clear standards in place so these services are handled safely, professionally and with the respect every family deserves." Several House members debated in favor of the bill and addressed what Rep. Jonathan Wilk, R-Goldsby, described as misinformation. "Last time it was presented to this body, we heard a lot of lies, to be honest with you," Wilk said. "Lies that it had to do with humanure. That's absolutely not true. It's nowhere in that bill. Lies that it had to do with using human remains as fertilizer. That's a point-blank lie. None of that is true. There's two things that the government should stay out of: it's coming into this world and leaving this world." In his closing debate, Dempsey reiterated that the bill provides freedom to Oklahomans looking for additional end-of-life options. "All this started with is a bald-faced lie," Dempsey argued. "This is just another option for us for our families if you want it. Nobody is forcing you to do this. I've heard that funeral homes don't want to buy the equipment. Nobody's forcing the funeral homes buy the equipment. But this is the option for us, for our citizens, for equal rights. Give it back to us." HB3660 passed 58-35 and now heads to the governor's desk for final approval.