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Oklahoma House of Representatives Speaker-Designate Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, released the following statement regarding Tuesday's general election results: "This week was strong for House Republicans, as we secured 81 out of the 101 seats in the Chamber. Our candidates ran phenomenal campaigns and voters locally and nationally made it clear they support our conservative vision. Our caucus is ready to work with President Trump, our Congressional delegation, the state Senate and the Governor to continue building on the great momentum we have behind us in Oklahoma." The House will conduct its oath of office ceremony for members of the 60th Legislature at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the House Chamber. The deadline for House members to request the drafting of House Bills and Joint Resolutions is Friday, Dec. 6. The deadline to file bills and joint resolutions is 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. The House will officially convene for its constitutionally-required Organizational Day on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, and the First Session of the 60th Legislature reconvenes on Monday, Feb. 3.

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, released the following statement regarding the passing of Judy Love, co-founder of Love’s Travel Stops: “Judy Love not only founded a company that has provided tens of thousands of jobs across our country, she poured herself into our state, and the Oklahoma City community, impacting millions of lives. Judy created jobs in some of the most rural parts of Oklahoma, like my hometown of Atoka, impacting the economy and changing lives for the better. Her commitment to community involvement, and helping provide a better life for the less fortunate, will be felt for generations. I want to extend my deepest condolences to her family during this difficult time.”

OKLAHOMA CITY – A law requiring state agency directors to certify their agency's annual budget is filed with the state Department of Libraries within the time required under state law takes effect today. House Bill 3113, authored by Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, requires agency executive directors to certify their agency is in compliance with the Oklahoma State Government Open Documents Initiative when they submit their annual agency budgets to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and the Legislature. "We found not all agencies were filing their budgets with the Department of Libraries and thereby giving the public online access, or they were woefully behind in doing so," Gann said. "If the agency head has to sign off on the process, it is more likely to not be overlooked." The amended law says the officer shall certify the agency is in complete compliance with the requirements of Title 62 Section 34.11.3, which requires an electronic copy to be online at documents.ok.gov, and Title 65 Section 3-114, which requires hard copies to be placed in the Department of Libraries if for any reason an electronic version cannot be filed. Gann stated requiring the certification of this process by the agency head will ensure state agencies budgets are filed for public view and access in a timely manner. The law already requires agencies to file budgets with the director of the state's Office of Management and Enterprise Services on or before the first day of June in each year, or as soon thereafter as possible. Copies of all agency budgets also shall be made available electronically to the staff of the Joint Legislative Committee on Budget and Program Oversight. The agency budget shall include a description of all funds available to the agency for expenditure and set out allotments requested by the agency by quarter and the entire fiscal year. The budget is to be accompanied by an organizational chart of the agency, a statement of agency mission and program objectives. The budget also shall delineate agency spending by such categories and with at least as much detail as is specified in the legislative appropriation and as prescribed by the director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans will fall back an hour Sunday morning, and they're scheduled still to spring forward an hour March 9, 2025. This is because of the Legislature's refusal to adopt meaningful legislation on daylight saving time, according to Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore. West has authored several bills that would send to a vote of the people a question on whether to adopt permanent standard time in Oklahoma, stopping the twice-yearly time change. The measures have not advanced through the legislative process. Instead, last session, the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law Senate Bill 1200. The measure specifies that should a federal law ever authorize states to observe daylight saving time year-round, Oklahoma shall adopt it as the year-round standard of time. "This is a terrible idea and a do-nothing law," West said. "We tried this in the past and had to petition the federal government to repeal it because of the problems caused by it remaining dark until after 8 a.m. in the winter." West said in 1974 the entire nation was mandated to go to daylight saving time. In the winter of 1974, several states, including Oklahoma, petitioned the federal government to end it after complaints of children going to school in the dark and employees starting the work day before the sun rose. The act ultimately was repealed in 1975. Federal law allows states to be on standard time year-round. Arizona, Hawaii and most U.S. territories currently do this. The law requires states that wish to adopt daylight saving time year-round to ask permission from the government to do so, but so far the federal government has not granted any of these requests. West also pointed out that the Sunshine Protection Act in Congress would require states to be on daylight saving time year-round. The act would allow states to not participate only if they take legislative action to do so. The act has not passed. States that choose not to opt out of daylight saving time are required to set their clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. the second Sunday of March each year and back an hour at 2 a.m. the first Sunday of November. "I've heard from numerous constituents, parents and business owners over the course of my legislative service that there is a strong desire to stop the changing of the clocks," West said. "The only way to accomplish that is to switch to permanent standard time. I've proposed several measures that would accomplish this, but we must have the legislative boldness to put this question before Oklahomans." West has studied the issue in detail. In a previous legislative study, he invited experts to discuss the science of time change and the detriments of changing the clock twice yearly. The U.S. Congress first implemented daylight saving time through the Standard Time Act in 1918 during World War I as a way to "add" more daylight hours to conserve energy. The act also established five time zones across the U.S. The Uniform Time Act in 1966 mandated the country use daylight saving time but allowed states to opt out and to stay on standard time year-round. The thought behind daylight saving time is that by setting the clocks back an hour in November, more daylight time is gained in the early mornings. When an hour is added in March, more daylight is gained in the evenings. West said there are additional concerns such as health-related risks, increased auto accidents and work-related injuries that rise when daylight comes after people start their day. West said he's received an enormous amount of positive feedback from Oklahomans who support not having to change the clock twice yearly, specifically noting the time it takes to adjust to the change. West said he'll keep pushing for legislation to put the question before state voters. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Reps. Eddy Dempsey, R-Valliant, and Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, on Wednesday held an interim study on the Kiamichi River in Southeast Oklahoma before the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Dempsey and Humphrey said the study was conducted to address Southeastern Oklahoma citizens who have expressed serious concerns about a hydro-power plant being proposed at the Kiamichi River. "Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation is alleged to have threatened over 500 landowners with eminent domain and plans to remove these landowners to complete their project," Humphrey said. "The study reviewed potential effects of this project on the river, wildlife and landowners and revealed why there is such incredible opposition to this project." Dempsey said the plant is being proposed on one of the state's most beautiful rivers and would not even benefit Oklahoma, but instead would benefit only Texas. He said current drought conditions make the project even more unfeasible. "Southeast Oklahoma is my love and my passion," Dempsey said. "I was born and raised here. My family came over on the Trail of Tears. The mountains, woods and waters there mean the world to me, and I will do everything I can to protect them." The two are proposing an impact study be done to address concerns over additional use of the river. Tye Baker and Ahndria Ablett, both with the Choctaw Nation, shared the economic and environmental impact of the river and it's cultural value. The river is a primary source of municipal and industrial water supply for Clayton, Antlers, Hugo and several other rural water districts via Sardis and Hugo lakes. The river contains unique flora and fauna and other invaluable species and is a popular recreational destination, they said. In addition, it's long been essential to the Choctaw Nation's culture and history. According to the terms of the 2016 Tribal-State Water Settlement, the river watershed has special protection as a Class B Basin. The two showed a map of the Kiamichi's watershed area that stretches from the state's southern border near Hugo in Choctaw County up through Atoka, Latimer, Pittsburgh and Pushmataha counties and into Le Flore County. The proposed power plant is on the banks of the river in Pushmataha County, south of Talihina, on a more than 10,000-acre site. Seth Willyard, a vocal opponent of the plant, spoke about prolonged drought that he said has increased average temperatures in Southeast Oklahoma and put a strain on the Kiamichi River Basin. He showed drought periods going back to 2000 that he claims has lowered water levels at Hugo Lake. He also said the river is home to many endangered or threatened species. More than 1,000 Oklahoma residents have submitted protest letters in opposition to this project, Willyard said, including the state's attorney general, the chief of the Choctaw Nation, the governor of the Chickasaw Nation, state legislators, members of Congress, local municipal and county officials, and others. Willyard shared his knowledge of how a closed-loop pumped storage hydropower project would work, which he said would be a net drain on the power grid. He also showed his and others' opposition to such a proposal. He said construction would necessitate the removal of massive amounts of shale and sandstone, the components of which would wash into the river, the sole source of drinking water for the City of Antlers. He also posed that manganese and iron will likely increase in concentration in drinking water supplies as well as halo acetic acids and trihalomethanes. Concerns about the owner of the project, Southeast Power Corporation, also were shared, with Willyard saying it has connections to the Chinese Communist Party. Citizens of the Kiamichi River Valley are leading an effort to permanently protect the river basin and asked for support during Wednesday's study. The Choctaw Nation also is asking for next steps that include ensuring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not allow the Southeast Power Corporation to evade or bypass water settlement requirements. They also want the release of more information about the project, and they would like to see the development of a Kiamichi River Basin Watershed Management Plan as part of an overall sustainable water policy. Zach Quintero with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. spoke about the company's role in serving the electric needs of more than 900,000 customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas as well as its membership in the Southwest Power Pool. He also described the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity from the power plant to the end user and showed maps of transmission lines throughout the state. In addition, he explained the role between wholesale and retail electricity generators, resellers and customers. Nels Rodefeld with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation also spoke during the study.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, on Wednesday held an interim study on Oklahoma prison conditions. The study will be before the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, which Humphrey chairs. "I've talked many times about the deplorable conditions in Oklahoma prisons that not only affect prisoners but also their family members and the public at large, including the Oklahoma taxpayer," Humphrey said. "These conditions include numerous allegations of rape, murder, inhumane conditions, extortion and more. Today's study is an attempt to force an independent investigation into the Oklahoma Department of Corrections." Humphrey dedicated the study to the family of Mar'Quiel Ross, who recently was killed while incarcerated in a state prison. He issued a citation in Ross' honor, declaring he will seek to discover the whole truth behind Ross' death.  Humphrey shared documents that showed Ross should have been housed in a minimum security prison because of his sentence – he was the passenger in an allegedly stolen vehicle. Instead, Ross was placed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, the highest security prison in the state. Ross also was not released when he should have been, Humphrey said. Instead, he says he has more than enough records to show the release date was altered to cover up Ross' death at the hands and feet of other inmates. Ross' family said they were notified of the death of their loved one by another inmate and only contacted by the Department of Corrections (DOC) seven days after his body had been taken to a funeral home, Humphrey said. Humphrey also showed several graphic videos of inmate violence, including a prisoner being stomped and beaten until he was bloody and incoherent. Additional study presenters included Attorney Matt Frisby who discussed what he says is an increased number of wrongful terminations of Oklahoma Department of Corrections employees. He spoke on his success in representing many of these employees and the cost to DOC when the cases are appealed in district court. Frisby said prior to January 2023, he had only two cases appealed. Since that date, every case he's won has been appealed, with at least a dozen pending. He said DOC doesn't bother to put together its own case in these appeals or bring forth any witnesses. Instead, the attitude seems to be, "We are DOC, and we shouldn't be questioned," he said. He also shared that the cost of hiring attorneys to appeal the cases are between $270 and $500 per hour. Jason Lemons, a 22-year former correctional officer, said he retired because of staff shortages and the unwillingness of DOC leadership to properly address security concerns. He accused DOC of falsifying manpower reports, and said there's not enough staff to run the prisons safely. He also said security changes under current department leadership is resulting in more contraband, including illegal drugs, being brought into the facilities. If something is not fixed, the state will have a prison riot, he said. DOC whistleblower Dr. Whitney Louis reported on the investigation into her whistleblower and rape allegations as a long-time prison psychologist. She said she was reprimanded and later fired for reporting cases of abuse. Two separate judges have ruled the department has to restore her job, but that has not been done. Her case is now in district court, where she said her own tax dollars are going to fight against herself. She related multiple cases she said she witnessed of inmates being mistreated and denied adequate care. She said she herself was sexually assaulted by a prison employee. Louis previously presented to the committee. Justice reform advocate Emily Barnes detailed her history in starting Hooked on Justice. She shared reports of incidences of violence and inhumane conditions for inmates in Oklahoma prisons and the effects those have on family members of those incarcerated. Former DOC warden Luke Pettigrew discussed his experience in the corrections' system and spoke about current vs. past conditions. He said having prison knowledge and prison experience are two different things, and in his experience prisons are less secure than in the past because of understaffing and a lack of experience in leadership." Pettigrew said at one time the director's position required a master's degree. Now, it requires no degree and five years of professional experience. Deputy directors are still required to have a master's degree. So, it takes less to be the director, he said. "Contraband is at its highest," he said. "I've been told here recently by inmates that the value of drugs in prisons is now at street value because of the increase in supply. DOC does not have enough staff in prison to hold inmates accountable for the ones who want to be troublemakers and drug users and things like that." Bobby Cleveland, executive director of Oklahoma Corrections Professionals (OCP), reported on what he says are poor conditions in state prisons caused in part by a shortage of staff and DOC's alleged refusal to work with OCP. "They don't respect the inmates, and they don't respect the employees," Cleveland said. Humphrey said under former directors, many potential lawsuits against the department were dropped, saving taxpayers money, because of the department's willingness to work with correctional employees and lawmakers.  Humphrey said if he can't get an outside investigation into the department he will pursue a grand jury trial. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. David Smith, R-Arpelar, last week held an interim study to examine issues surrounding recruiting and retaining volunteer rural firefighters. The packed study was held before the House Public Safety Committee on Oct. 21 at the State Capitol. "Living in rural Oklahoma, I know the importance of rural firefighters," Smith said. "We've got 60 and 70-year-olds fighting fires because we can't get some of the younger people to come up." Smith said rural firefighting is much more than just fighting brush fires. Firefighters are often the first line of defense for home and business owners. He related his own experience of his family's two-story house burning down within a matter of 30 minutes despite the efforts of four rural fire departments. "The only thing they could do by the time they got there was save my outbuildings," Smith said. "To me, since nobody got hurt, and they saved my tools so I could build another house, I was pretty OK with that. But y'all do more than what you're given credit for, and we know it." Smith invited fire coordinators from across the state to participate in the study. Luke Underwood is one of 11 rural fire coordinators from across the state representing 840 rural fire departments – those that serve communities with populations of less than 10,000. Each department faces similar issues, he said, noting the study was necessary and in fact overdue. "The issue of retention is a serious struggle across the state, and I'm not sure the solution other than some type of incentive," he said. "I hate sitting here saying that we have to come up with some type of incentive to get someone to volunteer to be a firefighter, but it's just where we're at. It's not uncommon for these departments to struggle to keep people on their roster and to keep them active." Underwood is in charge of the Caddo District, which includes the seven southeast counties in Oklahoma and 121 fire departments. He said when he started, rural firefighting was more a community effort where everyone pitched in to help their neighbors, and it was a time when 18-year-olds thought it was cool to get to man the fire truck. Now, people are busier with sports and other activities that consume much of their time. He related his own experience in serving as a rural fire coordinator and as a part-time deputy sheriff as well as owning a real estate business with his wife with whom he has three daughters. The family also goes to church twice a week, including school and other activities. "I'm one of the busiest people you'll ever meet in your life," Underwood said. "But I understand that volunteering your time means you're going to have to make sacrifices. It's my opinion that peoples' hearts are different now," Underwood said. He said he's heard talk of expanding retirement eligibility, but he's not sure if it's doable or even the right answer. Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, asked if a $1,000 per month stipend would make a difference, and Underwood said it couldn't hurt as money tends to pique peoples' interest. Ed Barton, the rural fire coordinator for the Eastern Oklahoma Development District (EODD) based in Muskogee, said rural fire departments are struggling financially. For many, the biggest part of their budget comes from annual forestry grants of about $10,000, he said. Another problem is the state adding more training requirements on top of existing volunteers who have had enough, he said. "We're all for training, but we've got to make that training feasible for volunteers," he said. No volunteer is going to drive to Oklahoma City for mandatory training on their own dime, he said. This issue is what sparked the idea for the study. Smith held meetings with rural fire coordinators earlier this year in which several expressed concern about additional mandatory training requirements put on unpaid volunteers. Smith reached out to the state fire marshal for a solution, and the study was a way to further the discussion. Other study presenters included Ernie Moore, retired rural fire coordinator and retired executive director of the EODD; Mark Goeller, state forester and director of forestry services for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; Clayton Webb, fire chief for Buckhorn; the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association; Kyle Ramer with the Jacktown Fire Department in Lincoln County; Sheri Nickel, deputy director of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association; and Bryan Miller, fire chief for Alva.

Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, and Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, recently held an interim study examining Oklahoma's current administrative rules process and considering how it could be made more efficient and transparent. "One of the things we’ve been working on is trying to make this process more transparent, get more people involved in it, make it more accountable not only to us as legislators but also to the public, where more people are aware of the rules process—how it works, the notification process, the public comment process," Kendrix said during the study. "We've been working with the secretary of state on the portal that they have, to try to make that better for everybody involved." Chris Coffman from the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of State told attendees about two websites the Office of Administrative Rules (OAR) division operates to increase transparency and accountability. OAR is responsible for publishing public body meeting notices and maintaining official records of the state's rules and rulemaking notices, among other responsibilities. The first website Coffman highlighted, openmeetings.ok.gov , provides options to search for upcoming and archived open meetings, view a calendar of upcoming meetings, and view a list of all public bodies and agencies that must adhere to the Open Meetings Act. Oklahomans also can subscribe to be alerted via email or text notifications when public bodies post open meeting notices and documents. Coffman shared that, while the website is still a work in progress, 400 active public bodies have begun submitting meeting notices. He noted these meeting notices could include rulemaking hearings. Proposed administrative rules, which hold the effect of law once approved, may be viewed at rules.ok.gov . Coffman said the website is designed to be a "one-stop rules portal" that citizens, agencies and elected officials can access at each step of the rulemaking process. Kendrix, who serves as chair of the House Administrative Rules Committee, said he has multiple people reaching out directly to him during each session for help viewing proposed rules because the process has historically been so cumbersome. "Oklahoma’s administrative rules process has an enormous impact on our state’s communities and businesses, so it's essential that this process is both clear and accessible to everyone," Bergstrom said. "By making it easier for the public to engage and stay informed, we’re taking steps toward a government that works on behalf of Oklahomans. Our goal is a process that respects public input and strengthens accountability across the board." Kendrix and Bergstrom said they intend to use their findings from the study to consider potential improvements to make Oklahoma's administrative rulemaking process more efficient and accountable to the people.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Three Oklahoma lawmakers say that legal legend Stephen Jones will argue on behalf of their petition against Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett, according to a notice filed at the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday.  Jones is a nationally recognized attorney who led the defense team for Oklahoma City Murrah Building bomber Timothy McVeigh in the late 1990s. The petition was filed Sept. 13 by Reps. Tom Gann, R-Inola, Kevin West, R-Moore, and Rick West, R-Heavener, who between them are all customers of the state’s three largest public utility companies – Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG), Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO). The petition seeks to prohibit Hiett’s continuing participation in utility cases at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) involving victims and/or witnesses of criminal conduct allegedly committed by Hiett, according to witness statements given to The Oklahoman in July and August. Hiett has refused to disqualify himself from the cases.  The Supreme Court has called for oral arguments in the matter on Nov. 12. Until this point, the three state representatives had made their case to the court pro se , acting as their own attorney. “Throughout his long history representing high-profile defendants, Stephen Jones has been a champion of civil rights and constitutional due process rights. We are very happy to have his help in this matter,” the three state representatives said in a joint statement. “Our petition argues that the due process rights of millions of Oklahoma ratepayers are being violated by Commissioner Hiett in utility cases worth billions of dollars. His alleged drunken and sexual misconduct toward and in front of utility company representatives has tainted these cases, and ratepayers already are suffering from it.  “We believe the rate payers in Oklahoma deserve fair and impartial representation from the Corporation Commission, and we are pleased Stephen Jones agrees with us. With his help and the court’s, we are confident judicial integrity and ratepayers’ constitutional rights can be restored at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.”