Representative Collin Duel

R

District 31

Hi, I'm Collin Duel and I represent the people of Oklahoma's 31st District.

representative

Leadership

Assistant Majority Floor Leader

60th Legislature

News & Announcements

Mar 11, 2025
Recent Posts

Duel Advances Measure to Protect Against Child Abuse and Neglect

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, on Monday won House passage of a measure that would require referrals received by the Department of Human Services (DHS) hotline alleging abuse or neglect towards a child to be immediately reported to the appropriate local law enforcement entity. Duel worked with the District Attorney's Council in drafting House Bill 1565 .  "Protecting Oklahoma children is the No. 1 priority of this legislation," Duel said. "Getting law enforcement involved from the moment a claim of abuse or neglect is made can save valuable time in ensuring children are safe and that investigations of abuse or neglect are conducted appropriately." Duel said right now the law just stipulates that DHS must report to law enforcement at some point during their investigation if child abuse or neglect is suspected by someone other than the person responsible for a child's health, safety or welfare. This change would make it so a criminal investigation could begin immediately at the same time as the DHS investigation. The bill passed the House with a vote of 88-4. It now moves to the Senate where it is authored by Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore. Duel is chair of the House Civil Judiciary Committee and vice chair of the House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee. Weaver serves as chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee If signed into law, the measure would take effect Nov. 1. 

Jan 31, 2025
Recent Posts

Duel Files Divestment Act to Protect National Security

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, has filed a bill that would require state pensions and state university endowment funds to divest from foreign adversary nations. House Bill 1561 would create the “Foreign Adversary Divestment Act of 2025.” "This is a matter of national security, ensuring Oklahoma public investment dollars are not put at risk in countries of concern," Duel said. "This also will assure we are not funding the development of military technologies and surveillance tools of our adversaries." Duel, a decorated Army Ranger who served the nation during four combat deployments to Afghanistan, said he understands well what constitutes a national security risk. He said this measure will protect Oklahomans and their savings and investments, and in a broader sense, the interests of the United States of America. Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, is co-authoring the bill. "As we continually seek to protect the retirement benefits of our state's pensioners, this bill adds the additional layer of security from foreign interests that might seek to do them immeasurable financial harm," Lepak said. Under the provisions of the bill, all state and local managed funds would be prohibited from holding investments in any foreign adversary, as well as any state-owned enterprise of a foreign adversary, or any company or other entity domiciled within, owned or controlled by a foreign adversary. All state-managed funds would be required to immediately in good faith begin divestment of any holdings prohibited in this act, with total divestment achieved by Jan. 1, 2028, or two years after the effective date of this act, whichever is earliest. Total divestment would mean reducing the value of prohibited investments to no more than five-hundredths of one percent of the market value of all assets under management by a state or locally managed fund. The act would require the state treasurer to develop a notification system to identify foreign adversaries or countries of particular concern. Entities subject to the provision of the act would have six months from the effective date to identify all companies affected. HB1561 will be eligible for consideration in the upcoming legislative session, which starts Feb. 3. If enacted, the act would become effective Nov. 1. 

Oct 11, 2024
Recent Posts

Duel Examines State-Level Responses to Foreign Adversary Influence

Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, recently led an interim study examining the Oklahoma Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) and the Oklahoma Foreign Adversary Divestment Act (FADA). IS24-060 was held before the House State Powers Committee. The interim studies' purpose was to analyze the effectiveness of current federal and state laws in addressing foreign adversary activities within Oklahoma, focusing on the Foreign Agent Registration Act of 2025 and the Foreign Adversary Divestment Act. Alex Gray, Chief Executive Officer of American Global Strategies LLC and former Chief of Staff to the National Security Council, opened the interim study, stating that America's adversaries are actively seeking to bring conflict to U.S. soil. "The Chinese Communist Party views our states and localities as less prepared to resist Chinese Communist Party aggression than the U.S. at the federal level," Gray said. "So, taking these steps now to harden ourselves at the state and local level is a critical part of deterring a future conflict." Frances Hui, policy and advocacy coordinator at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, who was the first Hong Kong activist to secure asylum in the United States, spoke about personal accounts as a target of transnational repression carried out by Beijing.    "I always find it important to remind Americans and people living in democracies: freedom is not free," Hui said. "It's something that requires fighting for and continuously defending." Matthew du Mee, Partner at Fusion Law, provided an overview of FARA, which is intended to protect U.S. national security by requiring enhanced transparency into the activities of organizations operating in the U.S. on behalf of foreign adversaries. The study highlighted three main issues with FARA: lobbyists, commercial activity, and academic research are often exempt. As a result, adversary espionage and influence campaigns can operate relatively unhindered across the U.S. through these loopholes. Organizations such as TikTok, the drone manufacturer DJI, and others with ties to China have been allowed to operate without FARA registration despite being recognized as foreign-controlled entities. Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, wrapped up the section on FARA, providing future considerations at the state level that would differ from the federal level. Lucci's considerations included adversary national application, removing academic, commercial, and lobbying loopholes, looking back at accountability, and a state proposal with civil-only penalties. Duel then had Lucci provide a brief overview of FADA. FADA's purpose is to divest assets in the People's Republic of China to maintain compliance with fiduciary duty. "There are moral, national security reasons, but I think that the closing argument on holding Chinese assets is really fiduciary at this point," Lucci said. "The fiduciary argument, I believe, would be to get out now." Investments in Chinese assets have long carried moral risks; for example, pension dollars have funded human rights abuses and China's military buildup. Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Texas and other states have divested some or all their PRC assets. Sweden also recently divested its public pensions from China. "This is really an accelerating trend that we're seeing with the state, the federal government, and American allies," Lucci said. Other speakers include Dr. Jacqueline, founder and CEO of Long-Term Strategy Group and Ambassador Kelley Currie, Founder of Kilo Alpha Strategies, and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Women's Rights. Duel thanked everyone for attending and presenting at the interim study. "All the information provided is extremely valuable," Duel said. "I look forward to seeing what we can do as the state of Oklahoma in order to help prepare ourselves for a threat from the CCP. "