KPG Releases 2024 Legislative Agenda

Here are the top bills we are watching this session at the State Capitol.

January 31, 2024‍

The second regular session of the 59^th Oklahoma Legislature begins at noon on Monday, February 5 with Governor Kevin Stitt’s State of the State address. Kirkpatrick Policy Group will be there as we track and advocate for and against bills that affect our core issues: women, animals, the arts and arts education, intellectual freedom, and ballot measure reform.

There are currently about 4,000 active bills between both houses of the Legislature, including bills carried over from last year. Following the January 18 bill filing deadline, the House reported that a total of 1,210 new bills and twelve new joint resolutions were filed. The Senate saw 841 new bills and thirteen new joint resolutions filed. Senate rules allow for bills by the president pro tempore to be filed any time throughout session, and Senate resolutions and Senate concurrent resolutions can also be filed throughout session. House joint resolutions may be filed at any point during session.

KPG is currently tracking 117 bills that fall into our policy areas, ranging from bills that we wholeheartedly support (extending the initiative petition signature gathering period to 180 days) to bills that we adamantly oppose (eliminating no-fault divorce) Below is a list of bills that we consider top priority and will be actively lobbying for or against at the Capitol. The list is not exhaustive but illustrates what many lawmakers are working towards. If any of these bills affect you and your family, we urge you to contact your elected representatives and voice your opinion. 

Women

· SB 1775 by Senator Nathan Dahm would make anyone who administers, prescribes, or advises an abortion to any woman guilty of first-degree murder, unless the procedure is necessary to preserve the woman’s life. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· HJR 1046 by Representative Jim Olsen would ask state voters to approve a ballot measure defining personhood as beginning at conception. Besides giving unborn fetuses legal standing over the women who carry them, this resolution could affect whether women could receive certain fertility treatments. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 1958 by Senator Dusty Deevers would eliminate incompatibility (no-fault) and imprisonment as legal grounds for divorce under state law. Valid grounds for divorce are outlined in the bill, requiring a burden of proof. Impotency would be stricken as a valid cause for divorce. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 1879 by Senator David Bullard would change the Health Education Act of 2021, restricting public school health education to certain subject areas. The bill would effectively remove age-appropriate, medically accurate sexual health education from public school curricula. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 1271 by Senator George Young would require public and charter schools to make feminine hygiene products available for free in designated school restrooms. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· SB 1386 by Senator Kay Floyd would appropriate up to $1.5 million to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to outsource rape kit testing. In 2021, OSBI said it would take up to five years to clear the backlog of statewide untested rape kits. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· SB1540 by Senator Jessica Garvin would establish that laws pertaining to abortion cannot be construed to prohibit or otherwise affect the provision of contraceptive care by authorized healthcare providers. KPG position: SUPPORT. 

Animals

· HB 2530 by Representative J.J. Humphrey, carried over from last session, would permit counties to conduct elections to reduce the penalties for cockfighting within their local jurisdictions. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· HB 3146 by Representative J.J. Humphrey would place limitations on the use of drones to gather evidence and record images by law enforcement and state entities. The bill would allow for civil relief by aggrieved parties, and evidence (of cockfighting, for example) collected in violation of this law would not be admissible in criminal court. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· HB 3194 by Representative Carl Newton would direct the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to require all water wells be equipped with metering equipment and use data from such equipment in their annual groundwater use report. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· HB 4118 by Representative David Hardin would remove environmental protections and liability and criminal protections for poultry growers and facilities that discharge poultry waste. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 1325 by Senator George Young would create the Rural Investment for Sow Farms Act which authorizes the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to run a program to create investments in the state’s pig industry to help farmers transition away from extreme confinement. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· SB1605 by Senator Tom Woods would remove the authorization for the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission to set territorial limitations on black bear hunting in the state. Currently, black bear hunting can only occur in certain locations. KPG position: OPPOSE.

Ballot Measure Reform

· HB 3810 by Representative Mickey Dollens would increase the number of days available to gather signatures for initiative petitions from ninety to 180. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· HB 3815 by Representative Mickey Dollens would ban the involvement of foreign entities from making contributions to state ballot measure campaigns. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· HJR 1054 by Representative David Hardin would ask state voters to approve a constitutional amendment requiring ballot measure campaigns to collect a percentage of petition signatures from every county. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· HJR 1055 by Representative Mickey Dollens would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment requiring any future amendments imposing a requirement of supermajority approval for the passage of later state ballot measures to meet the supermajority threshold outlined in such an amendment. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· HJR 1056 by Representative Charles McCall would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment requiring ballot measure campaigns to collect a percentage of petition signatures from each congressional district. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 518 by Senator Julie Daniels and Representative Mark Lepak, carried over from last year, would increase petition signature data points requirements, impose a filing fee on proposed state questions, and allow more time for ballot measures to be challenged in court. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 1565 by Senator Julia Kirt would increase the number of days available to gather signatures for initiative petitions from ninety to 180. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· SB 1769 by Senator David Bullard would prohibit candidates, political action committees, and state question committees from accepting donations from foreign principals. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· SB 1861 by Senator David Bullard would limit the total percentage of signatures on initiative petition campaigns to five percent from each county. KPG position: OPPOSE.‍

Intellectual Freedom

· HB 3115 by Representative Tom Gann would impose limitations on which organizations public libraries may cooperate with, cutting ties with the Oklahoma Library Association. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· HB 3621 by Representative Sherrie Conley would sever state ties with the Oklahoma Library Association and prohibit the use of state resources for such an association’s benefit. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· HB 3648 by Representative Toni Hasenbeck would create the Oklahoma Librarian Education Act, allowing certain public-school educators to earn a Master of Library and Information Science degree to become certified school librarians. KPG position: SUPPORT.

· SB 1208 by Senator Warren Hamilton would prohibit school libraries from making any sexualized content available to students under eighteen and would require libraries to submit annual materials lists to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. KPG position: OPPOSE.

· SB 1888 by Senator Rob Standridge would prohibit school libraries from carrying certain materials related to sex and establishes standards for parents to request the removal of books. KPG position: OPPOSE.

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