[Oasfaa] FW: Legislative Update – May 28, 2021

[Fair, Bryce]

Following is the last update of the 2021 legislative session that ended last Thursday, May 27.  Immediately below are the bills related to financial aid that were passed this session.

  *   House Bill 1821 (Representative Toni Hasenbeck and Senator Dewayne Pemberton) – Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG): Increases flexibility in the use of Tuition Aid Grants, by removing language directing the Regents for Higher Education to direct tuition aid grants to all eligible applicants, and adding factors to the way the awards are prioritized including: enrollment status, unmet financial need, continuous enrollment, nearness to degree completion or certificate, state employment needs, and eligibility for other State and institutional funds.
Final text: https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/legislation/58th/2021/1R/HB/1821.pdf



  *   House Bill 1962 (Representative Jadine Nollan and Senator Marty Quinn) – Oklahoma College Savings Plan: Specifies the definition of “qualified higher education expenses” to fall in line with section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. Final text: https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/legislation/58th/2021/1R/HB/1962.pdf
  *   Senate Bill 132 (Senator David Bullard and Representative Rhonda Baker) – Oklahoma’s Promise: Extends application window for Oklahoma’s Promise to the eleventh grade.
Final text: https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/legislation/58th/2021/1R/SB/0132.pdf


  *   Senate Bill 261 (Senator John Michael Montgomery and Representative Melissa Provenzano) Creates the Oklahoma Student Borrower’s Bill of Rights, requiring that student loan servicers not employ any deceptive practices, maintain accurate reporting to consumer credit bureaus, and otherwise accurately inform borrowers of their rights and obligations in public and plain language.
Final text: https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/legislation/58th/2021/1R/SB/0261.pdf


  *   Senate Bill 639 (Senator Adam Pugh and Representative Rhonda Baker) – Oklahoma’s Promise: Requires the State Regents to administer a survey to students withdrawing from the Oklahoma’s Promise program regarding the reasons for withdrawal, the barriers to completion of a degree or certificate program, and the future plans of the students.  Requires reporting of retention, graduation and employment data.
Final text: http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2021-22%20ENR/SB/SB639%20ENR.PDF

Bryce Fair

From: Johnson, Dr. Glen
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2021 3:53 PM
To: Chancellor's Council <co at osrhe.edu>
Subject: Legislative Update – May 28, 2021

OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION



Memo


To:                  Chancellor’s Council
From:             Chancellor Glen D. Johnson
Date:               Friday, May 28, 2021
Subject:          Legislative Update – May 28, 2021

The update below reflects the major legislation concerning Higher Education. If you have any questions, please contact LeeAnna McNally, Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations, at lmcnally at osrhe.edu<mailto:lmcnally at osrhe.edu> or (405) 301-0332.

Legislative Report
May 28, 2021

Agency Administration
House Bill 1090 (Representative Gerrid Kendrix and Senator Brent Howard) Allows the State Auditor and Inspector General to perform audits and inspections of government entities without authorization from the Governor, the Chief Executive Officer of a government entity, or a joint or concurrent resolution of the Legislature.

Update: Assigned to House Rules Committee. Reassigned to House General Government Committee. Passed House General Government Committee 7-0 on Wednesday, February 17. Passed off the House Floor 91-0 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Finance Committee 10-1 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-8 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Vetoed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 1146 (Representative Mike Osburn and Senator Greg Treat) Places all state employee positions under the administration of the Human Capital Management Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services effective January 1, 2022, except those employed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, or President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as well as elected officials, political appointees, and up to 5 percent of an agency's executive management.

Update: Passed House Rules Committee 9-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Amended by Floor Substitute. Passed off the House floor 93-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 21-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-9 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 26.

House Bill 1875 (Representative Tammy West and Senator Brenda Stanley) Permits each educational institution to choose to designate specific information which will be classified as directory information for students attending the educational institution.

Update: Passed House General Government Committee 8-0 on Wednesday, February 10. Passed off the House Floor 92-0 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Judiciary Committee 9-0 on Tuesday, March 23. Emergency added. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Monday, April 12. Senate amendments accepted. Passed off the House Floor 79-0 on Tuesday, May 4. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 10.

House Bill 2088 (Speaker Charles McCall and Senator Roger Thompson) Exempts the legislature and judicial branches of state government from any and all fees or costs for services rendered by state agencies.

Update: Passed House Rules Committee 9-0 on Tuesday, February 16. Passed off the House floor 94-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 47-0 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Vetoed by Governor Stitt on Friday, April 23.

House Bill 2180 (Representative Ronny Johns and Senator Greg McCortney) Removes requirements for making payroll deductions for certain insurance premiums with a minimum participation of 500 state employees.

Update: Assigned to House Rules Committee. Reassigned to House Insurance Committee. Passed House Insurance Committee 7-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House Floor 82-12 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Finance Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2863 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Allows the Commissioners of the Land Office to sell, transfer, trade or purchase real property for other state agencies, requires no state agency sell, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of real property until such agency or the Office of Management Enterprise Services acting on behalf has presented to the Land Office all information on the property in order for the Land Office to provide a proposal for the acquisition or disposal of the applicable real property

Update: Passed off the House Floor 94-1 on Monday, March 8. Passed Senate General Government Committee 7-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee as amended 18-1 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-0 on Thursday, April 15. Senate Amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 67-5 on Friday, May 14. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 18.

Senate Bill 63 (Senator John Michael Montgomery and Representative Avery Frix) Removes language related to the State Government Reduction-in-Force and Severance Benefits Act that requires an employee to repay all severance benefits on a proportional basis if an affected employee is reemployed by the agency from which separated as a result of a reduction-in-force
Update: Passed Senate General Government Committee 9-0 on Thursday, February 11. Passed off the Senate Floor 31-15 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Government Modernization and Efficiency Committee 7-1 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 70-21 on Monday, April 12. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 19.
Senate Bill 282 (Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Tommy Hardin) Amends Section 840-2.20 of the Oklahoma Personnel Act to allow for a temporary increase in the accumulation limits for annual leave following an emergency declaration period, which shall carryover to the end of the fiscal year following the year in which the emergency declaration ended. increase and carryover of annual leave time

Update: Passed Senate General Government Committee 9-0 on Thursday, February 4. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed House Appropriations and Budget General Government Subcommittee on Monday, March 29. Passed Appropriations and Budget Committee 32-0 on Wednesday, March 7. Passed off the House Floor 84-3 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

Senate Bill 333 (Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Tammy Townley) Amends Section 840-2.15 of the Oklahoma Personnel Act to allow for a temporary increase in the accumulation limits for compensatory time following an emergency declaration period, which shall carryover to the end of the fiscal year following the year in which the emergency declaration ended. increase and carryover of annual leave time.

Update: Assigned to Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee. Reassigned to House General Government Committee. Passed House General Government Committee 8-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 on Thursday, March 4. Engrossed to House. Assigned to House Appropriations and Budget General Government Subcommittee then to Appropriations and Budget Committee. Passed House General Government Subcommittee 8-2 on Monday, March 29. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 32-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the House Floor 90-3 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

Senate Bill 403 (Senator Brenda Stanley and Representative Robert Manger) Makes it unlawful for any person, alone or in concert with others and without authorization, to willfully disturb, interfere or disrupt business of any political subdivision, which includes publicly posted meetings, or any political subdivision.

Update: Assigned to Senate Public Safety Committee. Amended to make the bill an Emergency. Passed Public Safety Committee with a vote of 11-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-9 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Safety Committee 7-2 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 74-15 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

Senate Bill 650 (Senator Kim David and Representative Jon Echols) Provides a 2 percent increase to the amount of a participant’s benefit allowance in 2022 and an additional 2% in 2023.

Update: Passed Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee 8-1 on Thursday, February 18. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 18-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-4 on Monday, March 8. Engrossed to House. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 26-0 on Wednesday, March 24. Title Stricken. Passed off the House floor as amended 87-0 on Tuesday, April 20. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to General Conference Committee on Appropriations. Conference Committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-2 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the House Floor 85-2 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor

Senate Bill 794 (Senator James Leewright and Representative Kevin Wallace) Requires that if the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission or its representative determines that an individual has been overpaid unemployment benefits to provisions therein relating to administrative overpayment, the individual must be sent a notice of overpayment determination. It allows that if the individual disagrees with this determination, said individual can file an appeal of the determination with the Appeal Tribunal within 10 days after the date of mailing.

Update: Assigned to Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee. Passed Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 12-0 on Thursday, February 11. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Government Modernization and Efficiency Committee 8-1 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 80-7 on Tuesday, April 13. House amendments accepted. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-1 on Thursday, April 29. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, May 5.

Senate Bill 913 (Senator Julie Daniels and Representative Terry O’Donnell) Permits the Legislature to repeal administrative rules adopted by a state agency, board or commission. It modifies the definition of the term "adopted" regarding proposed administrative rules. It defines the term "expedited repeal." It permits, upon request by a rule-making agency, an expedited rule repeal process to be utilized when a rule or rules meet certain criteria. It prohibits a request for an expedited repeal being initiated after May.

Update: Amended by Floor Substitute. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-4 Thursday, March on 11. Passed House Administrative Rules Committee 9-0 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the House Floor 77-10 on Tuesday, April 6. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, May 12.

Senate Bill 961 (Senator Julie Daniels and Representative Mark Lepak) Prohibits any state agency or official from imposing any annual filing or reporting requirement on an organization regulated or specifically exempted from regulation under the Oklahoma Solicitation of Charitable Contributions Act that is more stringent, restrictive or expansive than the requirements authorized by the laws of Oklahoma.

Update: Passed Senate Judiciary Committee 9-0 on Thursday, January 21. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Monday, March 8. Passed House General Government Committee 6-2 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the House Floor 63-24 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.


Budget Bills

House Bill 1990 (Representative Trey Caldwell and Senator John Michael Montgomery) Allows ad valorem reimbursement fund to be used to reimburse counties for loss of revenue due to exemptions granted to veterans and their surviving spouses.

Update: Assigned to House Appropriations and Budget Committee. Direct to Appropriations Committee. Passed House Appropriations Committee 28-0 Thursday, February 18. Passed off the House Floor 65-30 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Assigned to Senate Finance Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Finance Committee 10-2 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 13-6 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 25-21 on Wednesday, April 14. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 84-13 on Tuesday, May 18. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, May 26.

House Bill 2775 (Representative John Pfeiffer and Senator John Michael Montgomery) Adds to the definition of “Cost Approach” in the ad valorem tax code to include physical deterioration, functional or internal obsolescence, and economic or external obsolescence.

Update: Passed House County and Municipal Government Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 22. Passed off the House Floor 92-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Finance Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 26.

House Bill 2776 (Representative John Pfeiffer and Senator John Michael Montgomery) Creates the Protecting Revenues for Oklahoma Teachers, Educators and Students Fund (PROTEST) which shall consist of all ad valorem funds under protest received by the State Department of Education (SDE). The SDE may distribute this money to school districts which are affected by protested ad valorem taxes.

Update: Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed House Rules Committee 7-2 on Thursday, February 25. Passed off the House Floor 90-0 on Wednesday, March 10. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Education Subcommittee 6-0 on Wednesday, March 24. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 40-2 on Monday, April 19. Senate amendments received. Senate amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to Conference Committee on Rules. Conferees unable to agree. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

House Bill 2780 (Representative John Pfeiffer and Senator Dave Rader) Allows the Oklahoma Tax Commission to garnish accrued earnings of a delinquent taxpayer by contacting the taxpayer’s employer.

Update: Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 27-3 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House Floor 78-18 on Monday, March 8. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Finance Committee 11-0 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the Senate floor 39-7 on Thursday, April 8. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 15.

House Bill 2891 ((Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Strikes certain state aid penalties assessed to public school districts, as well as certain provisions related to class size limitations.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 32-1 on Monday, May 17. Failed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 6-13 on Monday, May 17.

House Bill 2897 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Creates a revolving fund for the Ethics Commission online filing.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 33-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 19-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 79-2 on Tuesday, May18. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-2 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

House Bill 2900 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) General Appropriations Bill. Appropriates $812,819,822 for our State System of Higher Education for FY22, which represents a $42.4 million or 5.5 percent increase for higher education over the FY21 appropriation.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 28-7 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 15-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 82-19 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-9 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

House Bill 2906 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Allocates over $6 million to the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Designates uses.
Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 34-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 19-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 91-0 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-2 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

House Bill 2932 (Representative Charles McCall and Senator Greg Treat) Prohibits, unless expressly authorized by the Legislature, any agency, board, commission, department, council, instrumentality or other entity organized within the executive branch to utilize the federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) allocated to it, in a manner that will or that will be likely to increase the demand for state-appropriated funds or any other state funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, or any fiscal year thereafter.

Update: Passed House Rules Committee 8-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House Floor 89-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Passed Senate Rules Committee 12-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Thursday, May 22. Sent to the Governor. Effective absent signature on Monday, May 3.

House Bill 2946 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Extends Sales Tax exemption to the consumption of broadband equipment to expand internet access in unserved areas.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 33-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 19-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 89-4 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-2 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

House Bill 2949 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Modifies the tax exemptions to include until July 2022 the transfer and sales of tangible property by the University Hospital Trusts.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 33-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 90-5 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-1 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, May 26.

House Bill 2960 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Modifies the income tax rate for corporations, lowering it from 6 percent to 4 percent.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 25-7 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 13-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 79-19 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 34-12 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Frday, May 21.

House Bill 2961 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Reduces the banking privilege tax from 6 percent to 4 percent for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 27-7 on Monday, May 17.  Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 12-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 75-18 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-8 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

House Bill 2962 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Reduces the top individual income tax rate from 5.0 percent to 4.75 percent. The bill modifies provisions related to refundability on the earned income tax credit. It provides a method for computation of the tax credit using a designated tax year.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 27-7 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 14-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 81-19 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-9 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 21.

Senate Bill 79 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin West) Exempts from sales tax the transfer of tangible personal property to or by nonprofit 501(c)(3) entities that have entered into a joint operating agreement with the University Hospitals Trust.

Update: Assigned to Senate Appropriations Committee. Amended to provide an effective date of July 1, 2022. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee as amended 20-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 28-0 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the House Floor 78-10 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

Senate Bill 181 (Senator Zack Taylor and Representative Brad Boles) Permits more than one-half of ad valorem taxes to be paid by January 1 of each year.

Update: Passed Senate Finance Committee 12-0 Tuesday, February 2. Passed off Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House County and Municipal Government Committee 9-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed of the House Floor 84-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 609 (Senator Chuck Hall and Representative Kyle Hilbert) Extends the ad valorem tax exemption to manufacturing facilities, doubles the acquisition or expansion limit. Adds definitions to manufacturing facilities.

Update: Passed Senate Finance Committee 11-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 33-1 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 30-1 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the House Floor 87-5 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to General Conference Committee on Appropriations. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-9 on Wednesday, May 19. Conference committee adopted. Passed off the House Floor 86-6 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor.
Senate Bill 1045 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin Wallace) Modifies assessment methodology in the supplemental hospital offset payment program increasing by 0.5 percent a year up to 4 percent in order to create a recurring revenue fund for Medicaid expansion.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 25-9 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 15-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-10 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the House Floor 55-43 on Thursday, May 20. Emergency failed. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

Senate Bill 1067 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin Wallace) Common Education spending limits bill

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 35-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 16-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-10 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the House Floor 92-1 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.

Senate Bill 1080 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin Wallace) Increases the credits allowed under the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act programs to $25 million each.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 28-7 on Monday, May 17.  Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 16-5 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-11 on Tuesday, May 18. Passed off the House Floor 63-36 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 21.

Senate Bill 1082 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin Wallace) Requires the Department of Commerce to spend $1,460,000 of the funds appropriated to it in HB2900 to implement the Aerospace Commerce Economic Services Act. It requires the department use not less than $15,000,000 to fund and implement the Oklahoma Accelerator Program. It establishes budget procedures for the agency.

Update: Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 31-4 on Monday, May 17. Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 18-1 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-5 on Tuesday, May. 18. Passed off the House Floor 86-8 on Thursday, May 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 24.


CareerTech

House Bill 1026 (Representative Rande Worthen and Senator John Michael Montgomery) Allows CLEET to establish and certify additional law enforcement and criminal justice programs at state-supported technology center schools in the State of Oklahoma operating under the State Board of Career and Technology Education for teaching students between 16 and 19 years of age.

Update: Passed House Public Safety Committee 7-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor 97-0 on Monday, March 8. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 11-1 on Monday, April 5. Passed off the Senate Floor 47-0 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.


Common Education

House Bill 1046 (Representative Dell Kerbs and Senator John Michael Montgomery) Requires a copy or a hyperlink to a copy of the most recent audit of the financial statements of a school district to be on the front page of the school district website for public inspection.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor as amended 95-0 on Wednesday, March. 3 Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 7-3 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 34-11 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

House Bill 1103 (Representative Mark Vancuren and Senator John Haste) Directs the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the State Education Department to create a set of guidelines and provide directions to schools in order to survey every public school student in grades 6,8,10 and 12 with the Oklahoma Prevention Needs Assessment Survey every other year beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 16. Amended to remove private schools. Passed off the House Floor 78-19 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 Tuesday, March 30. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday April, 7. Title Restored. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-6 on Tuesday, April 13. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 73-18 on Tuesday, April 27. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 4.

House Bill 1104 (Representative Mark Vancuren and Senator John Michael Montgomery) Requires information on a student's tribal affiliation to be included in student data collected for the state.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee on 12-0 Tuesday, February 16. Passed off the House Floor 94-0 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 31-14 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.
House Bill 1568 (Representative Jeff Boatman and Senator John Haste) Creates Maria’s Law requiring collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to adopt standards and approve age-appropriate curriculum for K-12 students as a part of normal health education curriculum.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor 84-10 with Title Stricken on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 9-1 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday, April 13. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 73-10 on Thursday, April 29. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, May 5.

House Bill 1569 (Representative Jacob Rosecrants and Senator Adam Pugh) Creates the Oklahoma Play to Learn Act. States that the intention of the Legislature is to focus on the importance of child-centered, play-based learning.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House Floor 76-16 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 10-2 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-5 on Wednesday, April 21. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 81-13 on Wednesday, May 5. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 11.

House Bill 1775 (Representative Kevin West and Senator David Bullard) Prohibits any institution of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education from requiring any enrolled student to engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling. It provides that voluntary counseling is not prohibited. It prohibits any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis of race or sex. It prohibits any teacher, administrator or other employee of a school district from requiring or incorporating course material asserting that one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex or that any individual should feel distressed on account of his or her race or sex.
Update: Assigned to House Common Education Committee. Laid Over. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Thursday, February 25. Passed off the House Floor 93-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to Senate. Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed Senate Education Committee 7-4 on Tuesday, April 6. Author change. Amended to remove language to allow for workplace behavior training so that this only applies to required student training. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-9 on Wednesday, April 21. Senate amendments received. Amendments adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 70-19 on Thursday, April 29. Recalled. Passed off the House Floor 77-18 on Monday, May 3. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 7.
House Bill 1801 (Representative Nicole Miller and Senator Brenda Stanley) Creates Riley’s rule requiring school districts to develop an emergency action plan for all school facilities including athletic practice events or activities.

Update: Passed House Higher Education and CareerTech Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 8. Amended to allow only Oklahoma residents. Passed off the House Floor as amended 98-1 on Monday, March 8. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-0 on Thursday, April 8. Amended at the request of rural legislators to avoid and undue burden to review the plan annually. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Wednesday, April 14. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 85-3 on Thursday, May 6. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 11.

House Bill 1882 (Representative Marilyn Stark and Senator Dave Rader) Creates the "Out-of-Schooltime" task force to identify, evaluate and recommend a set of best practices for children, youth and families to improve and increase the number of quality, affordable out-of-school programs in the state. The bill sets the membership of the committee.

Update: Passed House Children, Youth and Family Services Committee as amended by Committee Substitute 5-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor 82-14 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-1 on Wednesday, March 31. Title restored. Passed off the Senate Floor 39-8 on Wednesday, April 21. Senate amendments adopted. Failed on the House Floor 42-40 on Wednesday, May 5. Motion to reconsider. Passed off the House Floor 67-27 on Thursday, May 6. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 11.

House Bill 1963 (Representative Jadine Nollan and Senator Brenda Stanley) If vacancies occur which result in a loss of majority members of the board of education of a school district or technology center school district, the Governor shall appoint a member or members necessary to constitute a quorum to the board of education.

Update: Assigned to House Elections and Ethics Committee. Laid Over. Passed House Elections and Ethics Committee 7-0 on Thursday, February 25. Passed off the House Floor 80-16 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Rules Committee 9-1 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the Senate Floor 34-10 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

House Bill 1968 (Representative Jadine Nollan and Senator Brenda Stanley) Deletes expenditure and program classification reporting requirements for certain gifted and talented programs.

Update: Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 13-0 on Monday, February 8. Referred to full House Appropriations Committee. Laid Over. Passed House Appropriations Committee 30-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the Senate Floor 80-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-2 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2030 (Representative Terry O’Donnell and Senator Adam Pugh) Adds passing the Naturalization test to high school graduation requirements.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 11-3 on Tuesday, February 16. Passed off the House Floor 80-18 on Monday, March 8. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Passed Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee 14-6 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-7 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2223 (Representative Randy Randleman and Senator Dewayne Pemberton) Requires the Oklahoma State Department of Education to maintain a dyslexia information handbook.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House Floor 96-0 on Monday, March 8. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2462 (Representative Dick Lowe and Senator Brent Howard) Allows the State Department of Education to enter into contracts and agreements for the payment of food, lodging and other expenses necessary to host or participate in conferences and training sessions.

Update: Passed House General Government Committee 7-0 on Wednesday, February 17. Passed off the House Floor 86-5 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-4 on Monday, April 19. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, April 23.

House Bill 2749 (Representative Rhonda Baker and Senator Adam Pugh) Requires schools that receive more than $2,500 from the Reading Proficiency Act to spend at least 10 percent on professional development for Pre-k-5 grade teachers.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday February 16. Passed off the House Floor 90-5 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Dual Assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Title Restored. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2890 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Changes the years of data to be used for the July per pupil calculation prohibiting the assessment of carryover penalty for 2020-2023 instead of beginning in 2019 as outlined by enrolled House Bill 2078.
Update: Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 17-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 27-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed off the House Floor 95-1 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-3 on Wednesday, May 19. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 21.
Senate Bill 13 (Senator Brenda Stanley and Representative Rhonda Baker) Requires a teacher whose certificate is suspended by the State Board of Education to be placed on suspension while proceedings for revocation or other action are pending before the State Board of Education.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 13-0 on Tuesday, April 7. Passed off the House Floor 96-0 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

Senate Bill 21 (Senator Kay Floyd and Representative Marcus McEntire) Makes it a requirement, rather than permissive, beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, that district school boards provide schoolwide training to all students in grades seven through twelve and staff addressing suicide awareness and prevention.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee as amended by Committee Substitute 12-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 12-0 Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the House Floor 94-0 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

Senate Bill 22 (Senator Kay Floyd and Representative Tammy West) Gives a nonprofit that has leased real or personal property from a school the right of first refusal to purchase the property if the board of education makes the decision to dispose of it.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor 44-2 on Wednesday, March 3. Passed Senate Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 90-0 on Wednesday, April 16. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

Senate Bill 54 (Senator John Michael Montgomery and Representative Daniel Pae) Requires the State Department of Education to designate a school district site or charter school site as a Purple Star School. The bill defines applicable terms. It establishes the requirements for a school district site or charter school to be designated as a Purple Star School. It requires the State Board of Education to promulgate necessary rules.

Update: Passed Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee 10-0 on Thursday, February 11. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Title and Enacting Clause Stricken. Passed off the House Floor 89-5 on Tuesday, April 13. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 87-6 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor.

Senate Bill 66 (Senator John Haste and Representative Lonnie Sims) Exempts any insurance policy sold to any school district from the surplus lines premium tax.

Update: Passed Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to House. Passed House Insurance Committee 8-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 95-0 on Monday, April 12. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 48-0 on Wednesday, May 19. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 91-0 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor.

Senate Bill 68 (Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Max Wolfley) Requires a public school student to be considered in compliance with statutory residency provisions if he or she is a student whose parent or legal guardian is transferred or is pending transfer to a military installation within the state while on active military duty pursuant to an official military order.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 2. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Thursday, March 4. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 94-1 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

Senate Bill 89 (Senator John Haste and Representative Rhonda Baker) Creates the Health Education Act. The bill defines applicable terms. It requires health education to be taught in public schools, including but not limited to physical health, mental health, social and emotional health and intellectual health.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 92-4 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

Senate Bill 128 (Senator Dave Rader and Representative Dick Lowe) Creates the Seizure Safe Schools Act requiring at least one school employee at each school to meet certain training requirements.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Title Stricken, Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed 12-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 47-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 92-1 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt Monday, April 26.

Senate Bill 252 (Senator Brenda Stanley and Representative Rhonda Baker) Requires all public schools to begin teaching computer science courses in the 2024-2025 school year.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 2. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 13-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Amended to eliminate information required in a report from the State Department of Education. Passed off the House Floor 84-6 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday,
April 27. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 3.

Senate Bill 419 (Senator J.J. Dossett and Representative John Waldron) Removes the requirement to administer assessments in U.S. history under the statewide system of student assessments.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 10-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-2 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 10-4 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 55-41 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Vetoed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

Senate Bill 619 (Senator David Bullard and Representative Kevin West) Allows school districts to obtain liability insurance coverage to protect a student participating in an apprenticeship internship or mentorship program.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Title Stricken Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 2. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Title Restored. Passed off the Senate Floor 47-0 on Thursday, March 4. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 94-0 on Tuesday, April 13. House amendments adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-0 on Thursday, April 29. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, May 5.

Senate Bill 642 (Senator Adam Pugh and Representative Dustin Roberts) Includes multi-aptitude battery assessments that measure developed abilities and help predict future academic and occupational success in the military.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 11-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Title Stricken. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 13-2 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the House Floor 86-1 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 783 (Senator Adam Pugh and Representative Brad Boles) Requires the Department of Education to publish a list of the capacity for a class in each grade level K-12. Strengthens open transfer policies. Gives OEQA audit authority over transfer

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 9-3 on Tuesday, February 23. Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed off the Senate Floor 32-15 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Advanced to General Order. Passed off the House Floor 65-30 on Wednesday, March 31. Emergency passed 68-19. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt Wednesday, March 31.

Senate Bill 807 (Senator Chris Kidd and Representative Rhonda Baker) Entitles support employees to pay for any time lost when a school district is closed because of an epidemic or when an order for such a closing has been issued by a health officer authorized by law to issue the order.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 10-1 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the Senate Floor 93-1 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

Senate Bill 1037 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin Wallace) Allows Common Education building funds to use certain one-time federal dollars.
Update: Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 16-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 28-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-2 on Monday, May 17.  Passed off the House Floor 89-5 on Wednesday, May 19. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 21.


COVID-19

Senate Bill 368 (Senator David Bullard and Representative Brian Hill) Prohibits any governmental declaration of a religious institution as nonessential. Requires that religious institutions be exempt from closure orders for the purpose of health or security that is greater than that imposed on any private entity.

Update: Passed Senate Judiciary Committee 6-2 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-9 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Passed House States Rights Committee 5-1 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off House Floor 72-20 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 26.

Senate Bill 658 (Senator Rob Standridge and Representative Kevin West) Prohibits schools, including institutes of Higher Education from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine passport or implement a mask mandate that singles out the unvaccinated.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Amended to pass Senate Education Committee 8-3 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 35-10 on Thursday, March 4. Emergency Passed 36-9 on Thursday, March 4. Engrossed to House. Assigned to House Common Education Committee. Withdrawn from Common Education Committee. Amended by Committee Substitute. Amended to allow the local health department to set mask rules. Passed House Public Health Committee 9-1 on Wednesday, April, 7. Amended to allow local petitions to mask mandates. Passed off the House Floor 64-32 on Monday, April 19. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to Conference Committee on Public Health. Author Change Conference Committee Substitute adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-8 on Tuesday, May 25. Passed off the House Floor 76-18 on Wednesday, May 26. Sent to the Governor.


Charter Schools


House Bill 2966 (Speaker Charles McCall) Prohibits a charter school from supplementing the instruction of students enrolled in private school. Requires all state funds appropriated to any charter school that contracts with an educational management company to remain public funds and be maintained in public accounts subject to audit, transparency, and oversight. Requires annual evaluation of a charter school by the sponsor.  Reduces the percentage of state-appropriated funds allowed to be withheld by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board for administrative expenses from five percent (5%) to three percent (3%). Establishes new expenditure and reporting guidelines related to state-appropriated funds. Prohibits a charter school governing board from combining the accounting, budgeting, recordkeeping and operational decisions of more than one charter school. Clarifies that charter school governing boards are subject to the Open Meeting Act and Open Records Act.

Update: Direct to calendar. Passed off the House Floor 81-17 on Monday, May 24. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 69 (Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Max Wolfley) Provides a student will be eligible to enroll in a statewide virtual charter school if the student's parent or legal guardian is transferred or is pending transfer to a military installation within this state while on active military duty pursuant to an official military order.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 2. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Thursday, March 4. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 95-1 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

Senate Bill 222 (Senator Rob Standridge and Representative Daniel Pae) Creates the Hope Scholarship Program to provide a scholarship to an eligible private school of choice for students who have experienced bullying.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Monday, March 1. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 11-0 on Thursday, April 8. Passed off the House Floor 53-35 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-2 on Tuesday, May 4. Sent to the Governor. Vetoed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 11.


Higher Education

House Bill 1962 (Representative Jadine Nollan and Senator Marty Quinn) Specifies the definition of “qualified higher education expenses” to fall in line with section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Update: Passed House Higher Education and CareerTech Committee with a vote of 9-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the House Floor 95-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2465 (Representative Dick Lowe and Senator Lonnie Paxton) Requires the Department of Public Safety establish procedures to ensure every applicant for an original Class A, B, C or D license and for any endorsements thereon, is examined by the department or an approved written examination proctor. The bill authorizes the department to approve and enter into agreements with local school districts, the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, or institutions of higher education to act as approved written examination proctors with regard to any written examination.

Update: Passed House Public Safety 8-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House Floor 97-0 on Monday, February 22. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Public Safety 10-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 26.

House Bill 2396 (Representative Todd Russ and Senator Brenda Stanley) Allows the Regents for Higher Education to adopt a policy regarding sex trafficking and exploitation prevention.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House Floor 86-6 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-0 on Thursday, April 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 on Wednesday, April 21. Senate amendments adopted 52-16 on Wednesday, May 5. Passed off the House floor 67-20 on Wednesday, May 5. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 10.

House Bill 2691 (Representative Toni Hasenbeck and Senator Micheal Bergstrom) Requires the Commission for Educational Quality an Accountability to issue a report detailing factors in the public education system that contribute to graduation rates, assessment scores and the state workforce.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor 76-18 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 8-3 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-8 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

House Bill 2750 (Representative Rhonda Baker and Senator Adam Pugh) States the intent of the Legislature that in establishing minimum required score on AP exams for granting course credit the Regents for Higher Education should not require an AP score above 3.

Update: Passed House Higher Education and CareerTech Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 22. Amended to allow the granting of additional credit for higher than 3. Passed off the House Floor 94-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 45-1 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2874 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Adds the University Hospitals Trust to those exempt from sales tax.

Update: Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 26-1 on Wednesday, February 10. Title Stricken. Passed off the House Floor 83-9 on Monday, February 22. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-4 on Tuesday, April 20. Senate amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to the General Conference Committee on Appropriations. Conference Committee report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 85-4 on Wednesday, May 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Wednesday, May 26. Sent to the Governor.

House Bill 2943 (Representative Charles McCall and Senator Greg Treat) Transfers the University Center of Southern Oklahoma in Ardmore to Murray State College and renames it Murray State College at Ardmore. It requires one member of the Murray State College Board of Regents to be a resident of Ardmore.

Update: Direct to Calendar. Passed off the House Floor 89-5 on Monday, May 3. Engrossed to Senate. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-1 on Wednesday, May 12. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, May 18.

Senate Bill 2 (Senator Micheal Bergstrom and Representative Toni Hasenbeck) Amended by Committee Substitute to prohibit anyone of the male sex from playing on athletic teams designated for females, women, or girls. It requires any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity due to a violation of this rule, to have a cause of action for injunctive relief against the school.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-8 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to House. Amended by Committee Substitute. Passed House Common Education Committee 4-1 on Thursday, April 8. Passed off the House Floor 73-19 on Monday, April 19. House amendments read. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 48 (Senator Julie Daniels and Representative Chris Kannady) Creates the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act setting up the necessary structure for student athletes to be represented.

Update: Passed Senate Judiciary Committee 9-0 Friday, February 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-2 on Tuesday, March 2. Passed House Higher Ed and Career Tech Committee 10-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed off the House Floor as amended 83-8 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to Conference Committee on Higher Education and Career Tech. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 73-3 on Wednesday, May 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 81-11 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor.

Senate Bill 70 (Senator Frank Simpson and Representative Tommy Hardin) Increases the time period before the date of enrollment from five years to 10 years when a person was discharged or released from active military service to qualify for in-state enrollment.

Update: Passed Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education 4-0 on Wednesday, February 10. Referred to Full Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Thursday, February 18. Title Stricken. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Passed Senate Appropriations Budget Education Subcommittee 11-0 on Monday, March 29. Title Restored. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 32-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the House Floor 84-0 Thursday, April 22. House amendments read. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 139 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kyle Hilbert) Adds the Senate Appropriations Committee Chair and the House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chair to the list of recipients of the annual report submitted by Oklahoma State University Medical Authority.

Update: Assigned to Senate Appropriations Committee. Laid Over. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday February, 24. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Assigned to House Appropriations and Budget Committee. Laid Over. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 33-0 on Wednesday, April 14. Title Stricken. Passed off the House Floor 89-0 on Tuesday, April 20. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to General Conference Committee on Appropriations. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 261 (Senator John Michael Montgomery and Representative Melissa Provenzano) Creates the Oklahoma Student Borrower’s Bill of Rights, requiring that student loan servicers not employ any deceptive practices, maintain accurate reporting to consumer credit bureaus, and otherwise accurately inform borrowers of their rights and obligations in public and plain language.

Update: Passed Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 11-2 on Thursday, February 11. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee 10-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed off the House Floor 91-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 292 (Senator John Haste and Representative Jadine Nollan) Creates a task force to study the concurrent enrollment needs of the State.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-1 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to House. Passed House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee 10-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed off the House Floor 67-23 on Wednesday, April 14. Emergency Passed 69-13 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

Senate Bill 319 (Senator Robert Standridge and Representative Daniel Pae) Exempts from the prohibition furnishing anyone under the age of 21 any cigarettes, cigarette papers, cigars, bidis, snuff, chewing tobacco, or any other form of tobacco product, or vapor products persons performing activities as part of a scientific study being conducted by a research institution for the purpose of medical research to further efforts in cigarette and tobacco use prevention and cessation and tobacco product regulation, provided that such medical research has been approved by a properly accredited institutional review board pursuant to applicable federal regulations.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 11-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Thursday, February 11. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Safety Committee 9-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 69-27 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

Senate Bill 893 (Senator Adam Pugh and Representative Scott Fetgatter) Allows the undergraduate and graduate programs of the same discipline of engineering at an institution to be part of the qualified program if either program is ABET accredited.
Update: Passed Senate Finance Committee 11-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-3 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Assigned to Finance- Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee then to Appropriations and Budget Committee. Passed House Finance-Revenue and Taxation Committee 8-0 on Monday, March 29. Title Stricken. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 32-0 on Wednesday, April 14. Passed off the House Floor 79-6 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-4 on Wednesday, May 19. Conference Committee report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 88-6 on Monday, May 24. Sent to the Governor.


Healthcare

House Bill 1006 (Representative Carol Bush and Senator Adam Pugh) Creates the Transparency in Health Care Prices Act. The bill defines applicable terms. It requires healthcare providers make available to the public, in a single document, either electronically or by posting conspicuously on the provider's website if one exists, the health care prices for at least the 20 most common health care services the healthcare provider provides.

Update: Passed House Public Health Committee 8-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House Floor 92-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Health and Human Services Committee 11-0 on Monday, April 5. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-0 on Tuesday, April 13. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 87-0 on Tuesday, April 27. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 3.

Senate Bill 4 (Senator Greg McCortney and Representative T.J. Marti) Permits a pharmacist to substitute an interchangeable biological product for a prescribed biological product only if the substituted product has been determined by FDA to be interchangeable with the prescribed biological product; the prescribing physician has permitted substitution; and the pharmacy informs the patient of the substitution.

Update: Passed Senate Health and Human Services committee 10-0 Wednesday, February 3. Amended by Floor Substitute. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-0 on Wednesday, March 10. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Health Committee 10-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 88-0 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

Senate Bill 100 (Senator Brenda Stanley and Representative Dean Davis) Permits an applicant for a license to practice podiatric medicine to submit an electronic application online. It requires an applicant legally reside in the United States, rather than be loyal to the US. The bill removes the requirement that the applicant be free from contagious or infectious disease.

Update: Passed Senate Health and Human Services Committee 8-3 on Thursday, February 25. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Wednesday, March 10. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Health Committee 10-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 93-3 on Monday, April 12. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 19.

Senate Bill 107 (Senator John Michael Montgomery and Representative Todd Russ) Gives the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) the authority, beginning with the Jan. 1, 2022 plan year, to renew vision plan contracts with plan providers for succeeding one-year terms if the provider had a contract for the immediately preceding year.

Update: Passed Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off Senate Floor 47-0 on Thursday, February 10. Engrossed to House. Passed House Banking, Financial Services and Pensions Committee 6-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed off the House Floor 89-1 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

Senate Bill 164 (Senator Brenda Stanley and Representative Cynthia Roe) Modifies language related to participation in a research program or experimental procedures. It requires human subject research to be approved by an accredited institutional review board rather than a local institutional review board. It requires when the patient is incapable of giving informed consent and is a minor that the consent be given by the parent or legal guardian.

Update: Passed Senate Health and Human Services Committee 10-0 Wednesday, February 3. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-2 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Health Committee 10-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 80-13 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 207 (Senator Jessica Garvin and Senator Marcus McEntire) Authorizes the Oklahoma Health Care Authority Administrator to designate an administrative law judge to perform appeal hearings for those adversely affected by a decision of the authority.

Update: Passed Senate Health and Human Services Committee 11-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed Full Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-0 on Wednesday, March 10. Engrossed to House. Assigned to House Health Subcommittee then to Appropriations and Budget Committee. Passed House Health Subcommittee 7-0 on Monday, March 29. Passed Appropriations Committee 32-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the House Floor 84-1 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-7 on Wednesday, May 19. Conference Committee report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 78-0 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor.

Senate Bill 406 (Senator Jessica Garvin and Representative Marcus McEntire) Modifies the definitions of "University Hospital" and "Oklahoma's Children's Hospital." It authorizes the University Hospital’s authority to assign any inpatient and outpatient hospital and clinical facilities, research buildings, facilities or property and any other buildings, facilities or property under its ownership or management and control to University Hospital, Oklahoma Children's Hospital or any other division or entity which is part of University Hospital.

Update: Passed Senate Health and Human Services Committee 11-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-1 on Thursday, March 4. Engrossed to House. Passed House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee 9-0 on Monday, April 5. Passed off the House Floor 91-0 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.


OneNet

House Bill 1124 (Representative Logan Phillips and Senator James Leewright) Creates the State Broadband Deployment Grant Program to direct competitive grants to applicants seeking to expand broadband internet services and directs the Corporation Commission to create the Rural Broadband Expansion Council to promulgate rules and procedures for the program.

Update: Passed House Technology Committee 5-1 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House Floor 91-6 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 11-1 on Thursday, March 25. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-1 on Wednesday, April 21. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 93-0 on Monday, May 17. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, May 20.

House Bill 2040 (Speaker Charles McCall and Senator James Leewright) The measure provides a sales tax exemption, in the form of rebates, on sales of qualifying broadband equipment if the property is directly used or consumed by the provider or subsidiary in or during the distribution of internet services.

Update: Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 30-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House Floor 85-14 on Thursday, March 11, Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Finance Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday, April 7.  Passed off the Senate Floor 45-2 on Thursday, April 22. Senate amendments read. Conferees named. Conference Committee Report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 92-6 On Monday, May 24. Sent to the Governor.

House Bill 2090 (Speaker Charles McCall and Senator James Leewright) Expands the Rural Broadband Expansion Council from 14 to 16 members. One of the additional members would represent a wireless internet service provider and be appointed by the Speaker of the House. The other additional member would represent a Native American tribe and be appointed by the Senate President Pro Tem.

Update: Passed House Technology Committee 6-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Emergency Added. Passed off the House Floor 97-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 11-1 on Thursday, April 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 40-2 on Monday, April 19. Sent to the Governor. Vetoed by Governor Stitt on Friday, April 23.

House Bill 2928 (Speaker Charles McCall and Senator James Leewright) Directs broadband service providers in the state to submit a report containing their network area coverage map to the Department of Commerce and the Rural Broadband Expansion Council by October 31, 2021. The providers would be required to update this map and report annually. OneNet is also directed to provide mapping of all assets and network coverage.

Update: Passed House Technology Committee 6-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House Floor 97-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 12-1 on Tuesday, March 30. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 802 (Senator James Leewright and Representative Logan Phillips) Increases the Rural Broadband Expansion Council by one member to be filled by a tribal leader of this state.

Update: Passed Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 12-1 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-2 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Technology Committee 6-0 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 88-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.


Open Meetings/Records

House Bill 1876 (Representative Tammy West and Senator Brenda Stanley) Specifies what private employee information is not subject to the Open Meeting Act.

Update: Passed House General Government Committee 8-0 On Wednesday, February 10. Passed off the House Floor 82-0 on Thursday, February 18. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Judiciary Committee 9-0 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Monday, April 12. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 88-0 on Wednesday, April 28. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 3.

House Bill 2644 (Representative Jon Echols and Senator Kim David) Extends the provisions that allows for virtual open meetings until March 31, 2024

Update: Assigned to House General Government Committee. Laid Over. Passed House General Government Committee 8-0 on Tuesday, February 24. Title Stricken. Passed off the House Floor 92-6 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Judiciary Committee 10-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Thursday, April 22. Senate amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 1031 (Senator Greg Treat and Representative Jon Echols) Extends the provisions that allow for virtual open meetings until the Governor declares the state of emergency to have ended.

Update: Assigned to Senate General Government Committee. Withdrawn from General Government Committee. Direct to Calendar. Passed off the Senate Floor as amended by Floor Substitute with a vote of 45-0 on Wednesday, February 3. Direct to House Calendar. Passed off the House Floor 88-5 on Monday, February 8. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, February 10.


Scholarships

House Bill 1821 (Representative Toni Hasenbeck and Senator Dewayne Pemberton) Increases flexibility in the use of Tuition Aid Grants, by removing language directing the Regents for Higher Education to direct tuition aid grants to all eligible applicants, and adding factors to the way the awards are prioritized including: Enrollment status, unmet financial need, continuous enrollment, nearness to degree completion or certificate, state employment needs, and eligibility for other State and institutional funds.

Update: Passed House Higher Education and CareerTech Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the House Floor 94-2 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, March 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

Senate Bill 132 (Senator David Bullard and Representative Rhonda Baker) Extends application window for Oklahoma’s Promise to the eleventh grade.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Title Stricken. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Title Restored. Engrossed to House. Passed House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee 10-0 on Tuesday, March 29. Passed off the House Floor 95-0 on Tuesday, April 13. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 20.

Senate Bill 237 (Senator Dewayne Pemberton and Representative Mark McBride) Increases flexibility in the use of Tuition Aid Grants, by removing language directing the Regents for Higher Education to direct tuition aid grants to all eligible applicants, and adding factors to the way the awards are prioritized including: Enrollment status, unmet financial need, continuous enrollment, nearness to degree completion or certificate, state employment needs, and eligibility for other State and institutional funds.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to House. Passed House Education Subcommittee 11-0 on Monday, March 29. Referred to full Appropriations and Budget Committee. Title and Enacting Clause Stricken. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 34-0 on Wednesday, April 14. Passed off the House Floor 84-0 on Thursday, April 22. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 639 (Senator Adam Pugh and Representative Rhonda Baker) Extends qualification for Oklahoma’s Promise to those enrolled in an area that has been identified as a critical occupation area. Requires the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the State Regents for Higher Education to publish a yearly list between October and June of the critical occupation areas that meet the guidelines. Requires the Regents, in consultation with CareerTech, to identify postsecondary vo-tech programs that correlate to the critical occupation areas. Requires the State Regents to administer a survey to students withdrawing from the Oklahoma’s Promise program regarding the reasons for withdrawal, the barriers to completion of a degree or certificate program, and the future plans of the students.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Amended by Floor Substitute, which provides a 6-year time period to earn a baccalaureate or other postsecondary education credential or requires that the Oklahoma’s Promise recipient enter into a repayment agreement with the institution of higher education or career technology center. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-9 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Assigned to House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee. Amended to remove the “clawback” repayment requirement. Passed House Higher Education and Career Tech Committee 9-0 on Monday, April 5. Passed off the House floor 98-0 on Thursday, April 22. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Conference Committee Substitute filed. Conference Committee substitute adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 47-0 on Monday, May 24. Passed off the House Floor 93-1 on Tuesday, May 25. Sent to the Governor.


Teacher Retirement System

House Bill 2293 (Representative Dustin Roberts and Senator Lonnie Paxton) modifies the matching of TRS funds to be based only on the member’s regular annual compensation regardless of the source of funds, except federal funding.

Update: Passed House Banking Financial Services and Pensions Committee 6-2 on Monday, February 22. Passed off the House Floor 51-38 on Thursday, March 11. Emergency Failed. Engrossed to Senate. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee 6-3 on Monday, April 5. Amended. Passed off the Senate Floor 30-16 on Wednesday, April 21. Emergency Failed. Senate amendments received. Senate amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Assigned to Conference Committee on Banking Financial Services and Pensions. Conference Committee report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 85-10 on Monday, May 17. Conference Committee Report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-5 on Monday, May 24. Sent to the Governor.

House Bill 2894 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Restores to 2020 levels the apportionment of Tax Revenues for the Teacher Retirement System
Update: Passed Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 17-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget 27-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed off the House Floor 93-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-5 on Wednesday, May 19. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 21.

Senate Bill 267 (Senator Dewayne Pemberton and Representative Jadine Nollan) Allows retired educators who have received benefits for at least one year and who have not been employed by a public school during that time to be eligible to be reemployed as an active classroom teacher in common or career tech school district with no limitation on earnings.

Update: Passed Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee 9-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the House Floor 36-11 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to House. Passed House Banking, Financial Services and Pensions Committee 7-0 on Monday, April 5. Passed off the House Floor 87-9 on Monday, April 12. House amendments adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-1 on Wednesday, April 28. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, May 3.

Senate Bill 683 (Senator Chris Kidd and Representative Mark Lepak) Removes the one-year regular employment requirement for full-time non-classified optional personnel to join the TRS.

Update: Assigned to Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee. Laid Over. Passed Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee 8-1 on Monday, February 22. Passed off the House Floor 41-2 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Passed House Banking, Financial Services and Pensions Committee 7-0 on Monday, March 29. Author change Mark Lepak - Principal House Author. Passed off the House Floor 82-0 on Tuesday, April 13. House amendments adopted.  Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 on Thursday, April 29. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 7.


Teacher Certification

House Bill 1593 (Representative Melissa Provenzano and Senator Brenda Stanley) Requires 7th-12th grade teachers to have workplace safety training emphasized into curriculum. The program shall be completed the first year a certified teacher is employed by a school district.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 13-0 Tuesday, February 16. Passed off House Floor 74-19 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 19-0 on Wednesday, April 7. Title Restored. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-1 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

House Bill 1773 (Representative Sherrie Conley and Senator Jessica Garvin) Requires teaching candidates in early childhood elementary, secondary and special education to study the philosophy framework and implementation of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) designed to address the core academic and nonacademic needs of all students.

Update: Assigned to House Common Education Committee. Amended by committee substitute. Passed House Common Education Committee 8-1 on Monday, February 8. Passed off the House Floor 91-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 9-0 in Tuesday, April 6.  Passed off the Senate Floor 42-5 on Monday, April 19. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, April 23.

House Bill 1796 (Representative Nicole Miller and Senator Adam Pugh) Allows the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Commission for Education Quality and Accountability to grant subject area examination exceptions for initial certification in a field that does not require an advanced degree if the candidate already has an advanced degree in the subject essentially comparable to the content assessed in the examination.

            Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 13-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House Floor 91-1 on Monday, March 1. Engrossed to Senator. Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Laid Over. Passed Senate Education Committee 11-0 on Thursday, April 8. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2329 (Representative Mark Lawson and Senator Frank Simpson) Allows the State Board of Education to grant an exception to the certification examination to teacher candidates who are deaf.

Update: Passed House Rules Committee 8-0 on Thursday, February 25. Passed off the House Floor 97-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Dual assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-0 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

House Bill 2693 (Representative Toni Hasenbeck and Senator Brenda Stanley) Updates the name of the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation to the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability. Rewards teachers who are renewing their National Board Certification by awarding them a portion of the renewal application fee.

Update: Assigned to House Rules Committee. Reassigned to House Appropriations Committee. Passed House Appropriations Committee 28-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the House Floor 81-11 on Wednesday, March 10. Engrossed to Senate. Dual assigned to Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Passed Senate Education Committee 8-4 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 34-11 on Wednesday, April 21. Senate amendments received. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

House Bill 2748 (Representative Rhonda Baker and Senator Brenda Stanley) Requires the State Board of Education to issue one-year alternative teacher certificates renewable for up to 3 years to teach early childhood education or elementary education if the alternative certified teacher meets certain qualifications.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the House floor 86-0 on Thursday, February 18. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the Senate Floor 44-0 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

House Bill 2752 (Representative Rhonda Baker and Senator Brenda Stanley) Requires the State Department of Education in coordination with the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability to establish a micro-credential programs for teachers who hold a certificate to complete additional coursework and earn STEM credentials.

Update: Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the House Floor 93-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Education Committee 10-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-0 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

Senate Bill 1038 (Senator Roger Thompson and Representative Kevin Wallace) Modifies the definition of student teachers that would allow them compensation for paid internships. Provides compensation as a stipend or salary but would not count for TRS deposits.
Update: Passed Senate Joint Commission on Appropriations and Budget 16-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed House Joint Commission on Appropriations and Budget 28-0 on Friday, May 14. Passed off the Senate Floor 46-0 on Monday, May 17. Passed off the House Floor 93-0 on Wednesday, May 19. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Friday, May 21.


Weapons on Campus / Gun Laws

House Bill 1630 (Representative David Hardin and Senator Dewayne Pemberton) Modifies the Unlawful Intent to Carry and Penalty Portions of Firearms Act to allow flexibility in punishment upon conviction. Deletes the ability to permanently revoke a handgun license. Amends background checks to remove criminal history records fingerprints and FBI searches on license renewal.

Update: Passed House Judiciary-Criminal Committee 8-1 on Wednesday, February 10. Passed off the House floor 78-18 on Monday, February 22. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-2 on Monday, March 29. Passed off the Senate Floor 41-6 on Thursday, April 15. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, April 22.

House Bill 2645 (Representative Jon Echols and Senator David Bullard) Allows the carrying of firearms in bars and restaurants as long as the carrier is not consuming alcoholic beverages. Reduces fines and punishments from $1,000 and two years in prison to $250. Removes the revocation of a handgun license upon violation of this statute.

Update: Assigned to House Public Safety Committee. Reassigned to House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee. Passed House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee 3-1 on Thursday, February 25. Passed off the House Floor 78-19 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 8-2 on Monday, April 5. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Thursday, April 22. Senate amendments adopted. Passed off the House Floor 88-3 on Tuesday, May 11. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Thursday, May 13

Senate Bill 106 (Senator Mark Allen and Representative Terry O’Donnell) Defines the term "completed application" within the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act to mean all fields are completed, questions answered and contains all required signatures on the Application for Self-Defense Act License and all required documents including legible fingerprints, if applicable. It removes the 90-day grace period for handgun license renewals.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-2 on Friday, February 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 35-8 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Rules Committee 9-0 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 80-4 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 631 (Senator Warren Hamilton and Representative Sean Roberts) Makes Oklahoma a “Second Amendment Sanctuary State” pre-empting any legislation or rule at any level that would infringe upon the right to bear arms.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-2 on Monday, February 22. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-8 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Safety Committee 7-2 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 78-17 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 26.

Senate Bill 644 (Senator Blake Stephens and Representative Sean Roberts) Allows municipalities to, by ordinance, authorize all or certain municipal employees to carry concealed firearms.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 10-1 on Friday, February 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 39-8 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House County and Municipal Government Committee 8-2 on Monday, March 29. Laid over. Passed off the House Floor 83-11 on Tuesday, April 20. House amendments read. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 646 (Senator Micheal Bergstrom and Representative Jay Steagall) Allows the carrying of firearms in bars and restaurants as long as the carrier is not consuming alcoholic beverages. Reduces fines and punishments from $1,000 and two years in prison to $250. Removes the revocation of a handgun license upon violation of this statute.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-2 on Monday, February 22. Title Stricken. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-9 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Public Safety Committee 7-2 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 78-16 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 672 (Senator Casey Murdock and Representative Kenton Patzkowsky) Allows unmitigated transport of firearms for any person not otherwise prohibited from purchasing or carrying firearms.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-2 on Friday, February 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 39-7 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Assigned to House Public Safety Committee. Reassigned to House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee. Passed House Criminal Justice Committee 4-1 on Thursday, April 8. Passed off the House Floor 79-13 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 925 (Senator Nathan Dahm and Representative Jay Steagall) Modifies language related to self-defense with a firearm. It adds "occupied premises" to the list of places the Legislature recognizes that the citizens of the State of Oklahoma have a right to expect absolute safety and that a person legally is allowed to defend.

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-2 on Friday, February 19. Passed off the Senate Floor 36-8 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Judiciary – Criminal Committee 8-2 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 77-13 on Thursday, April 22. House amendments read. Dormant pursuant to the rules.

Senate Bill 926 (Senator Nathan Dahm and Representative Eric Roberts) Extends the firearms law preemption to air powered pistols

Update: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee 9-0 on Monday, February 22. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Judiciary – Criminal Committee 6-2 on Wednesday, March 24. Passed off the House Floor 74-8 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.


Workforce Development

House Bill 2860 (Representative Kevin Wallace and Senator Roger Thompson) Creates the Oklahoma Remote Quality Jobs Inventive Act. Provides for the Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Tax Commission to create policy’s attracting growth industries that employ remote workers.

Update: Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 29-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the House floor 96-0 on Wednesday, March 3. Engrossed to Senate. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 18-1 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the Senate Floor 32-14 on Tuesday, April 20. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Monday, April 26.

Senate Bill 71 (Senator Micheal Bergstrom and Representative Kevin McDugle) Modifies language related to the Department of Commerce's requirement to promulgate rules for the administration of the Oklahoma Local Development and Enterprise Zone Incentive Leverage Act. It requires the rules establish reporting requirements for successful applicants which allow data collection and analysis by the department on employment, capital investment, changes in assessed value of a project and other impacts resulting from payments and reporting of data by the department to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Update: Passed Senate Finance Committee 10-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 45-0 on Tuesday, March 2. Engrossed to House. Passed House Business and Commerce Committee 8-2 on Wednesday, April 7. Passed off the House Floor 85-5 on Wednesday, April 14. Sent to Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 21.

Senate Bill 211 (Senator Tom Dugger and Representative Ken Luttrell) Modifies the powers and duties of the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools. It permits a school to be accredited by an accrediting organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education for multiple years, and to obtain a sustained license annually during the period of the multi-year accreditation. It modifies the fees the board may assess.

Update: Assigned to Senate Education Committee. Title Stricken. Passed Senate Education Committee 10-2 on Tuesday, February 2. Passed Senate Appropriations Committee 20-0 on Wednesday, February 24. Passed off the Senate floor 42-5 on Wednesday. March, 3. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the House Floor 84-4 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

Senate Bill 229 (Senator John Michael Montgomery and Representative Kyle Hilbert) Creates the Redbud School Funding Act. The bill directs the State Board of Education to distribute grants annually to public schools and charter schools not sponsored by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board from the State Public Common School Building Equalization Fund to be used to help public schools and charter schools to acquire or improve school sites, construct or modify buildings, or acquire school furniture/equipment.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 10-2 on Tuesday, February 23. Title Stricken. Passed off the Senate Floor 37-8 on Thursday, March 11. Engrossed to House. Passed House Common Education Committee 14-0 on Tuesday, April 6. Passed off the House Floor 88-0 on Wednesday, April 21. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested.  Conference committee report adopted. Passed off the Senate Floor 38-8 on Thursday, May 20. Conference Committee Report adopted. Passed off the House Floor 97-1 on Monday, May 24. Sent to the Governor.

Senate Bill 587 (Senator Chuck Hall and Representative Brad Boles) Adds the delivery of industry focused instruction from Common Education, CareerTech or Higher Education to the definitions in the Oklahoma Community Economic Development Pooled Finance Act.

Update: Passed Senate Finance Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 23. Passed off the Senate Floor 42-0 on Wednesday, March 10. Engrossed to House. Passed House Select Agencies Subcommittee 6-0 on Monday, April 5. Passed House Appropriations Committee 31-0 on Wednesday, April 14. Passed off the House Floor 93-0 on Thursday, April 22. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Wednesday, April 28.

Senate Bill 705 (Senator Nathan Dahm and Representative Tom Gann) Repeals all language related to the Oklahoma Center for Rural Development.

Update: Passed Senate Education Committee 12-0 on Tuesday, February 9. Passed off the Senate Floor 31-14 on Thursday, March 4. Passed House Common Education 12-2 on Tuesday, March 30. Passed off the House Floor 72-16 on Wednesday, April 21. Sent to the Governor. Signed by Governor Stitt on Tuesday, April 27.

Senate Bill 936 (Senator Chuck Hall and Representative Kevin Wallace) Combines the various quality jobs programs under the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program Act.

Update: Passed Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee 11-1 on Thursday, February 11. Passed Senate Appropriations and Budget 20-0 on Thursday, February 18. Passed off the Senate Floor 43-2 on Tuesday, March 9. Engrossed to House. Passed House Appropriations and Budget Committee 27-1 on Wednesday, March 31. Passed off the House Floor 84-7 on Thursday, April 22. House amendments rejected. Further conference requested. Conferees named. Conferees unable to agree. Dormant pursuant to the rules.


Thank you.

Glen


Glen D. Johnson
Chancellor
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104
405.225.9122
gjohnson at osrhe.edu<mailto:gjohnson at osrhe.edu>
follow us on Twitter @okhighered


[cid:image001.png at 01D753D9.807B1E80]      [cid:image002.png at 01D753D9.807B1E80]



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20210531/9a05055b/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 14424 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20210531/9a05055b/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 10345 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20210531/9a05055b/attachment-0001.png>