By law, the legislative session must end by 5:00 p.m. on the last Friday in May, and the last big item on this year's agenda is the release of the fiscal year 2023 budget agreement.

The most important part of the legislative session is still a work in progress. With three weeks left before the Legislature adjourns sine die, budget negotiators are moving closer to finalizing the state budget and appropriations for the next fiscal year.

One day after the speaker of the house announced formation of a special committee to investigate a contract between the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and a restaurant providing food services at six state parks, the agency's executive director, Jerry Winchester, resigned and Governor Kevin Stitt announced the state has filed a lawsuit against Swadley's Foggy Bottom Kitchen for breach of contract.

Almost $700 million in rebate incentives will be available soon to attract a new large business to the state.

A majority of Oklahoma legislators celebrated Oklahoma's newest law that criminalizes abortion and makes the medical procedure virtually impossible to obtain. Arguably, it's the strictest such law in the nation, but additional anti-abortion legislation is also moving closer to passage.

Oklahoma made national news this week with passage of one of the most restrictive and punitive anti-abortion bills in the nation, which Governor Kevin Stitt is expected to sign. The bill's progress to final passage caught some lawmakers and political insiders by surprise.

Oklahoma legislators tasked with oversight of state fiscal transparency had some tough questions for the director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, focusing on financial accountability and customer service at state parks.

A bill that would direct tax dollars into an account to help parents pay for private school tuition met stiff opposition, and defeat, in the Oklahoma Senate.

Even in a spring break-shortened week, Oklahoma legislators stayed ahead of schedule in moving bills closer to floor debate and possible passage.

Oklahoma's State Senate approved legislation to further limit abortion in the state and to prepare for the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of a Mississippi anti-abortion law.