Education policy is perhaps the biggest hot button issue at the state capitol this legislative session. More access to school choice, teacher pay raises, maternity leave, and more all hang in the balance between the House and Senate.
Quorum Call Publisher Shawn Ashely talked to Senate President Pro Temp Greg Treat about an impasse that could mean none of those ideas become law.
"We’re coequal partners in this arrangement, and we will not be told that we cannot amend one way or the other," Treat said. "The House plan as it came over would not pass the Senate, absent modifications."
At issue is the insistence that the Senate pass the House’s education package without amending it, or else the House won’t take up the Senate’s education bills.
A new bill that would hold landlords accountable for unsafe living conditions was passed in the House last week.
House Bill 2109 would protect tenants from retaliation from landlords and allow courts to require landlords to make necessary repairs for health and safety.
It is authored by Lawton Republican Daniel Pae.
"This bill applies to landlords renting more than 10 units and prevents landlords from raising rent, threatening eviction, or decreasing services, as retaliation," said Pae.
It now moves to the Senate where it is sponsored by Lawton Republican John Michael Montgomery.
A bill that would establish a patient’s right to visitation in the hospital is advancing through the State Legislature.
House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols’ House Bill 1013 passed unanimously on the House floor last week.
The Lori Brand Patient Bill of Rights Act includes 30 rights a patient has in Oklahoma hospitals, including the right to visitation by loved ones.
The act is named for Lori Brand, a woman who died in an Oklahoma City hospital in 2020. Brand’s husband, Gerald Brand, said in a press release his family had to beg hospital staff to get access to Brand during her hospitalization.
Other rights listed include the right to receive the names of the health care providers seeing the patient and the right to be advised of the hospital’s complaint process.
Echols says he believes Oklahoma hospitals should always provide a list of rules and procedures to their patients.
Oklahoma is set to welcome a new team from a professional league dedicated to the fast-growing sport of pickleball.
The National Pickleball League's pre-draft combine for champion-level professionals took place in Oklahoma City over the weekend.
The OKC-based team, named the Oklahoma City Punishers, secured the sixth and final spot in the competition with a $100,000 prize in its first year.
The NPL is set to kick off later this year, spanning six weekends and taking place at Chicken N Pickle venues all over the country. Players will be drafted in April, with the season running from June to October.
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