Legislative Preview - Ag
Oklahoma Lawmakers are looking into land ownership, lunch and more this legislative session.
Sen. George Burns is introducing a bill that would prevent people who aren’t U.S citizens from leasing agricultural land through a business or trust.
But if a business is active in regulated interstate trade, it is exempt. A lease in violation of this rule would be invalid and the land rights will go back to the lessor. This would not apply to noncitizens living in the state.
Although there are many bills filed with complete language focusing on everything from invasive species to industrial hemp, there are also many agricultural shell bills.
These types of bills are placeholders for legislation to be filed later. Meaning, what may ultimately be considered is unknown.
Hunting License Bill
An Oklahoma lawmaker is looking to increase Oklahomans’ access to state hunting areas. The bill would also increase licensing fees for out of state hunters.
McCurtain Republican Senator Warren Hamilton says Senate Bill 1857 addresses frustrations he’s gathered from Oklahomans, who are struggling to access wildlife management areas due to the number of non-resident hunters and visitors.
The bill would double the fee for out-of-state hunting licenses and the limit on bagging hunted animals would be cut in half.
Tourism is Oklahoma’s third largest industry. Only oil and gas brings more out-of-state dollars to the state, but Hamilton says taxpayers need to be prioritized.
SB 1857 is expected to be considered in the coming legislative session, which begins February 5th. For StateImpact, I’m Britny Cordera.
Emergency Certified Teachers
The State of Oklahoma gave the go ahead for a record number of emergency teaching certifications.
Independent news outlet - Oklahoma Voice - reports, the state issued more than 4,600 emergency certifications from June through December; surpassing the prior year's total of more than 4,500.
Certifications allow individuals with a bachelors degree to work in public schools without obtaining any teacher training in the grade level or subject matter.
Emergency certifications skyrocked in the last decade, with only 189 issued during the 2013-14 school year.
Last year, the State Department of Education proposed a signing bonus program that offers incentives for positions school districts struggle to fill.
Walters Taps Far-Right Media Personality For School Library Committee
State Superintendent Ryan Walters is tapping a far-right media personality to join a state committee to evaluate school library content.
Walters is appointing Chaya Raichik, who is behind the LibsofTikTok account on X, formerly Twitter. It’s known for far-right and anti-LGBTQ+ posts.
Last summer, she shared an altered video from a Tulsa Union Public Schools elementary librarian, in which the librarian said she was not finished pushing her woke agenda. The video shared by the account left out the caption saying her “radical liberal agenda” was “teaching kids to love books and be kind.” Walters shared the altered video on his account, and in the weeks that followed, the district received a slew of bomb threats.
Now, according to a news release, Raichik will sit on the education department’s Library Media Advisory Committee. Walters says she is “invaluable as part of my plan to make Oklahoma schools safer for kids and friendly to parents.” It is unclear whether Raichik will be living in Oklahoma to serve on the committee.
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