Oklahoma House Passes Bill Targeting Immigrants Without Legal Status
Oklahoma is a step closer to criminalizing people in the state without legal immigration status.
House Bill 4156 was introduced by the Republican majority floor leader Jon Echols. He says the bill is common sense policy for Oklahoma in light of the federal government’s failures to secure the southern border.
He rejects the claim the bill allows for racial profiling, which he “Abhors in all of its forms.”
"Nothing inside this bill will allow racial profiling. It should never be okay. And it is not okay. And I do trust our law enforcement to not do that," Echols said.
Democrats Arturo Alonso-Sandoval and Annie Menz each tried to amend the measure to increase accountability of officers who make wrongful arrests and to protect people who can prove they’ve lived and paid taxes in Oklahoma for a long time.
Republicans swiftly denied those efforts. Alonso-Sandoval accused them of election year theatrics.
"One thing to me is clear: This is not policy focused. It's not solution focused. It's campaign messaging," Alonso-Sandoval said.
The measure passed along a 77-20 party-line vote. It now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Nearly 90% of Oklahoma voters support limits to prior authorization — that’s where health insurers decide if a service is medically necessary and if they will cover it. A bill moving through the state Legislature could provide more transparency in the process.
Oklahoma Bill Aiming to Streamline Prior Authorization Process for Medical Treatments Moves Forward
House Bill 3190 by Cherokee Republican Carl Newton would require insurance companies to make prior authorization requirements for treatments accessible and provide timely notice to providers and patients if they change them. A licensed medical professional would also need to weigh in if an insurer wants to deny care.
Dr. Diane Heaton, the executive director of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, says a study it conducted found Oklahoma voters trust physicians like her to decide what care they need over insurance companies.
“We're healthcare professionals. We need to be able to not have to spend our day worrying about denials and prior authorizations," said Heaton.
House Bill 3190 is headed to the Senate Floor.
Oklahoma Man Arrested for Allegedly Targeting The Satanic Temple Headquarters with Pipe Bomb
An Oklahoma man is accused of throwing a pipe bomb at The Satanic Temple headquarters in Massachusetts.
Sean Patrick Palmer is charged with using an explosive to cause damage to a building used in interstate commerce.
Federal prosecutors accuse Palmer of tossing a pipe bomb in the early morning hours of April 8 toward the Salem, Massachusetts home of The Satanic Temple, which describes itself as a “non-theistic organization” founded in 2013.
Surveillance camera footage shows Palmer igniting and tossing the pipe bomb at the Satanic Temple’s building. It partially detonated, causing a minor fire and damaging the building’s exterior.
Palmer wrote in a six-page handwritten note that he was sent by Elohim to “smite Satan.”
He was arrested earlier this week at his Perkins home and faces at least five, and up to 20, years of prison.
Oklahoma Reaps $42 Million Economic Boost from Total Solar Eclipse
As expected, the total solar eclipse was a financial boon to Oklahoma.
State tourism officials say visitor activity brought in about $42 million during the four days around the April 8 eclipse.
More than 122,000 people from 40 states and multiple countries took in the solar event at seven state parks.
Those visits generated about $15 million for the state—that's more than one-third of the total economic impact from the eclipse.
The Tourism and Recreation Department says it plans to build on the momentum from this event to bring even more visitors to Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City Bombing Remembrance Ceremony
Oklahomans will take a moment this morning to pause and remember the tragic event that took place on this day in 1995.
Twenty-nine years ago, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in the single-deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. One-hundred sixty eight people lost their lives.
The remembrance ceremony is scheduled to start at 8:45 this morning outside at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
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