More money for abandoned wells
The Senate Energy Committee passed two bills addressing the state’s widespread issue of abandoned wells. StateImpact’s Chloe Bennett-Steele has more.
House Bill 1370 could increase the existing well-plugging fund from about 2.5 million dollars annually to up to 20 million dollars.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission says it has at least 20,000 abandoned wells across the state in need of plugging.
"The number just changes all the time since I've been up here. But one thing that hasn't changed, it's growing," Senate author Grant Green (R-Wellston) said.
That bill is headed to Appropriations. The energy committee also passed House Bill 1031, which would extend the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board until 2031. The board is funded by a 1% tax on oil and gas producers and says it's restored land around thousands of abandoned wells.
1031 is now headed to the senate floor.
Starbucks workers unionize
Workers at a Starbucks shop in Norman voted to unionize this week. It’s the second location in Norman and the sixth location in the state to do so.
Workers at the Starbucks on Mt. Williams Drive and 24th Avenue Northwest in Norman voted 15-2 to join Starbucks Workers United, which represents workers at more than 570 stores across 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Oklahoma Starbucks workers joined the growing national unionization effort in 2022 when workers at the Starbucks location on 23rd Street and Robinson Avenue in Oklahoma City became the first location in the state to join Starbucks Workers United.
In a press release, Starbucks Workers United said this action comes as the union has filed over 90 unfair labor practice charges against the company since the beginning of the year, claiming the company has backtracked on previous commitments to support workers’ rights to collective bargaining.
Compacting dispute
Governor Kevin Stitt and Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill are at odds over compacting.
Governor Kevin Stitt is lobbing accusations at the Muscogee Nation. He says the tribe and others worked together to kill Senate Bill 675, which died in committee. That measure would have given Oklahoma’s Turnpike Authority access to a confidential law enforcement network to collect tolls.
“The fact that you've got the Muscogee Creeks that have killed this bill…because they want to drive on the turnpikes for free. I think Oklahomans find that disgusting,” Stitt said.
Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill said Stitt is trying to mix multiple issues into one tobacco compact.
“He has a compact sitting on his desk, but he will not sign it until we include motor vehicle and turnpikes. Those are two separate things,” Hill said.
The Muscogee Nation’s tobacco compact expired last month.
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