Muskogee Republican Senator Dewayne Pemberton is looking to give Oklahoma public school teachers and support staff a raise
Oklahoma lawmakers are considering taking away Gov. Kevin Stitt’s authority to negotiate gaming compacts with tribal nations on behalf of the state.
Under Stitt’s leadership, Oklahoma has had a tense relationship with tribal nations over gaming compacts.
Last month, a federal judge upheld that four gaming compacts aren’t legal and the U.S. Department of the Interior had the obligation to determine the validity of the contested agreements before allowing them to go into effect.
This has created a regulatory mess. House Charles McCall says lawmakers must ultimately take charge in gaming regulation moving forward.
"The legislature-only the legislature ultimately holds the authority. And we can grant authority to the executive branch, and we can revoke authority to the executive branch through our lawmaking process," said McCall.
It’s unclear what form a bill might take to strip Stitt’s bargaining powers for compacts. But it will likely be a topic of discussion when lawmakers reconvene in February.
OKC veteran homes project postponed
A project to provide housing to homeless veterans in Oklahoma City has been postponed.
The Oklahoman reports Kansas City-based nonprofit Veterans Community Project withdrew its application to rezone four acres of property in the Capitol View neighborhood of Oklahoma City last week. If the application had been approved, the nonprofit would have built 35 tiny homes and a community center for homeless veterans.
This follows the Citizens Advisory Committee voting to recommend the Capitol-Medical Center Improvement and Zoning Commission deny the rezoning application after Capitol View residents sent letters and a petition with more than 400 signatures opposing the project, saying it would negatively impact their property values.
Kevin McPherson, the president of the Capitol View neighborhood association, says he wants to see the project somewhere else in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City is getting a new semi-professional football team next year
It was announced yesterday, the Oklahoma City Wranglers will play for the UFL. Former NFL player and Sooner, JD Runnels will be the head coach of the Wranglers.
“We will find the top talent that’s around here locally around Texas, around Kansas. And then guys nationally that want to just play the game of football.”
Representatives say the league will play with eight-person teams and will use modified rules. The Wranglers and UFL will start playing in April and go on until July. They will play temporarily at a facility at Crossroads Mall for the first two years before switching to a permanent facility.
COVID-19 update
Thirty-three more COVID-19 fatalities bring Oklahoma’s Provisional Death Count to 17, 349.
In its weekly update Thursday, the Health Department reported nearly 5,600 new positive tests for the Coronavirus since December Eighth.
The number of active cases has increased to more than eight thousand.
The agency also reported 324 COVID-19 patients in Oklahoma hospital beds including 65 in intensive care and twenty-one children.
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