Dust Health Advisory
Recent high-speed winds have kicked up so much dust it triggered state environmental regulators to issue a health advisory for Oklahomans Wednesday.
The state’s department of environmental quality issued an air quality health advisory for people across southwest and central Oklahoma after an extremely windy day. Many counties saw gusts over fifty-miles-per-hour and wind from dry western states blew dirt and dust particles into the Sooner state.
Erin Hatfield is the communications director for the DEQ and she says air quality health advisories are issued in real-time and the state’s drought doesn’t help the air quality.
“Certainly, if we know we're having a drought and we're going to have high wind, that's always a possibility. And then as we get into those summer months, then there's an increased possibility of having these air quality health advisories,” she said.
The DEQ’s most recent health advisory encourages people with respiratory or heart issues to limit their time outside until the windy weather blows out of town.
Transgender Healthcare Ban
The Oklahoma Legislature took another step toward banning gender affirming healthcare for transgender youth Wednesday. The state senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that would ban transgender youth healthcare interventions like hormone therapy and surgery.
Senate Bill 613 by Bartlesville Republican Julie Daniels would punish doctors found in violation of the law by having their licenses revoked and charging them with a felony that could result in up to $100,000 in fines or ten years in prison.
On the Senate Floor, lawmakers battled over their ideals. Some, like Shawnee Republican Shane Jett, compared gender affirming care for kids to parental abuse.
"We have some parents who chain up their little baby boy and put him in a cage. This happened, I’m not making this up. We have parents who kill their children," he said.
Oklahoma City Democrat Carri Hicks spoke directly to her constituents: "To the families who have reached out time and time again as their children are being attacked by this body in our words and in our deeds: I do not condone the actions of my colleagues who would seek to deny your mere existence by denying you access to best medical treatments - safe medical treatments."
The bill now heads to the House.
Electricity Choice
A state lawmaker has filed a bill that aims to bring competition to Oklahoma's electricity market. The measure hopes to reduce prices for consumers.
Rep. Ryan Martinez’s House Bill 1602 would give business owners and homeowners the option to choose their electricity provider, rather than having one assigned based on geography. If the measure passes, commercial and industrial customers currently within the territories of OG&E or PSO would be given the option to purchase electricity from other vendors beginning in January 2025, with residential consumers following in 2027.
The proposal has drawn criticism from the utilities, but has been endorsed by the Alliance for Electrical Restructuring in Oklahoma, with supporters arguing it will increase competition and reduce prices for consumers.
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