Marijuana Vote
Nearly five years ago, voters approved State Question 788, which legalized medical marijuana. Now they’re heading back to the polls to vote on another referendum. This time on cannabis for recreational adult-use.
Voters will decide if Oklahoma will be the newest state to approve recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and older. The state question would impose a 15% excise tax for recreational customers. It would allow people to have up to one ounce of weed for adult use and grow up to six cannabis plants. It would also expunge some marijuana criminal offenses.
Oklahoma would be the 22nd state to legalize recreational pot. Opponents zero in on that, saying there shouldn’t be a patchwork of state regulations throughout the country. The state’s cannabis industry has seen rapid development since 2018 - with more than 7,000 growers, 2,800 dispensaries and 369,000 medical marijuana patients.
Medical Licensing Board
Oklahoma lawmakers are deciding who should regulate doctors and their medical licenses: Industry experts or the state’s top elected officials. A bill to shake up the state medical board is garnering some criticism.
Under current law, the state’s physician trade group - the Oklahoma State Medical Association - nominates doctors for the board, and the governor chooses from that list. If governors don’t like the first batch of names, they can request more. Bartlesville Sen. Julie Daniels argues this gives too much power to the association, and she authored Senate Bill 303 to nix the process. Instead, the governor would directly appoint doctors. The top lawmaker in the House and Senate would get a pick too.
But lawmakers have concerns about inserting politics into medical licensure. So does the president of the state medical association, Dr. David Holden.
"It doesn’t serve the people of Oklahoma. And it doesn’t serve the practice of medicine," he said.
The bill has made it out of committee and it’s waiting for a floor vote.
Criminal Justice Money
A bill that would specify who will manage and calculate funds accrued from a criminal justice reform initiative approved in 2016 passed the Senate unanimously on Monday.
Republican Senator Roger Thompson’s Senate Bill 844 would put the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in charge of the County Community Safety Investment Fund. The fund was created following the passage of State Questions 780 and 781 in 2016, which reclassified some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and designated the money saved from the reclassification would be used to cover the costs of mental health care services in all 77 counties.
Legislators have not put any money into the fund. Instead, they have appropriated money to individual agencies and programs. If passed, Senate Bill 844 would put the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency in charge of calculating the annual savings from the reclassification and providing a report of the amount awarded to each county.
Vehicle Registration
A bill to allow vehicle registration every two years is moving forward. House Bill 2011 would allow vehicle owners to register their vehicles every two years instead of annually. The bill aims to create greater convenience and save time for Oklahomans. The bill directs Service Oklahoma to establish an option for biennial registration for most vehicles. Those choosing biennial registration would pay double what they pay annually. The bill now moves to the state Senate.
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