State AG Won't Enforce New Law Banning Gender-Affirming Healthcare For Minors
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for minors in May.
Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond is signing on to an agreement to not enforce that law for now.
Despite fervent protests from the state’s few Democratic lawmakers and trans-rights advocates, the ban on gender-affirming care passed through the state legislature and was eagerly signed by the governor.
But now, Attorney General Drummond is joining with the ACLU, the families of transgender adolescents and medical providers in a non-enforcement agreement as federal litigation over the law continues.
While the agreement makes it clear the AG isn’t conceding anything or acknowledging any harm, it does instruct him not to enforce the law for the time being.
In a statement, Drummond's office says a temporary stay of enforcement allows more time to mount the strongest possible defense of the legislation.
School Reading Program Bill
The education funding stalemate is coming to a close. So after months of negotiations, what made the cut?
Here's a break down one of the recent additions to the final package — a 3-year pilot program supporting reading proficiency.
Senate Bill 1118 would put $10 million over three years into the program, which would employ a literacy instructional team of five people placed regionally around the state.
The team would help districts with screening and support for dyslexia and other reading disabilities. A minimum of ten additional people would also be designated as literacy specialists.
Tulsa Republican Sen. Dave Rader presented the bill, and he says more specifics are still to-be-decided.
"The details are for the state board to set up, and for them to use the funds in this pilot program as best they can to improve, or meet the goals, or attempt to meet the goals that are set out in the bill," said Rader.
The department would submit a report to the governor, pro tem and house speaker by the end of 2026, which includes districts’ evaluations of the program, data on the program’s literacy impact, and any recommendations on the Reading Sufficiency Act — that’s the state’s effort to ensure all Oklahoma third-graders are reading on-level.
The joint committee report still needs to go through the House before it hits the governor’s desk.
Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Gets $2M For Updates
Residents near the Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant may not have to put up with a stench from the facility much longer.
House lawmakers passed a bill that would give $28 million in Federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for infrastructure investments.
Rep. Nicole Miller said residents told her about the ongoing odor problem.
Miller took part in authoring House Bill 2942, which appropriates nearly $2 million to Deer Creek’s plant for critical updates.
The bill now moves to the Senate for a vote.
Sneak Peak Of Killers of the Flower Moon
A trailer for the much anticipated film Killers of the Flower Moon is out.
The sneak peek features Lily Gladstone, Leonardo di Caprio, Robert de Niro and some of the first scenes filmed in Osage county.
Osage News editor Shannon Shaw Duty is in Cannes right now to attend the premiere. She says the movie is going to transform the Osage Nation.
“It was thrilling. You know, it shows the non-Indian community being complicit, the greed, the evil of it all,” Duty said.
The film depicts the 1920s murders of Osage citizens for their headrights, money and land.
The film is making its premiere at Cannes Saturday night and will be in wide release this fall.
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