State Health Department To Prepare For Potential Federal Family Planning Money
During the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Senate budget hearing Tuesday, Health and Human Services Chair Paul Rosino said he wants the department to prepare for the possibility the state would see its federal family planning money restored under President Donald Trump.
Sen. Rosino (R-Oklahoma City) said the Trump administration “probably would be helpful” in Oklahoma’s fight to win back Title X funding it lost in 2023 when it refused to meet one of the grant’s requirements to provide counseling to pregnant women on all options, including abortion if a patient requests it.
The Legislature has stepped in with funding to fill in the gaps.
But Rosino said if the money were to return to Oklahoma this fiscal year, the state’s financial support would be clawed back.
“Make sure you keep that in your budget analysis, that if that grant comes, we're going to ask for that money back that the state had stepped up when the federal government did not,” Rosino said.
The first Trump administration issued regulations on Title X prohibiting sites that received funding from referring clients seeking abortions to providers, according to KFF.
A lawsuit from Oklahoma's attorney general seeking to recoup the lost funding is ongoing.
State Lawmaker Proposes Bill To Limit Length of Trains
A bill set to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session would limit the length of trains in Oklahoma.
The legislation's goal is to relieve traffic concerns.
House Bill 2830 also known as the Train Length Bill filed by Morrison Republican Ty Burns would cap the length of trains at 85 hundred feet, which is about 120 carts.
Representative Burns said the infrastructure is being stressed by the length of some trains.
“Some of these trains are getting into that 10 to 15,000ft area, which you're getting in the 2.83 miles when you get into 15,000ft. And obviously, the public safety of not just derailment, but clogging up the line,” Burns said.
He said the idea is to improve train and commuter congestion and address safety issues, and that four surrounding states have already passed similar bills.
Corrections Official Warns Drones Could Cause Problems For Prisons
The Oklahoma Corrections Director is concerned about drones smuggling in weapons and lifting inmates out of prisons.
Corrections Director Steven Harpe told a state senate committee he thinks he has a problem.
He cited a case in Georgia where a drone delivered a gun to a prisoner which was used to kill a corrections officer.
And Harpe said he has been shown drones which can actually help prisoners escape.
“One of them could carry a 222 pound man. There was another one that could carry a 300 pound man,” Harpe said.
On the other hand, Harpe wants the Corrections Department to start using drones for surveillance around prisons.
National Wrestling Tournament Set For Tulsa This Fall
A national collegiate wrestling tournament will come to Tulsa this fall.
Wrestlers will be vying for $1 million in prizes.
The National Duals Invitational will be in mid-November at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
Officially, it will be hosted by the Oklahoma State University wrestling team, and feature 15 other Division 1 squads. A full list of participants will come by mid-summer.
The million-dollar purse comes courtesy of Paycom founder and CEO Chad Richison, a former collegiate wrestler at UCO.
Richison was also instrumental in the hiring of Cowboy wrestling coach David Taylor who is currently in his first season with the team.
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