TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. Shawn new and reelected members of the state senate were sworn in on November 13th and all House members were sworn into office last Wednesday. So, what's the first order of business as representatives and senators begin work for the next legislative session?
Shawn Ashley: Well, it's a lot like onboarding a new employee at a business. Lawmakers have to complete their paperwork to get paid and receive their state benefits. Speaker-elect Kyle Hilbert, for example, told representatives last Wednesday they would not be on the state's payroll until they signed and turned in their oaths of office. New legislators also go through orientation where they learn about Ethics Commission requirements and the chamber's sexual harassment policies, among other things. And they get assigned offices and have to hire an assistant to help them run it.
Dick Pryor: New legislators’ terms have begun, but the next Oklahoma legislature does not actually start until organizational day on January 7th. So, what happens to the legislative special sessions that were called during the last year?
Shawn Ashley: The 59th legislature met in special session three times. Lawmakers called the first special session in 2023 to complete their work on the fiscal year 2024 budget and adjourned that special session at the end of July 2023. Governor Kevin Stitt called the second special session in September of 2023, asking lawmakers to consider a series of tax cuts. The Senate adjourned that special session Sine Die a little more than five hours after it began, but the House left it open. And in January, Stitt called lawmakers back to the Capitol one week before the start of the 2024 regular session to vote on a decrease in the state's individual income tax rate. The House met and passed the bill, but the Senate never took it up, and both chambers left that special session open. So, both were open on Wednesday when the reelected and new legislators terms began. And those special sessions effectively dissolved because the members of the 59th legislature no longer are members.
Dick Pryor: An initiative petition has been filed to create a state question that would replace the state's closed primary system with an open primary. Shawn, how would that work?
Shawn Ashley: Under the proposed state question, all of the candidates for a particular office would go on one ballot regardless of their party affiliation and face one another in the primary election. The top two vote getters, regardless again of their party affiliation, would advance to the general election. And whoever gets the most votes in that election would be the winner. Once the Secretary of State sets a start date, proponents will have 90 days to collect at least 172,993 signatures to put the proposal before a vote of the people in 2026, when the next statewide elections are set. Before those signatures can be collected. and once they have been collected, there are protest periods for opponents of the proposal. The window to file protests used to be ten days after the publication of certain notices by the Secretary of State. But legislation approved during the 2024 regular session opened those windows further to 90 days.
Dick Pryor: In the general election, voters did not retain Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger. The Judicial Nominating Commission is now already seeking applications from potential replacements for her.
Shawn Ashley: Kauger is retiring December 1st before her term expires in January and before the effect of the election really can be implemented. The Judicial Nominating Commission is now accepting applications until December 20th for attorneys who would like to fill that seat. To qualify, they must be at least 30 years old and have been a licensed attorney practicing law within the state of Oklahoma or a judge in Oklahoma or both for five years preceding their appointment. They also must have been a qualified elector for Supreme Court Judicial District 4, which is comprised of the old Congressional District 3 for one year prior to their appointment. The Judicial Nominating Commission will review the applications and recommend three candidates to Governor Kevin Stitt, who will make the final appointment - his fourth of the court's nine members.
Dick Pryor: We're going to leave it right there. Shawn, thank you.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find audio and transcripts at kgou.org and look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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