Latest Updates

April 7, 2016 Weekly Wrap

Senate Passes Smart on Crime Reform Bills A slate of bills aimed at improving public safety and reducing Oklahoma’s overcrowded prisons by reducing mandatory minimum sentences for some drug crimes, giving prosecutors more discretion in filing charges and expanding...

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March 31, 2016 Weekly Wrap

New academic standards go into effect  On Monday, March 28, Senate leaders decided not to hear a House resolution to approve new academic standards with instructions for state education officials to make minor corrections before implementation. This means that they...

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March 24, 2016 Weekly Wrap

Governor Signs Bills Providing Supplemental Funding for Education, Corrections  Gov. Mary Fallin this week signed to measures that would release supplemental funding from the states Rainy Day Fund to the Oklahoma Department of Education and the Oklahoma Department of...

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March 18, 2016 Weekly Wrap

Legislature Pares Down Bills from 3,500 to 830  Lawmakers in the Legislature began the 2016 legislative session with nearly 3,500 bills and joint resolutions to consider. At the halfway point, lawmakers have trimmed down that list to 831 active bills and resolutions....

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March 10, 2016 Weekly Wrap

House Passes Bond to Complete Final Phase of Capitol Restoration The House of Representatives this week passed a plan to complete the restoration of the state Capitol building. House Bill 3168, authored by House Speaker Jeffrey W. Hickman (R-Fairview), would allow the...

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New 2015 Laws

Each November in Oklahoma, we have to educate ourselves on the new laws going into effect. This November is no difference and with over 200 new laws, lawmakers and agencies must make every effort to educate the public. I want to highlight a few of the new laws that...

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Capitol Updates

Since session ended a few months ago, I wanted to give some updates about what is happening at the Capitol. First, the Capitol itself is under construction.  If you’ve been to the Capitol building in the past several years, you could tell that the building needs some...

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2015 Week Fifteen Legislative Update

The following actions took place from May 18-21: House Approves Budget Legislation On Wednesday, May 20, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2016 budget. As approved, the $7.1 billion budget will cut 49 state agencies while...

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2015 Week Fourteen Legislative Update

The following actions took place from May 11-14: House Approves Tax Amnesty Measure On Thursday, May 14, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted to use a two-month amnesty period for overdue state taxes as a way to help close a $611 million drop in general revenue...

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2015 Week Thirteen Legislative Update

The following legislative action took place from May 4-6: House Sends Election Reform Measure to Governor On Wednesday, May 6, the Oklahoma House of Representatives approved Senate amendments to a measure to make it easier for third parties to get on the ballot. House...

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Jon Echols

Jon Echols

Jon Echols is committed to our local community and his experience ensures that he is getting the job done for House District 90.