Transcript Highlights:

• Why invest if there's liability in perpetuity when there's no opportunity for divestiture?

Committee: House House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• And we also already have divestiture statutes in 60 O.S. 121 et seq.

Bills: HJR1088 , HJR1090 , HJR1091 , HB1370 , SB2154 , HJR1092 , HJR1093 , HJR1095 , HJR1099 , HJR1100 , HB3021 , SB893 , SB206 , SB248 , SB259 , SB423 , SB563 , SB604 , SB633 , HJR1077 , SB667 , SB1224 , SB1257 , SB1264 , SB1319 , SB1360 , SB1437 , SB1531 , SB1543 , SB1806 , HB3004 , SB1572 , HB4342 , SB1618 , SB2 , SB237 , SB1632 , SB1687 , SB1726 , SB1859 , SB1894 , SB1461 , HB4432 , SB1948 , SB1589 , SJR52 , SR46 , HCR1030 , SB2071 , SB2182 , SB1451

Summary: The Senate met with a quorum, prayer, pledges, and recognition of two student pages before taking up a long agenda of House joint resolutions and bills, mostly related to administrative rules and agency approvals. The chamber advanced and passed H.J.R. 1088, 1090, 1091, 1092, 1093, 1095, 1099, and 1100, which approved permanent rules for education, energy and agriculture, business and commerce, building code, health-related agencies, general government agencies, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, and OMES. Several senators criticized the process for moving rule resolutions quickly and without committee vetting, while supporters said the calendar delays required direct consideration. The Senate also adopted conference committee reports and passed SB 206, SB 248, and HB 3021, with HB 3021 making small changes to graduation requirements, including science/math course language, Oklahoma history flexibility for some military families, and personal financial literacy counting toward math in some cases. A major portion of the meeting focused on House Bill 1370, which was described by its author as repealing an automatic state trigger that would replace any federal gasoline tax if the federal government suspended it. Supporters argued the bill would prevent Oklahoma drivers from paying more if the federal gas tax were repealed and framed it as tax relief; opponents argued it could reduce highway and bridge funding and create a budget hole. The Senate suspended several rules to bring the bill up, but rejected a motion to suspend the fiscal-impact rule for a proposed amendment. After debate, the chamber passed the measure 41-7 and then approved it as an emergency measure. The Senate also took up Senate Bill 893, a conference report dealing with foreign ownership near critical infrastructure and agricultural land. The bill would restrict certain foreign adversary ownership or leasing within 10 miles of critical infrastructure, add training zones and other protected areas, delay implementation until July 1, 2027, and create an enforcement process involving Attorney General review and whistleblower-style reporting. Senators raised concerns about enforcement, possible misuse, and profiling, while the author said the bill was aimed at national security and infrastructure protection. The conference report was adopted and the bill passed. Later, the Senate received notice that the House was ready to convene in joint session, and the chamber briefly stood at ease before returning to continue its work.

Transcript Highlights:

• We securitized stranded costs for Seabrook for the divestiture of generation assets for the utilities
• We securitized stranded costs for Seabrook for the divestiture of generation assets for the utilities

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know how will the department oversee the orderly divestiture of agricultural land that belongs

Committee: Senate Agriculture and Environment

Summary: The hearing began on SP 547, which would create incentives for graywater recycling systems and atmospheric water generators through an income tax credit, a Department of Health rebate program, and building code standards. The Department of Health and Department of Taxation offered written comments; Taxation said it had seven proposed amendments to improve administration. Testimony was largely supportive, with advocates and local users describing water-supply benefits, emergency use during the Maui fires, and potential help for drought conditions and Red Hill concerns. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii suggested only the rebate program should move forward for clearer cost transparency, and the Department of Health said it needed more time to study the bill. Members questioned the fiscal impact and whether combining a tax credit and rebate was typical, but staff did not have cost estimates. Decision-making on SP 547 was deferred to February 12, 2025. The committee then took up SP 242 on foreign ownership of agricultural lands. The chair recommended passage with amendments, including deleting a reference to the Attorney General in one section and changing the effective date to July 1, 2050. Supporters argued the bill was a first step to limit foreign ownership of farmland, citing other states with similar restrictions, while several members said they supported the intent but had reservations about possible unintended harm to farmers and agriculture investment. After discussion, the measure passed with amendments on a 5-0 vote, with some members voting with reservations. The committee also discussed SP 1633, which would create a green building tax credit for structures using at least 30% Hawaii-grown hemp material. The chair said the bill was close but needed more work, and decision-making was deferred to February 12, 2025. Later, the committee heard several environmental measures: SB 683, which would ban intentionally added PFAS in certain products starting in 2028; SB 1109, which would replace the “finding of no significant impact” with a “finding of completion of environmental disclosure process”; SB 391, which would expand recycling requirements to certain lithium-ion batteries; and SB 12, which would classify neonic pesticides as restricted-use pesticides and limit certain seed treatments. Testimony on these bills included support from environmental and advocacy groups, comments from state agencies, and requests for amendments or further study, but no final votes were taken on those measures in the portion of the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• tick-tock fix because I added language in here that basically says under the protect qualified divestiture

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• very much appreciate language in the bill, making sure that liens are satisfied before. in the divestiture

Bills: HB17 , HB34 , HB41 , HB 118 , HB 119 , HB 127 , HB 128 , HB 129 , HB 130 , HB132 , HB133 , HB17 , HB41 , HB118 , HB119 , HB127 , HB128 , HB129 , HB130 , HB132 , HB133

Committee: House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Keywords: foreign ownership, real estate, national security, designated countries, Texas property law, lobbying, foreign adversaries, compensation prohibition, transparency, civil penalties, higher education, foreign adversary, research security, trade secrets, academic partnerships, HB 128, sister city, sister-city agreement, international exchange, municipal diplomacy

Committee: House Science, Technology and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• projects that could be included within that framework could be viewed as sort of diverging from that divestiture
• projects that could be included within that framework could be viewed as sort of diverging from that divestiture

Committee: House Science, Technology and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• in the case of Liberty and also Unitil, and definitely for PSNH right away when they went into divestiture

Committee: House Science, Technology and Energy