Transcript Highlights:

• Now we're going to start with the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
• I lead the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Thank you for having us.
• But the agency is very small by headcount standards.
• Fiber is the gold standard; it will cost more.
• We are advocating for Oklahoma, especially rural Oklahoma.

Committee: House A&B Finance Subcommittee

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• standard, that Oklahoma way of doing things, but not just Oklahoma—our great nation.
• standard, that Oklahoma way of doing things, but not just Oklahoma—our great nation.
• Instantly and covering hours and days and weeks, reflected that Oklahoma standard, that Oklahoma way
• Something called the Oklahoma Standard was developed and is still very famous amongst first responders
• SOMETHING CALLED THE OKLAHOMA STANDARD WAS DEVELOPED AND STILL VERY FAMOUS AMONGST FIRST RESPONDERS.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, April 20, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Or making sure every Oklahoma child one day can go to college in Oklahoma for free.
• Or making sure every Oklahoma child one day can go to college in Oklahoma for free.
• Or making sure every Oklahoma child one day can go to college in Oklahoma for free.
• Or making sure every Oklahoma child one day can go to college in Oklahoma for free.
• I believe in Oklahoma voters.

Summary: The committee heard and advanced a series of bills and resolutions, many involving taxes, education funding, health policy, and election rules. Representative Newton’s HB 1823, on the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency’s home-building activities, passed 10-0. Speaker Hilbert’s HB 2425, which would align Oklahoma election dates more closely with Texas and move some elections to March, passed 9-2 after debate about turnout and accountability. HB 4440, requiring Medicaid work requirements to track federal law, passed 10-2 amid discussion of chronic unemployment and the limits of changing Medicaid expansion because it is in the Constitution. HJR 1087, a major proposal to restructure the T-SET tobacco settlement trust and redirect funds toward higher education and related uses, passed 12-0 after extensive debate over venture capital investing, public health spending, and whether the trust should be modernized. The committee also took up several property-tax measures. HJR 1053 would create a revenue-neutral ad valorem framework, requiring local approval for increases beyond prior-year levels; it passed 9-2. HJR 1054 would exempt business inventory from ad valorem taxation, and after questions about scope and possible abuse it passed 9-2. HJR 1044 would lower the annual cap on growth in assessed value for homestead and agricultural property from 3% to 2%; it passed 9-2. HB 4145 would raise the homestead exemption from $1,000 to $7,000 and passed 9-1. HJR 1081 would freeze ad valorem taxes for qualifying seniors and passed 8-1. The committee also advanced HB 3891, a county commissioner pay bill, after title was struck and members discussed its impact on small counties; it passed 9-2. Other measures included HB 1770, directing an elk population study by Oklahoma State University, which passed 11-0; HB 1675, requiring youth camps to complete site-specific hazardous assessments, which passed 11-0; HB 3627, allowing the State Committee of Blind Vendors to meet by video conference due to quorum issues, which passed 11-0; HB 3472, expanding tire-recycling fund eligibility, which passed 10-1; and HB 1225, barring changes to the biological sex designation on birth certificates, which passed 8-2 after debate over medical, legal, and equal-protection concerns. The committee also advanced HJR 1019, a heavily amended proposal concerning party nominations for general elections, after striking title and narrowing the scope to federal, state, and county races; it passed 8-1 with two not voting. HB 3462, updating plumbing licensing law and aligning exam standards with other trades, passed 9-0 after title was struck to accommodate further negotiations.

Transcript Highlights:

• So if state licensing, do you think it's necessary to hold those standards?
• It says files copies of the policies and standards with Children's Division.
• standards are.
• Safety standards were not uniformly enforced.
• We wanted to make sure that we were following a set of standards that made sense.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Summary: The committee continued a public hearing on House Bill 2897, which would expand optometrists’ scope of practice. Supporters, including Dr. Kelly Deering, said optometrists are trained to perform the listed office-based procedures, that rural Missouri lacks access to ophthalmologists, and that the bill would reduce wait times, travel burdens, and costs while helping retain students and practitioners in the state. Opponents, including representatives of the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, argued the bill does not guarantee rural access and said the procedures should remain within the medical/surgical training of physicians. Members also questioned training on live human eyes and how suspicious lesions would be handled. No vote was taken, and the hearing on HB 2897 was closed. The committee then heard House Bill 2353, which would create a licensing and sign-and-seal framework for interior designers and move oversight to the board that includes architects, engineers, land surveyors, and landscape architects. Sponsor Rep. Sherri Gallick and supporters said the bill modernizes regulation, recognizes accredited education and NCIDQ testing, and would let licensed interior designers take responsibility for non-structural interior design work without hiring an architect to stamp plans. Opponents from the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers and others said they were still negotiating but remained concerned about scope-of-practice language, especially phrases like “all interior design of buildings” and “publicly occupied buildings,” which they said could create overlap with architecture and engineering or unintended obligations for public entities. Testimony also focused on whether unlicensed interior designers would still be allowed to work under carve-outs. No final action was taken. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2241, which would create a separate framework for certain faith-based residential child care facilities to operate without a state license while registering with the state and meeting background-check, reporting, and oversight requirements. Sponsor Rep. Jamie Gregg and MACA representatives said the bill is intended to expand foster placement capacity for children in need while preserving the religious mission of Christian homes, and they cited federal and state initiatives encouraging partnerships with faith-based providers. Opponents argued the bill would create a two-tier system, weaken state licensing protections, and risk placing vulnerable children in facilities without the same direct oversight, inspections, and reunification safeguards as licensed foster homes. Members raised concerns about abuse history at some faith-based homes, the role of the proposed board, and whether religious practices or other mission-based rules would conflict with child welfare standards. The hearing continued with additional testimony; no vote was reported.

Transcript Highlights:

• That is one of the main ways that we, as an academic institution, help support those rural hospitals.
• Because the reality is that working in an academic medical center is a diverse and rewarding profession
• We are the state's only academic medical center and the major trainer of the healthcare workforce for
• We have some standard rotations, as you probably know, between your first and second year in medical
• And we don't believe that being the top performer on a standardized test makes you the best doctor or

Transcript Highlights:

• There's elements of it in terms of we look after the architecture, we look at standards in those pieces
• , prepare and publish technical standards, and similar statements to this effect, which indicate to me
• , prepare and publish technical standards, and similar statements to this effect, which indicate to me
• The Oklahoma Senate has a bill that would prohibit new construction until November 2029, and the main
• So Governor Haley announced kind of a public-private academic initiative focused on workforce, and it

Keywords: 907, all

Summary: The committee held a series of informational briefings on information management and technology issues. It first heard from ACLU representatives on data privacy, who argued that Oregon should strengthen protections against private data brokers, government purchases of personal data, reverse warrants, automatic license plate readers, and local police surveillance. They urged data minimization, limits on data sales and retention, and broader transparency and accountability measures. Members asked about practical uses of license plate readers, state sales of data, and how Oregon’s approach compares with other states; the presenters said similar proposals have been adopted elsewhere, including data minimization in Maryland and a state version of the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act in Montana. The committee then received a detailed update from the Department of Administrative Services and Enterprise Information Services on licensing system modernization for 14 boards and commissions with the most immediate need. DAS said it is seeking a shared procurement approach through an RFP that would create either one scalable system or two tiers of systems, depending on agency needs and security requirements, with contracts expected by September. Committee members emphasized the need for a more unified, user-friendly statewide login and service experience for businesses and residents, and raised concerns about small agencies “figuring it out on their own” without sufficient cybersecurity or technical expertise. EIS said it is overseeing the investment review, security and architecture review, and future implementation planning, and noted that multiple agency requests may still come back to the legislature in the next session. The committee also discussed a revised cybersecurity incident notification concept. Staff explained that the earlier bill had raised stakeholder concerns, so the co-chairs directed further interim work with the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council and other local government and K-12 stakeholders. The goal is a narrower, voluntary “911-style” notification process that would let public bodies alert peers and potentially receive assistance after cyber incidents; a temporary voluntary process is being tested now, with a work group developing language for possible 2027 consideration. Finally, the committee heard updates from the new state chief data officer on data governance, data sharing, geospatial work, and the state transparency website, followed by a briefing on data centers from NCSL and the Technology Association of Oregon. The data officer described efforts to expand data inventories, data governance plans, data literacy, and interagency sharing, along with statewide aerial imagery, geospatial standards, and the open data portal. The data center discussion focused on national and state trends, including rapid growth in data centers, rising electricity and water demand, and legislative responses such as new rate classes, reporting requirements, and cost-allocation rules to protect ratepayers. No votes were taken; the meeting was informational only.

Transcript Highlights:

• , I'm fairly confident, doesn't our DEQ demand that we follow EPA standards already?
• This is a permit process, and right now, Standards already? No, they do not.
• So all this says is any facility in the state of Oklahoma, if you are going to be...
• Oklahoma DEQ can supersede EPA? It's not supersede.
• It's just standard medical waste. Am I correct? With respect, Mr.

Committee: House A&B Natural Resources Subcommittee

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's a standard bit of equipment, you know, with fins, BCD, backup regulators.
• </c><01:21:12.120><c> standard</c><01:21:12.920><c> uh</c><01:21:13.800><c> bit</c><01:21:14.000><c>
• of</c> there's a standard standard uh bit of there's a standard standard uh bit of equipment<01:21:14.560
• You would assume that there would be a standard of training, and unfortunately there was not.
• This bill addresses that gap by establishing clear, reasonable training and safety standards that we

Bills: HF1355 , HF1469 , HF1768

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Keywords: commercial diving, scuba diving safety, aquatic plant management, workplace safety, environmental regulations, HF1469, Minnesota, workforce development, job training, job skills training, reentry, reentry services, formerly incarcerated, ex-offenders, inmates, recently released inmates, felony conviction, felony-level offense, corrections, prison release

Transcript Highlights:

• , so we don't want to not have safety standards.
• I'm just talking about just a standard routine type of care.
• When our initial statute was written, which was back in 2001, that was still the standard.
• So the standard at the time was the CRT credential as the minimum requirement.
• We, you know, to clarify that, all of the schools have to maintain certain standards, and those standards

Committee: House Professional Registration and Licensing

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 3111, which concerns bail bonds oversight. Representative Phelps offered a committee substitute that moved bail bondsmen into the existing Board of Private Investigators, Private Fire Investigators, and Professional Surety Bail Bonds to avoid a fiscal note. An amendment was adopted to remove fee caps in the substitute, and the committee then adopted the revised substitute and voted it do pass 21-0. The committee then heard Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill 1233, the CPA licensure bill, along with related provisions for social work supervisors and speech pathologists. Senator Trent and supporters from the Missouri Society of CPAs, the speech-language association, the social work community, and the State Auditor’s Office said the bill would address CPA shortages by creating a new licensure path based more on experience, while preserving exam standards and adding reciprocity. No opposition was offered, and the hearing concluded without a vote. House Bill 2999 on optometry scope of practice drew extensive testimony and debate. The sponsor and ophthalmology witnesses described the bill as a negotiated compromise that would codify specific procedures optometrists may perform, while opponents from optometry argued it would freeze scope in statute, limit modernization, and require repeated legislative action as standards change. Witnesses disagreed sharply over whether the bill improved patient safety and access, whether the procedures were already within current practice, and whether surgical procedures such as lasers should be included. The bill was heard but no committee action was taken in the transcript. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2957 on respiratory therapist licensure. Representative Castile and respiratory care witnesses said the bill would phase out the CRT as the entry credential for new applicants in favor of the higher RRT standard, while grandfathering current CRTs and adding renewal audits to confirm active credentials. Supporters said the change reflects current training standards and would raise patient-care quality without reducing workforce numbers. No opposition testimony was presented, and the hearing adjourned without a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• will have Access to free college in the state of Oklahoma.
• for free if they want to go to an Oklahoma institution.
• Revenue has gone up in the state of Oklahoma.
• have these in their area to use state standards for their compliance.
• The assessment ratio is 11% in Oklahoma County.

Committee: House Rules

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Oklahoma currently has 541 school districts.
• You can see there, Oklahoma is in the middle of the region.
• It's not in your slides, but Oklahoma currently ranks thirty-fifth in compensation.
• And so I think we need to standardize it.
• For example, social security, which Oklahoma pays, other states do not. Pensions, etc.

Committee: House Appropriations and Budget

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, Chicago is looking like a strong fly, but Oklahoma City is looking like a strong fly drive
• Would be for expanding into an additional market, likely looking at Chicago, Oklahoma City, or there's
• We could boost our co-op program and add drive market advertising to the Oklahoma City market as sort
• Scientists are working both on their academic side with the labs and can work with the private sector
• Everyone, every IRB project now in the state of New Mexico has pay standards based off of prevention.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to high school in Oklahoma has to take Oklahoma history.
• Oklahoma State with Oklahoma gardening and Sun Up, which is an agriculture show.
• Outdoor Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gardening have been on the air for 50 years.
• Just didn't align with Oklahoma. You can just say no, that's not aligned with Oklahoma.
• Of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.

Committee: House A&B Education Subcommittee

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's local to Oklahoma as to a rate that we want to establish.
• The front executive director of Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services.
• School for the Blind, and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf.
• School for the Blind, and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf.
• It's like this is a town in Oklahoma.

Committee: House A&B Human Services Subcommittee

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Missouri would be joining Texas and Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma already is transporting people into southwest Missouri because it is not a felony here.
• I was trafficked out of Oklahoma, first time by my mom at 8 years old.
• City, Coffeyville, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• He had no signs of depression, no relationship issues, no academic struggles, or behavioral concerns,

Committee: House Children and Families

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On your standard state-issued...
• But we use the same camera for the standard ID as we do for...
• Department of Defense cybersecurity standards.
• However, the bill you have in front of you does nothing to increase the standards here in Arizona.
• Let us deal with it on the federal level where we have federal standards.

Bills: HB2056 , HB2057 , HB2224 , HB2257 , HB2265 , HB2311 , HB2352 , HB2367 , HB2369 , HB2446 , HB2532 , HB2592 , HB2752 , HB2809 , HB2957

Committee: Senate Appropriations, Transportation and Technology

Keywords: brackish water, groundwater, desalination, water resources, feasibility study, environmental impact, special plates, centennial, Arizona Department of Transportation, vehicle registration, commercial discounts, Arizona Centennial, produce incentive, agriculture, economic support, funding, Arizona, boating, watercraft licensing, law enforcement

Bills: SB15 , SB9 , SB7 , SB1 , SB2 , SB67 , SB15 , SB9 , SB7

Keywords: real property, fraud, theft, elderly, disabled, statute of limitations, criminal offense, property rights, property tax, ad valorem tax, voter-approval tax rate, no-new-revenue tax rate, tax rate calculation, Tax Code, local government finance, municipality, county, special taxing unit, sales and use tax, property tax cap

Transcript Highlights:

• could lose federal funding if they comply with this provision but fail to meet inclusive service standards
• Would your bill, Senate Bill 7, provide a standard so that every school district and every school board
• A standard statewide policy.

Bills: SB15 , SB9 , SB7 , SB1 , SB2 , SB67 , SB15 , SB9 , SB7

Keywords: real property, fraud, theft, elderly, disabled, statute of limitations, criminal offense, property rights, property tax, ad valorem tax, voter-approval tax rate, no-new-revenue tax rate, tax rate calculation, Tax Code, local government finance, municipality, county, special taxing unit, sales and use tax, property tax cap

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, it's got 15 things listed that they can issue safety standards on today.
• But it would actually augment what you want to do here if 1194 was adopted because it gives standards
• and raising elevation standards.
• . standards and qualifications and can demonstrate proficiency in this skill.
• But it's not codified anywhere, and it's not standardized.

Bills: HB2 , HB1 , HB18 , HB19 , HB20 , HB1 , HB 2 , HB18 , HB19 , HB20

Committee: House Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select

Keywords: emergency communication, interoperability, grant program, first responders, state council, disaster response, emergency management, mass fatality, justices of the peace, training programs, emergency manager license, volunteer management, justice of the peace training, criminal history checks, state health services, broadband, public safety, disaster preparedness, funding, flood disaster plan

Bills: HB188 , HB265 , HJR35 , HJR47 , SB1901 , HB188 , HB265 , HJR35

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: Texas STRONG defense fund, severance tax revenue, oil and gas revenue, constitutional transfers, rainy day fund, economic stabilization fund, state highway fund, oil and gas production, qualifying county, county grants, water infrastructure, first responders, public safety, DPS staffing, commercial motor vehicle safety, gang violence prevention, human trafficking prevention, economic development, TxDOT grants, school districts