Okla Legislature 2nd Worse in Nation

[Ed W]

Guess we must be a bunch of unwashed heathens out here

Oh! You weren't asking for a show of hands? I'll put mine down then. How embarrassing.

[patric]

Oklahoma has too many people in prison, a higher portion of its population than any state. It’s frustrating that we continue to incarcerate people who have no place behind bars years after SQ 780 made clear the intent of the people.
 
https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/editorials/tulsa-world-editorial-make-state-question-retroactive/article_a0daf924-a0f6-5ba3-aea8-35ea90b41396.html

[Tulsa Zephyr]

Not only is Oklahoma higher in proportion to any other state in locking  people up, it's the highest in the world.  Standing tall.  We should be the safest state in the nation.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Not only is Oklahoma higher in proportion to any other state in locking  people up, it's the highest in the world.  Standing tall.  We should be the safest state in the nation.

Lol...yeah.  Should be.   Still rushing to be #1 in all the worst things and #50 in all the best things!


How the heck do ya educate people who refuse to see or think....?

[swake]

Oklahoma has too many people in prison, a higher portion of its population than any state. It’s frustrating that we continue to incarcerate people who have no place behind bars years after SQ 780 made clear the intent of the people.
 
https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/editorials/tulsa-world-editorial-make-state-question-retroactive/article_a0daf924-a0f6-5ba3-aea8-35ea90b41396.html

Oklahoma has too many people in prison, a higher portion of its population than any place on earth.

[patric]

Oklahoma has too many people in prison, a higher portion of its population than any place on earth.

That, and Taser deaths.

Meanwhile,



At least two "feel-good" bills criminalizing abortion and another that makes inciting police a hate crime passed legislative committees despite knowing that none would pass constitutional muster, while a corrective measure that would hold those legislators financially responsible for laws they authored if those laws are later challenged in court and found to be unconstitutional wasnt even heard in committee.

Its like Vaudeville theater without the blackface.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/government-and-politics/proposed-laws-noteworthy-bills-still-alive-in-the-legislature-as/collection_2b21c25f-c116-590c-9e6c-25ab43ade0cd.html

[patric]

Look at the lightning speed the legislature moved to preserve voter suppression:


Gov. Stitt signs fast-moving bill to restore notary requirement on Oklahoma absentee ballots

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Thursday evening to restore the notary requirement for absentee ballots. The Senate had passed the bill earlier in the day, and the House approved it Wednesday.

The swift action comes just days after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that state law had changed in 2002 to allow for a signed affidavit of the voter under penalty of perjury in lieu of a notary’s signature.

The upper chamber voted along party lines 38-9.

The League of Women Voters of Oklahoma and two other plaintiffs had filed a lawsuit, saying the current COVID-19 pandemic could pose a health risk to certain voters.

According to the new law, if an emergency declaration is in effect 45 days before a scheduled election, absentee voters could send in a copy of their driver’s license or other identification along with their ballot in lieu of a notary’s signature.

Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, said lawmakers should make it easier to vote not harder during the pandemic. He said he saw no evidence that the measure would stop voter fraud.

Sen. Allison Ikley-Freeman, D-Tulsa, said constituents have the right to vote safely without an undue burden. “This measure hurts your voters and my neighbors,” she said. “It is not what is best for Oklahoma.”

“This legislative attack is based on bogus claims of voter fraud, but it is abundantly clear that the real motivation is to make it harder for Oklahomans to exercise their power at the ballot box,” said Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.

“If the governor signs this bill, Oklahoma will, again, stand alone in requiring its voters to comply with such unnecessary hurdles,” Kiesel said before Stitt signed it into law. “Voting by mail should be the norm in all elections, but it’s especially important during a pandemic.

“Whether it’s taking away hard-won voting rights of Oklahomans or related efforts like HJR 1027 that would make it impossible for Oklahomans to place important questions on the ballot by circulating initiative petitions, a majority of politicians in the Legislature are hell bent on increasing their authority by stealing away the power of the people. And while there’s no guarantee of victory, you can bet we won’t stand idly by while they try.”

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/gov-stitt-signs-fast-moving-bill-to-restore-notary-requirement-on-oklahoma-absentee-ballots/article_13753f29-d58c-5bae-aa61-cbeb0ca1b76e.html

[heironymouspasparagus]

#1 in all the worst things.

#50 in all the best things.

[patric]

A Republican state senator from Broken Arrow has prefiled legislation for the upcoming legislative session seeking to prevent localities from imposing COVID-19 mask mandates.

Nathan Dahm also prefiled another bill to prohibit political subdivisions from forcing people to take a COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are voluntary in Oklahoma.

A third bill would require that COVID-19 contact tracing is done in a voluntary manner. Complying with state or local contact tracers is also voluntary.

https://oklahoman.com/article/5679641/broken-arrow-legislator-nathan-dahm-seeks-to-preempt-local-mask-mandates

[heironymouspasparagus]

.

And his district, in zip code 74012, is consistently one of the largest sources of infection in the state. 

[patric]

Legislation that Oklahoma lawmakers say is intended to curb rioting but others view as attempts to curb dissent continued moving out of committee last week.

House Bill 2215, by Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, would add obstructing a business entrance or exit or a roadway to the statutory definition of inciting a riot and would bar from criminal and civil prosecution motorists who “unintentionally” injure or kill someone while “fleeing from a riot.”

Under Oklahoma law, incitement to riot is a felony subject to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Obstructing traffic is generally a misdemeanor.

HB 2095, by Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, would make those charged with unlawful assembly subject to racketeering charges. Under Oklahoma statute, unlawful assembly is essentially conspiracy to incite a riot and is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Senate Bill 119, by Sen. Mark Allen, R-Poteau, would require application 10 days in advance for demonstrations on the state Capitol grounds and could make protest organizers liable for damage to the property.

Allen has sought to limit Capitol demonstrations since teachers and their supporters occupied the building three years ago.

SB 403, by Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Oklahoma City, would make it a misdemeanor to “interfere or disrupt” the business of local governments, including school boards, and would apply to public meetings.

In recent years, the Legislature has also expanded the definition of criminal trespass, chiefly to protect oil and gas assets from protestors.

Some First Amendment advocates see measures such as these as intended to intimidate dissenters by giving law enforcement leeway to arrest and prosecute protestors for relatively minor infractions.

Session notes: A House committee advanced legislation that would require an extra step in the prosecution of any law officer charged with homicide or manslaughter. The author of HB 2505, Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, said his measure was prompted by what he viewed as the unfair treatment of former Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/political-notebook-oklahoma-lawmakers-target-civil-disobedience/article_d01e5ed6-72d1-11eb-8635-531d08bde630.html