Happy second week of session! The legislature kicked off the 2022 Legislative Session as it has done every year with the Governor’s State of the State address. This year, the Governor continued his attacks on tribal sovereignty, teachers’ unions, classroom censorship, and the right to reproductive freedom. Members of the Black Caucus gave a response, in which Rep. Nichols pointed out that less than 3 percent of bills signed into state law included at least one Black lawmaker as the author. That was all on day one!
Check out the rest of the newsletter and read about the work our elected officials completed throughout the week.
Policy Corner:
All senate bills have been referred to committee and the remaining house bills are well on their way. Here are some of the bills we are watching this week:
Keeping an Eye on:
HB 2973, which is a right to the practice of so-called “conversion therapy” bill, passed the House State Powers Committee last Wednesday. Read our joint statement with Freedom Oklahoma and click here to send an email to House Majority Floor Leader, Jon Echols, to ask for the bill not to be heard.
Author: Rep. Olsen | State Powers Committee | Last Action: DO PASS
SB 1249, which is a an anti-trans bathroom bill for public facilities, was supposed to be heard during the Senate General Government Committee last Thursday, but the meeting was cancelled. We will continue to monitor this bill closely.
ACTION ALERT: Call and ask for this bill not to be heard.
Author: Sen. Merrick | General Government Committee | Contact: Sen. Dugger (405) 521-5572
Excited About:
HJR 1050, which puts a question on the November ballot to end the death penalty, was assigned to the House Rules Committee. However, the date has not been set for it to be heard. Click here to contact the Chair of the Rules Committee to ask for his support on HJR 1050.
ACTION ALERT: Call and ask for this bill to be heard.
Author: Rep. Turner | Rules Committee | Contact: Rep. Osburn (405) 557-7360
SB 1548, which would take away the power of district attorneys to decide who is and isn’t eligible for drug court, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and is set to be heard in Appropriations.
Author: Sen. Thompson | Judiciary Committee | Last Action: DO PASS
Events to Support
Saturday, February 19, 2022: ACLU of Oklahoma Virtual Advocacy Day
Want to be more involved with the ACLU of Oklahoma this session? Sign up to join our Rapid Response text team.
