58th Oklahoma Legislature

58th Oklahoma Legislature
← 57th →
Overview
Legislative body	Oklahoma Legislature
Meeting place	Oklahoma State Capitol
Oklahoma State Senate
President of the Senate	Matt Pinnell (R)
Senate Majority Leader	Kim David (R)
Senate Minority Leader	Kay Floyd (D)
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Speaker of the House	Charles McCall
House Majority Leader	Jon Echols
House Minority Leader	Emily Virgin
Sessions
1st January 3, 2021 – May 28, 2021

The Fifty-eighth Oklahoma Legislature is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It meets in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2023, during the second two years of the first administration of Governor Kevin Stitt. The 2020 Oklahoma elections maintained Republican control of both the House and Senate.

Dates of sessions[]

• Organizational day: January 5, 2021^[1]
• First Session: February 1, 2021 - May 28, 2021^[2]

• 2021 Special Session: November 15, 2021^[3]-November 19, 2021^[4]

• Second Session: February 7, 2022 – May 27, 2022^[5]

Previous: 57th Legislature • Next:

Major Legislation[]

First Session[]

Abortion[]

• HB 1102- This bill adds abortion to the list of "unprofessional conduct" for doctors.^[6]
• HB 2441- This bill bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.^[6]
• HB 1904- This bill requires abortions to be performed by a board certified OB-GYN.^[6]
• SB 918- This bill would automatically make abortion illegal in Oklahoma if either Roe v. Wade (1973) is overturned or if an amendment to the United States Constitution restoring the State's authority to prohibit abortions is passed.^[7]

Civil Service reform[]

• HB 1146- This bill, called the Civil Service and Human Capital Modernization Act, creates a new internal state agency in charge of arbitrating and settling state employee complaints. This agency would have the power to contract administrative law judges to oversee these cases. The bill eliminates the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission.^[8]

Criminal Justice[]

• SB 631- This bill makes Oklahoma a Second Amendment sanctuary state.^[6]
• SB 172- This bill, called Ida's law, creates an office in Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation dedicated to searching for missing and murdered Indigenous people in Oklahoma and directs them to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice on this issue.^[9]
• HB 1674- This bill increases criminal penalties for riots and provides for a legal defense when a driver commits vehicular homicide while fleeing a riot.^[10][11]

Education[]

• HB1775- This bill bars public schools from teaching various concepts related to Critical Race Theory.^[12]
• SB658- This bill prohibits schools, colleges, and universities from requiring vaccination against COVID-19. It also limits their ability to mandate mask wearing to only when there is a state of emergency declared by the Governor of Oklahoma and they have consulted their county health department.

Healthcare[]

• HB 1019- This bill caps the cost of a 30 day supply of insulin at $30 and a 90 day supply at $90.^[9]

Religious Freedom[]

• HB 2648- This bill prevents the government from closing religious institutions during emergencies.^[6]

Issues and Controversies[]

First Session[]

Anti-Protest Legislation[]

Representatives Robert Manger and Senator Brenda Stanley introduced SB 403 which creates criminal penalties of up to 1 year in prison and/or a $1,000 fine for disrupting political meetings.^[13] The bill is likely in retaliation for frequent protests at the Oklahoma County Jail.

Anti-Transgender Legislation[]

SB 2 was filed by Justin Humphrey and Toni Hasenbeck to ban transwomen from competing in women's sports in Oklahoma, despite threats from organizations like the National Collegiate Athletic Association to pull events from the state if the bill passes.^[14] Over a dozen events would likely be moved out of state if the bill passes, including the NCAA Wrestling Championship to be hosted at the Tulsa, Oklahoma BOK Center in 2023.^[15][14]

Racial Sensitivity Training[]

After two racially insensitive remarks from Republican members during debate a push for required racial sensitivity training for legislators was suggested.^[16] The first incident occurred when white Representative Brad Boles used the term "colored babies" during debate in an anti-abortion bill.^[16] The second incident occurred when Representative Jim Olsen compared the anti-slavery efforts to anti-abortion efforts while advocating for a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony in Oklahoma punishable by up to 10 years in prison.^[17][16] Republican legislators responded with HB 1888 which would ban public bodies from conducting gender or sexual diversity training.^[16] The bill was revived later in the session as SB 627.^[16]

First Session Break[]

Vaccine Mandate Ban Letter[]

On July 15, 2021, a group of Oklahoma Legislators sent a letter to Governor Kevin Stitt requesting he issue an executive order banning workplaces from mandating vaccination against COVID-19 or call a special session of the legislature. The letter came after several hospitals in Oklahoma mandated that all of their employees receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The Representatives signing the first letter were Sean Roberts, Lonnie Sims, Steve Bashore, Denise Crosswhite Hader, Justin Humphrey, Jim Olsen, Mark Vancuren, Kevin West, Rick West, , Tom Gann, Wendi Stearman, Chris Sneed, Randy Randleman, Kevin McDugle, , Sherrie Conley, Marilyn Stark, , and .^[18]

On July 28, 2021, a new group of Oklahoma Legislators sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma Matt Pinnell requesting he issue an executive order banning workplaces from mandating vaccination against COVID-19 or call a special session of the legislature. The Representatives signing the second letter were Sean Roberts, Lonnie Sims, Denise Crosswhite Hader, , Justin Humphrey, Jim Olsen, Mark Vancuren, Kevin West, Rick West, , Tom Gann, Wendi Stearman, Chris Sneed, Randy Randleman, Kevin McDugle, , Sherrie Conley, , and Max Wolfley.^[19]

SB658 Repeal Special Session Calls[]

On August 2, 2021, the Oklahoma House Democrats released a statement pointing out rising COVID-19 rates in the state and called for a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature in order to repeal SB658. The bill bans local school districts from instating mask mandates unless the Governor of Oklahoma institutes a state of emergency. Governor Kevin Stitt has refused to issue a state of emergency.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Interim Study Controversies[]

• Oklahoma Speaker of the House Charles McCall denied a request for an interim study into reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre made by Tulsa Representative Regina Goodwin.^[24]

Major Events[]

In January 2021, Mauree Turner became the first publicly non-binary U.S. state lawmaker and the first Muslim member of the Oklahoma Legislature.^[25]

On May 6, 2021, the Oklahoma Legislature formed its first Latino Caucus. Founding members included Senators Michael Brooks (D-Oklahoma City) and Jessica Garvin (R- Duncan) and Representatives Jose Cruz (D-Oklahoma City) and Ryan Martinez (R-Edmond).^[26]

Leadership[]

Since the Republican Party holds the majority of seats in both the Oklahoma Senate and Oklahoma House of Representatives, they hold the top leadership positions in both chambers.

In Oklahoma, the lieutenant governor serves as President of the Oklahoma Senate, meaning that he serves as the presiding officer in ceremonial instances and can provide a tie-breaking vote. Matt Pinnell is the current Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. The current President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, who presides over the state senate on the majority of session days is Greg Treat of Oklahoma City. He is aided by Majority Floor Leader Kim David of Porter. The Democratic minority leader of the state senate is Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives is led by Speaker Charles McCall of Atoka. He is aided by Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols of Oklahoma City. The Democratic minority leader is Emily Virgin of Norman.

Membership[]

Senate[]

Overview[]

Party composition of the Oklahoma Senate in the 57th Legislature

39	9
Republican	Democrat

Leadership[]

Senate Leadership^[27]

Office	Officer		Party	Since
President of the Senate		Matt Pinnell	Rep	2019
President Pro Tempore		Greg Treat	Rep	2018

Members[]

†Elected in a special election

House[]

Overview[]

Party composition in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in the 57th Legislature

82	19
Republican	Democrat

Leadership[]

House Leadership^[31]

Office	Officer		Party	Since
Speaker of the House		Charles McCall	Rep	2017

Members[]

References[]

External links[]