OKLAHOMA CITY – The governor this week signed into law a bill that will put into place a code of ethics for members of the state Pardon and Parole Board.

House Bill 2773 by Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, requires members of the Pardon and Parole Board to uphold and promote the independence, impartiality, fairness, and integrity of the board and to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety. A member of the board who determines that circumstances would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of all the relevant facts to question the board members impartiality must disclose any potential conflict of interest and withdraw from participation in the matter.

“This puts the judicial code of ethics in place for members of the Pardon and Parole Board,” Pfeiffer said. “These are the same standards our judges must meet, and we feel the members of this board could benefit from having these clear guidelines as well. This should help with any matters such as conflicts of interest or any other confusion in the future.”

Pfeiffer said the language of the bill was agreed upon by the District Attorneys Council and the governor’s office. He said the bill was not a reaction to any specific action or decision of the board but was something he and other lawmakers felt should be addressed.

Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, carried the legislation in the Senate.

“The work of the Pardon and Parole Board is fundamental to Oklahoma’s criminal justice system,” Weaver said. “I was very gratified to be asked to work on this legislation with Representative Pfeiffer, and I thank our fellow members and our governor for supporting this measure.”

The bill becomes effective Nov. 1.

• John Pfeiffer serves District 38 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes Grant County and parts of Garfield, Kay and Noble counties.

By Rep. Rick West

We’ve seen a lot of important legislation signed into law this year, including anti-abortion measures, ones that protect our religious freedoms, bills that secure our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms, a law that bans biological males from playing on female sports’ teams, and more. Those are all very important. But I will argue that another piece of legislation signed into law is almost as important.

Senate Bill 1913 creates the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

Most people don’t truly understand administrative rules nor appreciate their importance. Once the Legislature passes legislation, and it’s signed into law, it’s then up to state agencies to write new administrative rules that detail the steps needed to meet the standards of the new law.

Say, for instance, we require high school students to take a new test. The law just specifies the new test is required. It would be up to the State Department of Education to adopt rules of how schools should administer the test and report the results back to the department. Schools then determine their own rules of how this will be done.

The state has almost 200 agencies, boards and commissions that write new administrative rules each year. The heads and members of these agencies, boards and commissions are not elected, however, so they don’t have to report directly to the people. Instead, they submit their administrative rules to the Legislature, which then must approve them. Once approved, these rules have the same force as law, so they’re important.

Rules are supposed to follow the law, but sometimes agencies get out ahead of themselves. Last year, for instance, the Health Department tried to adopt a rule that would have required parents opting their child out of vaccinations to watch an educational video about the importance of vaccines. The problem was, this wasn’t based on actual state law, but rather preempted the law. Agencies aren’t allowed to do that. This, of course, is just one example of unelected officials trying to force policy on the rest of the people without going through the legislative process.

To stop this rule, the Legislature first had to spot it among the thousands of rules presented each year. Then we had to pass a resolution to remove the rule. The governor then had to approve the resolution. It’s a complicated process.

To assist the Legislature in its task of reviewing the thousands of rules that come to it each year, we established this joint commission to examine these rules year round. This will help us pull out antiquated rules, and it will eliminate some of our red tape. This is a good bill. It puts the Legislature – the folks elected by the people to do their work – back in charge of determining what constitutes as law.

Remember to listen to me on KPRV Radio each Thursday morning during the legislative session. And if I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at .

• Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.

By Rep. Rick West

The Poteau FFA visited Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener, at the state Capitol last week. West invited them to stay to hear the presentation of House Bill 1775 on the House floor.

The legislation would prohibit Oklahoma public schools, colleges and universities from incorporating certain messages about sex and race into any course instruction earned final passage in the House today. The bill also will prohibit requiring mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling in the schools.

The bill’s author was questioned for several hours and it then faced debate from multiple members on both sides of the issue. West said the FFA members expressed a great interest in hearing the questions and debate.

“I’m proud of these young adults and their leadership skills,” West said. “In my book they are among the best and brightest in the state. The fact that they wanted to stay and hear an important bill on the House floor and take part in the government process was impressive.”

HB 1775 specifically prohibits Critical Race Theory from being taught in Oklahoma public schools and universities. The theory is based on Marxist ideology that is designed to teach children to hate American exceptionalism and distrust others based on skin color or gender. Additionally it teaches that most laws and systems in America are historically rooted in the racist oppression of black people and other marginalized groups. It promotes the theory of implicit bias and inherent racism due to one’s skin color.

West said the theory, which already is being taught in some schools in Oklahoma, is a form of indoctrination.

The bill passed with a vote of 70-19 and now awaits the governor’s consideration of signing it into law.

•  Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Stitt this week signed a bill that will stop abortions from being performed once an unborn child is determined to have a detectable heartbeat.

House Bill 2441 by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, would allow for abortion only if a medical emergency exists that threatens the life of the mother.

“All life is precious and deserves to be safeguarded,” Russ said. “This law will decrease the number of abortions performed in our state and protect the lives of innocent unborn babies. I’m thankful to all who helped accomplish this.”

Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, the Senate author of the legislation, secured passage of the bill in that chamber.

"I believe life begins at conception, but with the detection of a fetal heartbeat no one can doubt that the baby in the womb is alive and must be protected. HB 2441 will do just that,” Daniels said. “I am grateful to the members of both chambers and to Governor Stitt for supporting this legislation.”

Minister, Paul Abner, president of the group Oklahoma Faith Leaders, was a significant advocate and voice for the faith community of Oklahoma, expressing support of this measure at the state Capitol.

"If we've learned anything during this past year, it is the value of human life. We've seen an incredible movement across the United States and the world to protect it,” Abner said. Still we continue to neglect those who have no voice - the unborn. But yesterday, Oklahoma took a huge leap toward defending the sanctity of life, as Governor Kevin Stitt signed HB 2441 into law. Thankfully, Rep. Todd Russ had the courage to introduce this legislation, commonly known as the heartbeat bill. The faith leaders whom I represent boldly supported this legislation and worked diligently to get it passed. We are incredibly grateful to all of our state legislators who helped vote this important legislation into law and stood up for life in Oklahoma.”

HB 2441 requires reasonable medical judgment to determine that a mother has a condition that so complicates her medical condition that it necessitates the abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or serious or irreparable physical harm to her.

• Todd Russ represents District 55 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes Roger Mills and Washita counties and parts of Beckham Greer and Kiowa counties.