Whatzup Politics

Whatzup Politics (1404)

Rep. Martinez to File Legislation Protecting State Assets

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, today announced he is filing legislation to create accountability and transparency regarding the movement of state assets.

His forthcoming House bill will specify that no state asset is to be moved further than 10 miles from wherever it was located on July 1, 2020, without the approval of the Oklahoma State Legislature.

“State assets, which can be valued in the millions of dollars, should only be moved through the publicly transparent legislative process,” Martinez said. “This gives Oklahoma citizens the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions to the people they’ve elected to represent them in state government before major decision are made that affect their livelihoods and tax dollars.”

Martinez said the legislation was spurred when the governor announced in October his plan to move the Public Health Laboratory to Stillwater. The plan had no legislative input, Martinez said.

“This is not solely about the health laboratory,” he said. “It also helps us avoid similar moves in the future. We want the public to have a say in where their assets are located, and that happens best when we use the legislative process.”

State health officials said they would use $25 million in state funds along with federal coronavirus aid funds to move the laboratory into temporary leased space in Stillwater. Martinez said at the time that keeping the lab in an already established major medical complex in the state’s capital was in the best interest of the state. This would help with the recruitment of top doctors and other medical staff as well as keep services central for all Oklahomans, he said.

It also makes sense, Martinez said, to keep the public health lab in close proximity to its overseer, the Oklahoma State Department of Health. He also questioned if this was the best use of coronavirus aid funds.

Ryan Martinez represents District 39 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes parts of Edmond and Oklahoma City.

Written by David Deaton

House Appropriations Committees to Hear Agency Budget Reviews

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Appropriations and Budget subcommittees next week will begin hearing budget and performance reviews from the state agencies under their purview.

Several meetings will be held jointly with the State Senate.

“These meetings are held each year and give our subcommittee members and the public the opportunity to hear a brief overview of the scope of programs and services offered to Oklahomans with state appropriated dollars,” said State Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, the House Appropriations and Budget Chair. “This overview includes insight into agency budget requests for the next fiscal year as well as an accounting of how prior funds were spent.”

The subcommittee meetings start Jan. 19 and can be livestreamed on the House Website: https://www.okhouse.gov/Video/Default.aspx.

A full list of meetings can be viewed here: https://www.okhouse.gov/Committees/MeetingNotices.aspx.

Wallace explained that House Appropriation and Budget subcommittees consider budget requests, analysis and legislation pertaining to the various agencies assigned to them, reporting their recommendations to the full House Appropriations and Budget Committee. The subcommittees’ efforts are part of the ongoing work of drafting a balanced state budget due by the end of the legislative session.

Later this month, the House will hold public forums with six agencies that receive the greatest share of state appropriations. Those meetings will be Jan. 25, 26 and 28. Specific details will be posted to the House website soon.

Written by David Deaton

Dems Respond to Governor Ignoring CDC in Demand For In-person Learning

Press Release

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Members of the Oklahoma House Democratic Education Group released the following statements in response to Governor Kevin Stitt’s comments today that seem to ignore CDC guidelines for returning to in-person learning.

“The state data shows kids under 15 were ten percent of all cases in the weeks before the holidays,” said Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City. “After the holidays, when kids were out of school, the number dropped by 50 percent. Last week, kids under 15 just accounted for five percent of all cases. The state’s own data doesn’t support the Governor’s reckless plan. It’s time for him to stop blaming the unions for his failure to provide informed leadership.”

“The governor, who recently enacted COVID precautions to close bars after 11 p.m., is now advocating for a large-scale return to in-person school across the state,” said Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa. “The only change instituted was suggesting that if mask mandates were in place, exposed children do not have to quarantine out of school. This didn’t work in Mustang Public Schools - why should we believe it would statewide? Oklahomans should understand that in the governor’s demand for schools to return to in-person learning, he offered no additional guidance or resources for Oklahoma public schools to do so safely.”

“I’m happy to hear the governor agrees that a mask mandate works for school populations,” said Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater. “I encourage him to issue a statewide mask mandate as our schools are part of our communities. Everyone -- students, teachers, and staff -- deserves a safe working environment.”

"While I applaud the effort of the governor to focus on how to keep students in school,” said Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, “I'm concerned that teachers weren't contacted about this policy change, and I'm further concerned that Superintendent Hofmeister wasn't invited to the press conference. While we all agree that in-person learning is the best way for children to learn, this policy doesn't go far enough to ensure the safety of teachers, students, and staff. I urge the governor to call for a mask mandate, which is proven to be the best way to mitigate the spread of this virus, inside and outside of our schools.”

Written by David Deaton

Mullin It Over January 12, 2021

I Will Always Support Our Capitol Police

By Congressman Markwayne Mullin

Last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol was a horrific, dark day for our country. While we saw the worst in some, we also saw the best in others. Law enforcement officers, especially those with the U.S. Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms, put their lives on the line to protect others and I will be forever grateful for their service.

Their actions that day were nothing short of heroic. They were greatly outnumbered and did the absolutely best they could, given the situation they found themselves in. When I visited the triage center shortly after the attack began, I saw many officers who were badly injured during the attack and they will be forever changed.

Tragically, we lost two members of the U.S. Capitol Police after the attack, Officer Brian Sicknick and Officer Howard Liebengood. I am heartbroken by the loss of these two courageous officers, but we will never forget the sacrifice they made as well as the sacrifice their families made.

The U.S. Capitol Police, like all other law enforcement officers, deserve not only our thanks, but also our full support. They sacrifice holidays, weekends, and other precious time with family and friends to serve the public.

Congress simply could not do what we do in Washington, DC without them. I will always support these heroes and I am proud to call many of them dear friends.

Want to stay up-to-date on what I’m doing in Oklahoma and Washington on your behalf? Sign up for my newsletter by visiting Mullin.house.gov/newslettersignup.

Written by David Deaton

State Rep. Rick West Column January 12, 2021

Serving as Vice Chair of County, Municipal Government Committee

Submitted by State Representative Rick West

I recently was named vice chair of the House County and Municipal Government Committee for the next two sessions of the Oklahoma Legislature. This is a great committee as it takes a look at legislation pertaining to the governing structures that are closest to the people legislators serve in their districts. If there’s a city or county law that’s too restrictive, for instance, or something that would help our towns and counties serve their people better, that will flow through this committee.

I’ll receive my other committee assignments this week and report those in a future column.

I wanted to touch on the process of redistricting for legislative and congressional districts that is happening this year. We are constitutionally required to do this every 10 years after U.S. Census results are reported to the states. Committees from both the Oklahoma House and Senate redraw the districts accounting for population shifts. The goal is for each representative, senator or member of Congress to represent roughly the same number of people. As more people move from rural areas to bigger cities, this can result in big districts for our rural lawmakers. We will likely see some changes to our districts here in Southeast Oklahoma because of population shifts. We’ve had several meetings to allow for public input into this process, one in McAlester and one in Tahlequah, along with others in other parts of the state. The committees and the House and Senate redistricting offices will be using all of this input to help us when we get to the part of remapping our districts this summer. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

I want to say a big thank you to Karen Wages, the Executive Director of the Poteau Chamber of Commerce, and to her staff for all their hard work in opening the Reynolds Center for the LeFlore County Health Department’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic held Jan. 7. I was told they were able to vaccinate about 800 people during that one day. They plan to host the clinic each Thursday. I very much appreciate the great work the health care employees are doing to help our people during this pandemic.

For more information or to register to get the vaccine, you can go to this website: https://oklahoma.gov/covid19.html.

Also last week, I attended Organizational Day at the state Capitol. This day is constitutionally required to take place every two years after a statewide election is held. We accepted our state election results as delivered by the Oklahoma Election Board. House and Senate members then formally were seated, and we elected our leadership for the coming two years. House members also adopted House rules to govern how we do business in our chamber. We got through the day will little trouble.

In my next column, I’ll give some details about the legislation I will be filing this session as well as some news from the district. Until then, stay safe and sound.

If I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7381 or email me at .

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

Written by David Deaton

The Future of Our Election System is at Stake

Press Release

Written by Congressman Markwayne Mullin

On Wednesday, January 6^th a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral college votes and I contested the votes from several states.

The reason I contested the results was not a political decision. It is because I firmly believe the procedures surrounding how the electors in several states were chosen violates our Constitution.

Under the Constitution, states have the right to set their own election laws and state legislatures are the only ones who have the authority to direct how the presidential electors are chosen. In several states where I will contest the results, the rules were deliberately changed by officials other than the state legislatures in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of those states.

I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution therefore I cannot in good conscience vote to certify an election where the electors were not chosen properly. Standing by and letting these electoral votes be certified would show the American people the foundation of our democracy means nothing.

The future of our election system is at stake. Our country is and always will be worth fighting for.

Want to stay up-to-date on what I’m doing in Oklahoma and Washington on your behalf? Sign up for my newsletter by visiting Mullin.house.gov/newslettersignup.

Written by David Deaton

37 Republican Members Release Statement Ahead of Electoral College Vote

Submitted by Markwayne Mullin

WASHINGTON— 37 Republican Members of Congress, including Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), issued the following statement in advance of the joint session of Congress at 1:00 p.m. ET today:

“In the joint session of Congress today, we will vote to sustain objections to slates of electors submitted by states we believe clearly violated the Constitution in the presidential election of 2020. This is our solemn duty, and our position on this threshold legal question has been widely known and published for weeks.

“On December 10, 2020, we filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 126 Members of Congress (linked here), in which we urged the Court to immediately address the fact that four battleground states (Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) violated the plain language of Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution in their selection of presidential electors. Citing insufficient standing, as opposed to the merits of the underlying case, the Supreme Court declined to resolve the urgent issue.

“Because the Framers of our Constitution recognized elections were susceptible to corruption, they created the Electoral College as a safeguard and expressly empowered state legislatures to ensure the integrity of our unique election system. Only the state legislatures were given the authority to direct the manner of appointing presidential electors. As the Supreme Court has previously affirmed, in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, “[t]he appointment of these electors is thus placed absolutely and wholly with the legislatures of the several States. . . .[That authority] can neither be taken away nor abdicated.” McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U.S. 1, 34-35 (1892).

“In the four subject states, the legislatures did enact detailed rules and procedures by which those states were to determine their electors. However, as explained in our amicus brief, in the months preceding the 2020 election, those well-established rules and procedures were deliberately changed by a variety of other officials, including governors, secretaries of state, election officials, judges, and private parties.

“That usurpation of the legislatures’ sole authority, delegated by the Constitution, was a primary reason why the election of 2020 became riddled with an unprecedented number of serious allegations of fraud and irregularities. National polls indicate a large percentage of Americans now have serious doubts about not just the outcome of the current presidential contest, but also the future reliability of our election system itself. We share these grave concerns. However, as it pertains to our constitutional duty as Members of Congress on January 6, we have no express authority or ability to independently prove the many allegations of fraud in the subject states.

“Still, we are faced with a seminal legal question. Since we are convinced the election laws in certain states were changed in an unconstitutional manner, the slates of electors produced under those modified laws are thus unconstitutional, not "regularly given" or "lawfully certified" as required by the Electoral Count Act of 1887 (codified as 3 U.S.C. §§ 1, et seq.), and are invalid on their face. Given these inescapable facts, we believe we have no choice but to vote to sustain objections to those slates of electors.

“Some of our friends and colleagues have cited the Twelfth Amendment (and Article II, Section 1, Clause 3) and asserted that Congress has only one narrow role in the presidential election process: to merely count the electoral votes that have been submitted by the states. Yet our friends have overlooked a critical, first principle. Their assertion is only true so long as Congress is first convinced those electoral votes were not produced by a process that violated the strict provision of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2.

“In our unique system, Congress is positioned as the last bulwark in a presidential election to ensure the Constitution has been followed. Indeed, just two decades ago, the Supreme Court plainly acknowledged this important deliberative role of Congress.

“In Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Bd., 531 U.S. 70, 77 (2000), all nine justices noted that strict adherence to the provisions of the Electoral Count Act may “create[] a ‘safe harbor’ for a State insofar as congressional consideration of its electoral votes is concerned.” However, the unanimous Court cautioned: “Since [3 U.S.C.] § 5 contains a principle of federal law that would assure finality of the State's determination if made pursuant to a state law in effect before the election, a legislative wish [by a state court] to take advantage of the ‘safe harbor’ would counsel against any construction of the [state’s] Election Code that Congress might deem to be a change in the law.” Id. (emphasis added).

“Eight days later, in their concurring opinion in Bush, et al. v. Gore, et al., 531 U.S. 98, 113 (2000), Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, reiterated that “[a] significant departure from the legislative scheme for appointing Presidential electors presents a federal constitutional question” regarding the “application of Art. II, §1, cl. 2.” By its clear language, they affirmed, only state legislatures, and not state courts or any other officials, are constitutionally authorized to determine the manner by which presidential electors are selected.

“That is why, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained in her dissent (on other issues), although the Electoral Count Act identifies significant dates in the process of ascertaining and counting presidential electors, “none of these dates has ultimate significance in light of Congress' detailed provisions for determining, on ‘the sixth day of January,’ the validity of electoral votes. [3 U.S.C.] § 15.” Id. at 144.

“When an objection is duly presented, Members of Congress may draw their own individual conclusions as they determine the validity of the electoral votes at issue—but, in light of the plain language of the Constitution, the Electoral Count Act, and the per curiam opinions of the Supreme Court, it simply cannot be said that we are not charged with the full responsibility of making such a determination.

“In previous presidential elections, our House Democrat colleagues have often agreed. Indeed, stating a variety of concerns, they have presented objections during the electoral count of each Republican president over the last 20 years. In 2005, when a Senator joined a House Members’ objection to the electoral votes cast in the State of Ohio citing voting irregularities, 31 House Democrats ultimately voted to reject Ohio’s slate of electors.

“Our extraordinary republic has endured for nearly two and a half centuries based on the consent of the governed. That consent is grounded in the confidence of our people in the legitimacy of our institutions of government. Among our most fundamental institutions is the system of free and fair elections we rely upon, and any erosion in that foundation jeopardizes the stability of our republic.

“We understand that our support of objections in the joint session may not be sustained by a majority of both houses of Congress. Our oath, nonetheless, is to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” Taking this action today will not undermine our beleaguered institutions, as some critics charge, but rather reinforce and defend them. Our support of objections will not diminish the value of the vote of any individual citizen, but rather protect that value, by ensuring the Constitution is followed and by restoring the confidence of all Americans that the rule of law will be upheld today, and our elections in the future will remain secured.”

The statement was signed by Representatives Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), Robert Aderholt (AL-04), Rick Allen (GA-12), Jodey Arrington (TX-19), Brian Babin (TX-36), Jim Banks (IN-03), Mike Bost (IL-12), Jerry Carl (AL-01), Ben Cline (VA-06), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Scott Franklin (FL-15), H. Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Vicky Hartzler (MO-04), Richard Hudson (NC-08), Ronny Jackson (TX-13), Mike Johnson (LA-04), John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Dan Meuser (PA-09), Gregory F. Murphy, M.D. (NC-03), Burgess Owens (UT-04), Gary Palmer (AL-06), Bill Posey (FL-08), David Rouzer (NC-07), John Rutherford (FL-04), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Jason Smith (MO-08), W. Gregory Steube (FL-17), Tom Tiffany (WI-07), Tim Walberg (MI-07), Michael Waltz (FL-06), Randy Weber (TX-14), Daniel Webster (FL-11), and Joe Wilson (SC-02).

Written by David Deaton

Oklahoma Senate re-elects Greg Treat as leader, sets rules for 58th Legislature

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday unanimously re-elected Senator Greg Treat as president pro tempore and adopted rules for the coming 58^th Legislature.

This will be the third session for Treat to serve as pro tem, the Senate’s top leadership position. The Oklahoma City Republican’s nomination was made by Senate Majority Floor Leader Kim David, R-Porter, and was seconded by Senate Minority Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City.

Treat was re-elected in November to his final four-year term in the Senate. He and his wife Maressa have three children: Mason, Cooper and Olivia. He represents District 47 in the Senate, which includes northwest Oklahoma City and portions of Edmond, Deer Creek, and Bethany.

The Senate met Tuesday for Organizational Day, a constitutional requirement of the Legislature to meet before the start of each two-year session. The Senate also approved rules for the 58^th Legislature and committee memberships.

“I am honored that once again my Democratic and Republican colleagues in the Senate have put their faith in me as their leader. I also am very thankful for the love and support of my wife Maressa and our children: Mason, Cooper and Olivia. Without them, I would not be able to serve,” Treat said.

“As pro tem, I pledge to lead the entire Senate with honesty, humility and courage. By working together, we can achieve more positive outcomes for our state. Our state faces a difficult situation as we look to recover and rebound from the health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Oklahoma Senate and its members and staff are ready to rise to the challenge and I look forward to leading the chamber as we work together to make Oklahoma an even better place for our families, friends and neighbors,” Treat said.

Treat also announced the leadership team for Senate Republicans, the chamber’s Majority Party. They include:

Senator Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, president pro tempore
Senator Kim David, R-Porter, majority floor leader
Senator Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, Appropriations Committee chair
Senator Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, Majority Caucus chair
Senator Greg McCortney, R-Ada, Majority Caucus vice chair
Senator Frank Simpson, R-Springer, assistant majority floor leader
Senator James Leewright, R-Bristow, assistant majority floor leader
Senator Rob Standridge, R-Norman, majority whip
Senator Marty Quinn, R-Claremore, assistant majority whip
Senator Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, assistant majority whip
Senator Casey Murdock, R-Felt, assistant majority whip
Senator Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, Rural Caucus chair

Treat previously announced his appointments of Senate committee chairs and vice chairs as well as Republican committee assignments. Those appointments were formalized Tuesday. Click here for a complete list of committee chairs and Republican committee assignments.

The First Session of the 58th Legislature convenes Monday, Feb. 1. The deadline for bills to be filed is Jan. 21.