Let's Pod This

Scott and Andy discuss how the broader national political environment may affect Oklahoma's electoral outcomes in November and the importance of nonpartisan voter mobilization. ( Sign up for our Day of Action on Oct 1st here !)

Andy is joined by two guests: State Senator Julia Kirt to discuss her independent interim study on tax policy and Michelle Tilley with Yes on 820 , the ballot initiative which would legalize recreational marijuana and make some important changes to both criminal penalties related to marijuana and add considerable funding for core services like public education.

Oklahoma veterans groups sue the Governor, the teacher shortage crisis deepens, and the state is attempting to blame a vendor for their own failure to protect taxpayer money. Links are below! Lawsuit alleges Gov. Kevin Stitt violated state law in appointing veterans commissioner Teacher shortage across Oklahoma causing stress in classrooms State sues Florida company over management of federal COVI...

Andy & Scott discuss Kansans' rejection of a state question that would have ended abortion protections that are codified in their state constitution, the new & improved Forward Party, and proportional representation.

With roughly 100 days left until the general election, multiple state-funded entities are being audited and/or under investigation. We talk about those as well as a high-level overview of the interim studies that have been approved for this year.

Bailey and Andy breakdown the results of the primary election and what it means for the general election in November and for the state in general. Elections Results

If you’re a regular listener of this program,  you may have noticed that we didn’t publish an episode last week. As I’m sure you are all aware, on the day that we usually record, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling that overturned Roe vs Wade and effectively ended Americans’ right to abortion in more than half of the country, including here in Oklahoma. If you want to learn...

The legislature is juggling two concurrent special sessions (and they disagree on interpreting their own rules which govern them), there's an election in less than 2 weeks, Oklahoma County's government is in disarray (or at least one of its officeholders is), it's ungodly hot, and Covid is getting worse *again*. Links mentioned: Prater seeks to remove David Hooten from office, Blumert outlines awk...

More than 700 Oklahomans die each year from firearms - an average of about 2 per day. We're joined by Beth Furnish, a volunteer with Mom's Demand Action who tracks legislation at the state capitol pertaining to firearms, to discuss the status of Oklahoma gun laws and how they could be made safer. Links discussed: How Oklahoma Lawmakers Have Loosened Gun Regulations the Past Decade (Oklahoma Watch)...

The Oklahoma legislature passed four "total abortion bans" this session, but they're not all the same. We're joined by Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director of ACLU Oklahoma and co-chair of the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice , to discuss what each of the bills does, how they conflict, and what the future of abortion may look like for Oklahoma.

Andy is joined by Emma Morris, Healthcare and Revenue Policy Analyst at OK Policy , to discuss the newly-approved FY23 state budget winners, losers, and who-knows-what's-going-to-happen-with-the-leftovers.

With less than two weeks before sine die , we have yet to see a budget proposal...from anyone! Also, the investigation into the Swadley's scandal deepens and the multicounty grand jury issued policy recommendations but no indictments. Relevant links are below! Let’s start with the latest on BBQGate. Two important developments came to light this week: First, The Frontier reported that Months before...

Andy, Bailey, & Scott discuss a legislative proposal, SJR43 , that is an overt attempt to politicize Oklahoma's judicial system by replacing most judges with Governor-appointed cronies, make the rest of the judicial elections partisan, and create an entirely separate class of lawyers that are licensed by the legislature, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. (For broader context on these assaults...

Andy & Scott discuss the latest news in the BBQ-flavored [alleged] corruption scandal, yet another bill that promises to be a "total ban" on abortion in Oklahoma, and who got tossed from the ballot during candidacy challenges this week.

Scott and Andy discuss the recent rash of allegations of corruption among state legislators, gubernatorial appointees, and other public officials, as well as the recently-launched Clean Up Oklahoma campaign that has been tracking and highlighting these reports. A few pertinent links: Clean Up Oklahoma [ timeline of corruption ] Brent Swadley in 2018: "Wouldn't be where I am today if I followed the...

Candidate filing winds down and there are roughly 200 fewer candidates than there were in the 2018 gubernatorial cycle. Andy & Bailey sort through the filings and discuss what impact this may have on voters' experience at the ballot box and Oklahoma's representation for the next cycle.

Sometimes bills die for very obvious reasons; other times they go away quietly, often so quietly that no one knows why. We discuss new reports about how former Attorney General Mike Hunter killed a bill that would have impacted (and increased scrutiny of) his ability to hire private law firms to assist with state lawsuits. We also chat about the surprising number of legislators who are not seeking...

The Tourism Dept. has to answer some questions (and is now being investigated) concerning the $13 million they paid to a private business to open restaurants at rural state parks during the pandemic, the Oklahoma Pandemic Center cost $30 million but isn't doing the testing they promised, and, as a treat, Andy and Scott take a trip down memory lane to discuss their first cars, gas prices in the 90s...

The Oklahoma legislature passed the first floor deadline this week, and per usual, that meant some contentious bills made it further through the process while others died an early death. (Or did they...?) Andy & Scott discuss the politics and procedures surrounding three big issues: restrictions on transgender students playing sports, school vouchers, and managed care.

Oklahoma House Rep. Merleyn Bell and Norman City Councilmember Lauren Scheuler join us for an important and enlightening conversation about women in government, what it takes to run (and serve) in elected office, and the power of authenticity in our world. Links & bios: Former Congresswoman Kendra Horn has officially entered the race for US Senate CBS News reported that Scott Pruitt may be con...

The legislative debate over education vouchers continues to heat up, and this week OEA released some polling numbers which indicated that a majority of Oklahomans do not support the use of public tax dollars for private education. Also, more big names enter the race for Inhofe's US Senate seat.

With the legislature's first committee deadline in the rearview mirror, Andy & Scott discuss some of the bills that are still alive as well as the down-ballot implications of Senator Inhofe's retirement and what those shifts may mean for Oklahoma voters.

One of Oklahoma's US Senators, Jim Inhofe, announced he is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, just two years into his six-year term. While the state legislature recently changed the law to permit the Governor to appoint a replacement, the timing of Inhofe’s resignation - before March 1st in an even-numbered year - means that Governor Stitt will NOT get to appoint someone. Instead, a...

A voucher bill narrowly passes committee, the Governor's cronyism rears its head again, a representative displays questionable ethics, a party is being audited by the IRS, and a candidate makes a bad decision. Links to articles discussed: SB 1647 (vouchers) advances on a close vote   Bill that would switch up school board election dates resurrected at the Capitol Governor Stitt appointed his...

Governor Stitt delivers his fourth State of the State, the State Auditor releases her audit of OSDH, the OK County Jail leadership left a very bad voicemail. ------- Non-profits aren’t supposed to use federal funds for fun furloughs: Candida Manion, formerly ED of Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, repeatedly used federal funds to take vacations and even go wine tasti...