This Week in Oklahoma Politics

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt kicked off the legislative session with his sixth annual State of the State address on Monday. The Governor laid out his policy priorities for the session: which include cutting the state’s income tax, implementing a flat budget across state government for the coming fiscal year and more school choice options for students. His priorities and those of state lawmakers d...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a special session which saw a tax cut in the House, but nothing in the Senate, State Superintendent Ryan Walters coming under fire for attacking the media for reporting on news of issues with his new teacher bonus program and Governor Stitt once agai...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat announcing his chamber will not be passing any tax cuts during the governor's special session, State Superintendent Ryan Walters tapping a far-right influencer from California to an Oklahoma library committee short...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the governor's call for a special session to enact tax cuts, Republican lawmakers pushing changes to a law blacklisting banks who don't invest in the oil and gas industry and Oklahoma County Commissioners still searching for a location to put the new...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about an announcement from State Superintendent Ryan Walters about his intention to cut ties with organizations which provide resources and training to schools, Oklahoma's Five Civilized Tribes uniting in a boycott against Governor's Stitt's task force on...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Governor Stitt hiring as his new top aide an oil executive who was the deciding vote on a controversial Catholic Charter School, Stitt rejecting a new federal summer food program for low-income children and the State Department of Education saying 57...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics is taking a break during the holidays and will return on January 4th.

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Oklahoma City voters overwhelmingly supporting a measure to use a penny sales tax to build a new downtown arena for the Thunder, State Mark McBride fighting with Superintendent Ryan Walters' aide over what McBride calls immaturity and a lack of trans...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about opening statements starting on a legal challenge to HB1775, the so-called Critical Race Theory Ban, the state Tax Commission starting to collect applications for a controversial private school tax credit and the State Board of Education takes aim onc...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a challenge to an initiative petition to raise the state's minimum wage, Attorney General Gentner Drummond's formal opinion saying women could not be prosecuted for having abortions and the head of the State Republican Party opposing the nomination o...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the Oklahoma Highway Patrol abandoning decades of precedent and ticketing drivers with tribal tags who live outside of the nation's boundaries, the State Supreme Court temporarily suspending three measures related to abortion in Oklahoma and justices...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the governor's plan to have sports betting in the State of Oklahoma, Governor Stitt's former Secretary of Education who says she left after concerns over financial issues with the Department of Education and Superintendent Ryan Walters pushing for a...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Gov. Kevin Stitt and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott traveling to Israel, State Superintendent Ryan Walters' endorsement of former President Trump and the resignation of a State Department of Education employee getting the attention of a legislative leader. T...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Right Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Attorney General Gentner Drummond suing the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board over a Catholic charter school, Governor Stitt's replacements for the State Board of Education and an investigation of the Oklahoma's partnership with conservative medi...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the Chairman of the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board refusing to sign a contract to create a Catholic charter school, an announcement by State Superintendent Ryan Walters that he has paid $7.5M in signing bonuses to teachers and another member...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Right Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a federal judge refusing to stop a law banning gender-affirming care for minors and the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approving a contract for a Catholic charter school. The trio also discusses the primary election for Senate District 32 in s...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the short special session called by Governor Stitt to cut taxes, the search for a new U.S. House Speaker could include Tulsa Congressman Kevin Hern and State Superintendent Ryan Walters releases an education budget cutting $47M from schools. The trio...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about lawmakers returning to the capital next week for a special session on tax reform, a new poll showing strong support for tribal governments in the state and Oklahoma joining other states and the federal government in an anti-trust lawsuit against Amaz...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about State Superintendent Ryan Walters testifying before Congress about the Chinese Government's involvement in U.S. education, the State House Speaker saying there were no plans to open an impeachment investigation into Superintendent Walters and Tulsa P...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Governor Stitt's calls for the legislature to meet in special session to talk about tax reform, an Oklahoma woman filing a complaint against health groups stemming from the state's abortion ban and a Texas Republican presidential candidate wants a ju...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about two new lawsuits against State Superintendent Ryan Walters, and a new partnership announced by Walters between the Department of Education and controversial, conservative media organization, PragerU. The trio also discusses the appointment by Governo...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics is taking a break for the summer months, but you can still keep up to date on Oklahoma news by subscribing to the KOSU Daily and visiting our website at KOSU.org.

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about the State Senate failing by one vote to override Governor Stitt's veto of a tribal tobacco compact and an audit showing the state misspent millions of dollars on pandemic funds. The trio also discusses Governor Stitt signing controversial new rules f...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about a State of Emergency signed by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat one hour after discovering he was in charge of the state because of the absence of Governor Stitt and Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell and the U.S. Supreme Court letting the Indian Ch...

This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and Civil Rights Attorney Ryan Kiesel about Governor Stitt's endorsement of presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, the State House overriding Stitt's veto of tribal license compacts as well as extending the time for the special session and Stitt's veto of a bill to extend the operations of the Boa...