From vaccine bills to free park admission, lawmakers file wide-ranging legislation for consideration

The deadline for filing bills for the upcoming session was Thursday.

In addition, nearly 2,500 bills and resolutions were carried over from last session and are available for action.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat filed Senate Bill 1647, which would allow tax dollars for education to follow students to private schools, non-public online learning and tutoring, and to purchase technology and fund other educational opportunities.

Students attending homeschool would be eligible.

“Every child deserves the chance for a quality education that fits their unique needs, regardless of their zip code,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “We’ve already empowered the parents of children with disabilities with this opportunity through the very successful Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship program. It’s time we give all parents and all students in Oklahoma that same opportunity.”

Treat also filed Senate Bill 1495, which would remove the 4.5% state sales tax on bottled water, dietary supplements and groceries. The measure would not affect taxes levied by a city, town or county.

Several vaccine bills were filed for consideration this session.

House Bill 2978, by Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, would require that a hospital that denies an employee an exemption from mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and fires the employee for being in violation be fined the employee’s salary for one year. The money would be given to the employee.

Another measure, House Bill 4322, by Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Collinsville, would bar the Oklahoma State Department of Health from using tax dollars to advertise the COVID-19 vaccine.

House Bill 3156, by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, would prevent employers from requiring vaccinations. It would also ban requiring employees to disclose vaccination status.

House Bill 3264, by Rep. Denise Brewer, D-Tulsa, would add spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines to the list of activities considered unprofessional conduct for medical professionals.

Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, filed a bill that would require a biological father to pay 50% of the mother’s pregnancy expenses. House Bill 3129 would not require support while the biological father’s paternity is in dispute.

“The idea of the bill is if we are going to outlaw access to reproductive health and specifically a woman’s choice to get an abortion, then we need to ensure if a woman is pregnant, the other half of the equation is sure to contribute their fair share to making sure the mother and the child are taken care of,” Bennett said.

Senate Bill 1553, by Treat, would essentially ban abortion after 30 days. It has exceptions to prevent death or impaired health.

House Bill 3138 by Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, would provide free state park admission to any retired or active-duty military.

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, filed House Bill 3351, which would create a tax credit of up to $1,000 per child per year for parental donations to the classroom teacher.

Treat filed Senate Bill 1582 that creates a process for school board members to be recalled.

“The recall petition shall be signed by not less than ten percent of the qualified electors of the board district based on the total number of votes cast at the last board district election,” according to the measure.

The measure would require the petition to state the grounds for which the removal is sought.

Senate Joint Resolution 28, by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, would let voters decide whether or not to abolish the Judicial Nominating Commission and let the governor fill vacancies on the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, with Senate confirmation.

Senators filed 774 bills and 23 Senate joint resolutions.

House members filed 1,482 bills, 18 House joint resolutions and two House concurrent resolutions.

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