As the fifth week of the 2022 legislative session wraps up, the Oklahoma Legislature has whittled down the number of operational bills to just under 1,500. Both the House and the Senate had full agendas this week, and five bills were sent to Governor Stitt’s desk for consideration after receiving approval from both chambers. While the next deadline is still two weeks out, both the House and Senate are expected to have short work weeks next week in observation of Oklahoma’s spring break, meaning there are only six legislative days before remaining bills must receive approval by their chamber of origin.
SB 1524 by Sen. Zack Taylor received approval by the full Senate this week by a vote of 33 to 5 with the title stricken. SB 1524 seeks to delay interest accruing on payments to royalty owners until the royalty owner has first sent a properly executed division order to the company. While Oklahoma Farm Bureau continues to have concerns on the legislation, we remain engaged in ongoing discussions and negotiations and will continue to ensure the rights of royalty owners are protected. Since the title is stricken, SB 1524 will have to come back for approval of the Senate after final details are ironed out.
The Oklahoma House Republicans released a package of bills this week to address ongoing issues caused by the medical marijuana industry in the state. HB 2025 by Rep. Jay Steagall would require medical marijuana businesses to clearly post their license in their place of business.
HB 3827 by Rep. Mike Dobrinski would require all medical marijuana growers to register as an environmentally sensitive crop with the Department of Agriculture. This would help commercial and personal spray applicators identify where medical marijuana grows are located to better avoid them when they are planning to apply products to a field.
HB 4055 by Rep. T.J. Marti would require public utilities to report to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority the amount of the commodity – such as water or power – they provided to a licensed medical marijuana grower. The intent of this bill is to provide OMMA with the information necessary to identify whether a licensed grower is using the proper amount of water and energy to produce the number of plants they claim to have. If the water and power usage greatly exceeds that which is necessary to produce the claimed number of plants, it could be a sign that some illegal action may be taking place.
For a full overview of the House Republican’s plan and included legislation, visit the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ website.
For an update on weekly happenings at the Capitol and an outlook on what is ahead, be sure to tune in to Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Weekly public policy update each Friday at noon via Zoom. Contact your field representative for details.
