News Stories

The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation recently joined 20 other state Farm Bureaus to file an amicus curiae – or “friend of the court” – brief in support of the petitioner in the Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency United States Supreme Court case review. Background Now spanning more than a decade, Sackett v. EPA focuses on federal jurisdiction of wetlands under the 1972 Clean Water Act. The case began with a dispute over a piece of the Sackett family’s land in Idaho that was filled and leveled for home construction. Soon after filling the land, the Sackett family received word […]

Last week marked the last major policy deadline ahead of the final legislative deadline on May 27 when the legislature must adjourn for the 2022 session. HB 4413 by Rep. Dick Lowe and Sen. John Michael Montgomery passed the Senate this week with the title stricken. This bill would remove third-party assessors from disputed ad valorem assessment litigation and negotiations while still allowing them to be utilized to make the initial assessment. HB 4413 seeks to mitigate issues surrounding increasing and prolonged assessment disputes that have handicapped school districts across the state that rely on ad valorem revenue. While HB […]

The focus at the Capitol this week was a request by Governor Stitt that resulted in HB 4455, a piece of legislation called the Large-Scale Economic Activity Development Act (LEAD Act). The LEAD Act creates incentives for businesses seeking to create enhanced economic development within Oklahoma. HB 4455 allows for a 3.4% rebate on qualified investments made by businesses in the state of Oklahoma. The rebate will be paid through a fund set up through HB 4455 that will be appropriated by the legislature. It is projected that lawmakers will appropriate $698 million of monies carried over from previous fiscal […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is set to host the first-ever Youth Legislative Experience July 12-13, 2022, at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. The Youth Legislative Experience will bring together high school juniors and seniors from 4-H and FFA to learn about the Oklahoma legislative process and how a bill becomes a law. “The Oklahoma Youth Legislative Experience is a fantastic way for high school students to get a real-world taste of the legislative process in Oklahoma,” said Rodd Moesel, OKFB president. “The opportunity to act as a legislator and meet elected officials in the actual chambers where laws are passed […]

Tensions were high at 23rd and Lincoln this week with another committee deadline on Thursday, April 14. All bills that passed the committee opposite their chamber of origin will now advance and can be heard by the full chamber. Conversely, any remaining bills – except those assigned to the House Appropriations and Budget Committee – are now effectively dormant for the rest of the 2022 legislative session, including nearly a dozen bills unexpectedly laid over in the House. SB 1261 by Sen. Brent Howard and Rep. John Pfeiffer deals with spray drift on medical marijuana and was one of several […]