News Stories

The state Legislature this week saw its first significant deadline of the 2021 legislative session as Thursday was the final day for bills to be passed out of a committee of their chamber of origin. The week’s deadline reduced the number of active bills and resolutions from the more than 3,000 originally filed. Lawmakers will now have two weeks to pass the remaining bills off the floor of their chamber of origin. Unfortunately, House Bill 2092 and Senate Bill 189, which would each create hazard mitigation districts funded by a new property tax, both advanced out of committee. OKFB has […]

As was the case with most of the rest of life in Oklahoma, winter weather heavily impacted week three of the 2021 legislative session. The Oklahoma Senate canceled all activities for three days and the House of Representatives shut their doors for one day. Coming at one of the busiest times in the legislative calendar, these delays could result in problems over the next few weeks. Similar to the furious final weeks of the 2020 session, dangerous things can get moved along in the process without the proper consideration when unusually large amounts of legislation are hurried through in a […]

Though the winter weather caused a few disruptions, legislative work continued this week as legislators spent the bulk of their time in House and Senate committees. After legislation moved last week to allow municipalities to levy ad valorem taxes, a second ad valorem bill began advancing through the committee process this week. Senate Bill 189 by Sen. Dave Rader would allow counties to create a new property tax for the purpose of hazard mitigation. OKFB expressed concerns over the broad nature of the applicable tax and as a result, several senators worked to make changes and procedurally opened the bill […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel and Cotton County Farm Bureau member Jimmy Kinder each explained the significance of the U.S. Senate’s recent vote to uphold the Navigable Waters Protection Rule in a recent Gaylord News story. In approving a budget resolution last week, the Senate also voted 51 to 49 in favor of an amendment supporting the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule that redefined the waters of the U.S. under the Clean Water Act. “We think the redefinition that was done under the Trump administration is much clearer and gives a lot more clarity to our farmers and […]

Congressman Frank Lucas shared a national agricultural policy update with Oklahoma Farm Bureau members in a discussion with OKFB President Rodd Moesel during OKFB’s Leadership Week. Lucas offered insight into the top issues on the horizon for farmers and ranchers including the new administration, climate programs, meat processing capacity, farm income and the future of trade. Working with new Secretary of Agriculture With a new administration comes a new leader at the helm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but Agriculture Secretary nominee Tom Vilsack is not a new face to agriculture. The former Iowa governor served as the secretary […]