Capitol Week In Review: Bickering, Racist Policies And Speed Limit Increase

It was another frustrating week at the state capitol as insiders say republican leaders of the House and Senate continue bickering.

Friday, April 19th 2019, 5:25 pm



It was another frustrating week at the state capitol as insiders say republican leaders of the House and Senate continue bickering.  

“Just acting like children not being able to get along. It was silly and it was frustrating, said House Minority Leader Representative Emily Virgin (D). “It led to the Senate working for five to ten minutes Monday because they wanted to punish the House for something that they did in reaction to something that the Senate did. It was just ridiculous.”

Republicans in the House and Senate are pushing for five-day school weeks, but the House tied $1,200 teacher raises to the bill, and that didn’t set well with Senate leaders.

Read Related Story: Poll – Teachers, Parents Overwhelmingly Favor 4-Day School Week

“I think both issues should stand on their own merit,” said Senator Greg Treat (R) President Pro Tempore.

Representative Virgin added, “We see that as essentially holding the teacher pay raise hostage if we don’t get the five-day school weeks passed.”

Dozens rallied at the Capitol, pushing for passage of a series of criminal justice reform bills they say will reduce the prison population by focusing on rehabilitation over incarceration.

“Since 1970, Oklahomans incarceration rate has grown by 500 percent,” said Kris Steele with The Education and Employment Ministry.

The governor signed a bill into a law increasing the speed limit on the turnpike to 80-miles per hour and will consider a bill that puts cameras on school busses to bust people who illegally pass them.

See Related Story: Bill To Add Cameras To School Buses Heads To Governor’s Desk

“The video is submitted to the law enforcement agency. The law enforcement agency has to make sure they’ve got the tag information of the vehicle and make sure they have the right driver. They’re going to send you a citation in the mail,” said Representative Dell Kerbs (R) Shawnee.

And a bill that allows the use of so-called Rapid DNA technology to collect and process samples after a felony arrest advances, even though the bill’s author, Senator Wayne Shaw (R) Grove acknowledges, “Do we unfairly target minorities? That’s, that’s a possibility.”

Next week we expect republican lawmakers to continue budget talks behind closed doors.

Democrats also plan to release their budget plan. 

","published":"2019-04-19T22:25:55.000Z","updated":"2019-04-20T03:21:24.000Z","summary":"It was another frustrating week at the state capitol as insiders say republican leaders of the House and Senate continue bickering.","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-01-31T19:03:50.386Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-30T20:55:16.580Z","__v":2,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e347a16527dcf49dad732f3/capitol-week-in-review:-bickering-racist-policies-and-speed-limit-increase","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e347a16527dcf49dad732f3"};
logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

April 19th, 2019

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 27th, 2024

March 27th, 2024