The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled in favor of landowner rights in their Sackett v. EPA ruling over the scope of the EPA’s regulatory authority regarding what waters constitute a Waters of the United States. “Oklahoma Farm Bureau members are encouraged that today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes the need to consider landowners when the federal government makes rules regarding water use,” said Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel. “We are pleased the ruling places limits on the EPA’s administrative reach regarding Waters of the U.S., which we hope will ensure more reasonable and realistic rules and actions […]
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Legislative update: wheat checkoff program, nuisance wildlife
The first week of May did not see many bills making progress at the state Capitol due to the continuing logjam over education funding. The House and Senate spent more time behind closed doors in caucus meetings than on their respective chamber floors. The key sticking point centers around rural public schools and whether they should receive more of the proposed additional per pupil funding than their urban counterparts. Gov. Kevin Stitt and House Republicans have held firm that rural public schools should be a priority consideration of the spending packages due to the vast majority of the proposed private […]
Legislative update: Vet bill vetoed, groundwater permitting bill moves forward
The last legislative deadline week ahead of sine die was met with gridlock at 23rd and Lincoln. The major issue affecting nonrelated legislation is the difference of opinion over an education package and tax cuts. The House and the governor have spent most of the session in nearly lockstep on both of those issues while the Senate has had a considerably different opinion. This week the governor began vetoing nearly all Senate bills on his desk, issuing a message that he would continue doing so until the Senate threw their support behind his education and tax cut plans. The Senate […]
Legislative Update: drought commission, OSU vet medicine, and bond requirements
The Oklahoma State Legislature returned to the House and Senate chambers for the first week in a two-week floor work period. Both chambers have until next Thursday, April 27, to approve bills from the opposite chamber of origin. HB 1847 by Rep. John Kane and Sen. Grant Green passed the Senate this week with an emergency clause allowing it to go into immediate effect upon approval by the Governor. HB 1847 adds two members to the Emergency Drought Commission, which would allow two members from the Commission to meet and discuss ideas ahead of official meetings without being in violation […]
Legislative Update: final committee deadline, drought commission, public safety protection district
The legislature crossed another deadline threshold this week finishing up the second and final committee deadline of the legislative session. While Senate bills assigned to House Appropriations and Budget still have one more week, all other bills were required to be passed out of their assigned committee from the opposite chamber of which they originated from. Initial numbers show that there are roughly 500 bills and joint resolutions remaining available for consideration ahead of the next deadline on April 27, which will require bills to be passed off of the floor of the opposite chamber. Following the April 27 deadline, […]
OKFB praises Drummond’s action on lesser prairie chicken listing
Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel today thanked Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond for joining a lawsuit challenging a federal rule listing the lesser prairie chicken as endangered and threatened under the Endangered Species Act. “We appreciate Attorney General Drummond standing up for our family farmers and ranchers, who suffer the most from the lesser prairie chicken’s listing,” Moesel said. “Our state’s farmers and ranchers are tremendous land stewards who manage our state’s natural resources, including wide swaths of wildlife habitat. Tying agricultural producers’ hands by restricting which land-management practices they can use unnecessarily restricts our members’ generations-deep boots-on-the-ground experience […]
WOTUS rule implementation halted in Oklahoma, 23 other states
The U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota enjoined the 2023 Waters of the United States rule in 24 states, including Oklahoma, on Wednesday, April 12. The ruling blocks implementation of the 2023 WOTUS rule in 24 states, adding to a previous injunction issued by a Texas court last month that blocked implementation in Texas and Idaho. In the ruling, the court noted the 2023 rule is confusing and recognized the rule’s boundaries are “unlimited.” The court’s opinion also recognized the burden of “costly compliance efforts” placed on individual landowners. The Biden administration’s 2023 WOTUS rule took effect […]
Legislative update: water rights protest, OSU vet med, 4-H members absence exemption
Both chambers returned to the Capitol this week with full committee schedules. Since no House committees met last week and only a handful of Senate committees took up legislation, legislators only had two weeks of committee work to advance their bills through committee and onto chamber floors. HB 2053 by Rep. David Hardin and Sen. Brent Howard passed out of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee Thursday. HB 2053 clarifies who qualifies as an interested party in a groundwater permit application protest. Specifically, those appealing a groundwater permit based solely on the industry or entity applying to utilize the water […]
OKFB members advocate for agriculture during the Washington, D.C. Summit March 27-31
Nearly 60 Oklahoma Farm Bureau members advocated for agriculture and rural Oklahoma in the nation’s capital during OKFB’s Washington, D.C. Summit March 27-31. Members had the opportunity to talk with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation who are making decisions that impact farmers, ranchers and rural Oklahomans. “We had a lot of wonderful opportunities to sit down with our senators and representatives and talk face-to-face and ask those hard questions,” said Jacob Beck, OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers district three representative. “It has been very eye-opening and reassuring that our delegation is thinking about us in agriculture.” Senators James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin […]
Legislative Update: hazard mitigation districts, medical marijuana growers license
This week was a busy one at 23rd and Lincoln as the Legislature was up against the second major deadline of the session. Thursday was the final day for bills to be passed off the floor of their chamber of origin. Following the first deadline at the beginning of the month, around 1,000 bills were still left for consideration. As bills now switch sides to be considered by the opposite chamber, there are roughly 800 bills alive. Oklahoma Farm Bureau members were pleased that HB 1921 by Rep. Lonnie Sims did not receive consideration on the House floor. HB 1921 […]
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