OK Issues EO 2015-17 OKLAHOMA Gov. Mary Fallin (R) issues Executive Order 2015-17, which creates a new executive panel designed to develop a plan for improving the range and quality of services for people with developmental disabilities (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). CO Signs EO B 2015-01 COLORADO...

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has made the Sooner State the second to centralize oil and gas regulation with the state and to bar cities and counties from enacting their own bans on the controversial drilling process hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Acting just days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbot...

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) said last week a monument to the Ten Commandments will remain in place on the Capitol grounds in Oklahoma City while state Attorney General Scott Pruitt appeals the state Supreme Court ruling ordering its removal. The Court ruled in June that the monument violates the Sooner...

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) issued an executive order (EO 2016-03) on Feb 24 making the Sooner State the 20th to “ban the box” by requiring state agencies to eliminate questions about felony convictions from employment applications. “Employment after a felony conviction is always...

The Oklahoma House passed a four-bill package of sentencing and justice reforms backed by Gov. Mary Fallin (R). The measures would: raise the dollar amount needed to make a property crime a felony (HB 2751); allow district attorneys discretion in filing misdemeanor instead of felony charges for most...

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed a quartet of bills last week aimed at reducing the Sooner State’s burgeoning prison population. Oklahoma leads the nation in incarceration rate for women and is second nationally for men. The measures, which were developed by a bipartisan task force Fallin...

AK Lawmakers Dodge Walker Call for Action On Appointments Saying it was “time to bring [them] to a close,” ALASKA Gov. Bill Walker (I) issued a proclamation last week calling for a joint session of the Last Frontier Legislature to force lawmakers to act on his appointments to boards, commissions...

Fallin Cracks Down On Sexual Harassment : Saying “Sexual harassment is wrong and cannot be tolerated,” OKLAHOMA Gov. Mary Fallin (R) issued Executive Order 2017-41 last week, which directs state agency heads to take action to ensure workers their workplaces are free of sexual harassment...

BAKER OPEN TO NEW MA DEATH PENALTY In the wake of the murder of a Bay State police officer, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) says his office is talking with lawmakers and law enforcement officials about crafting a bill to reinstate the death penalty for cop killers. Baker supported making the...

For the seventh quarter in a row, polling by Morning Consult shows that the ten most popular governors in America are all Republicans. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker topped the list with a 70 percent approval rating, followed closely by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, at 67 percent. That pair has topped...

PRITZKER ISSUES IL TRANSGENDER STUDENT EO ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) issued Executive Order 19-11 , aimed at protecting the Prairie State’s transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming students. The governor’s directive creates a new 25-member working group tasked with ensuring...

TWO DOZEN GOVS RESIST TRUMP CLEAN CAR ROLLBACK Two dozen governors – including three Republicans – signed a letter to President Donald Trump last week urging his administration not to move forward on a plan to roll back auto emissions standards nationwide. The letter comes on the heels...

TRIBES REJECT OK GOV’S CALL FOR NEW GAMING DEALS Questioning “his sincerity to work with us in a cooperative manner,” the leaders of five major OKLAHOMA -based tribes rejected Gov. Kevin Stitt’s (R) call to renegotiate their gaming compacts. In a letter to Stitt, the heads...

Stitt Signs Off on Record Number of Commutations Adhering to recommendations from the state Pardon and Parole Board, OKLAHOMA Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed off on the release of over 450 Sooner State prisoners, the largest single-day commutation in history. The Board had reviewed the cases of 814 low...