OKLAHOMA CITY - A nuclear energy generation feasibility study is being promoted through a bill co-sponsored by Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow).
The measure, Senate Bill 130, would direct the Corporation Commission to undertake the study and thoroughly evaluate multiple aspects of nuclear energy. This includes topics such as site selection, economic and environmental impacts, design characteristics, safety criteria, workforce utilization and potential for small modular nuclear reactors.
In addition, the bill, which received a first reading in the House last week after being engrossed by the Senate, also states that the study must explore benefits such as tax base implications, job creation and potential military base energy resilience. The study would be supported by a $375,000 appropriation from the General Revenue Fund.
Another energy-related bill, SB 915, co-sponsored by Boles, addresses commercial solar energy facilities constructed on land owned and leased by the Commissioners of the Land Office in Oklahoma.
The intent is to estab lish new regulations, including installation requirements and specifies that facilities must be installed on permanent grass suitable for livestock grazing. Erosion prevention measures must also be implemented.
The proposal, which has an emergency tag attached, also includes information about leasing agreements and payments.
Upon approval, the Corporation Commission will be tasked with creating rules and enforcing the provisions.
A bill Boles authored, House Bill 1433, seeks to recreate the Special Investigative Unit Auditing Revolving Fund in the State Treasury. The measure was engrossed in the House and received its f irst reading in the Senate last week.
The fund will be a continuous, non-expiring account to be used by the State Auditor and Inspector to fund special investigative municipal audits. Revenue sources include legislative appropriations earmarked for investigative municipal audits and municipal gasoline tax allocations.
It would also tap any leftover money from a previous version of the same fund. An emergency provision would allow the measure to take effect immediately once approved.
Another bill authored by Boles, HB 1372, also received a first reading in the Senate last week. It seeks to modify the state’s gross production tax law and stipulates a 50% tax reduction for oil and gas recovery projects be provided, if wells are used from the Corporation Commission’s orphaned well list.
The intent is to encourage the recovery and productive use of orphaned wells and also has an emergency tag attached. The measure can take effect immediately once approved.
Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Lawton) is co-sponsor of a bill, SB 687, that seeks to modify the state’s sales tax rebate program for broadband infrastructure expansion. After engrossment in the Senate, it received a f irst reading in the House last week.
The plan includes establishing new administrative procedures and creating a dedicated funding mechanism. Specifically, the Oklahoma Broadband Office and Oklahoma Tax Commission would be tasked to jointly administer a rebate program for equipment purchases that expand broadband services in underserved or unserved areas. Equipment purchased between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec.
31, 2023, would be eligible for rebates.
If approved, the measure will create the Oklahoma Broadband Rebate Revolving Fund, which will support a total rebate cap of $42 million.
It sets aside $31.5 million for projects in counties with populations of fewer than 100 people per square mile and $10.5 million for projects in more populous counties.
Rebate claims will be processed annually.
Claimants will be required to demonstrate net growth in service of underserved areas.
An emergency tag is attached to the bill and becomes effective upon approval.
In addition, three bills authored by Caldwell received a f irst reading in the Senate last week after being engrossed in the House. They are:
• HB 2744, which is an act relating to appropriations and budget and seeks to reappropriate $20 million originally allocated by a previous legislative act to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce from the Progressing Rural Economic Prosperity Fund.
Specifically, the measure would redirect funds to implement an improvement project at a centrally located state fairgrounds. The improvements would include projects related to electrical infrastructure and facilities associated with livestock events.
An emergency tag is attached to the bill.
• HB 2753, which pertains to the Oklahoma Rural Jobs Act and would provide for expansion of the state’s tax credit program for investments in rural businesses.
The program currently allows up to $15 million in state tax credits per calendar year and the measure would allow eligible rural funds to access up to $200 million in additional state tax credits.
• HB 2754, which is an act relating to public health and would create the Oklahoma Rural Hospitals Funding Assistance Grant Program Act of 2025. The intent of the measure is to support healthcare access in rural areas, specifically targeting medical facilities in towns with populations under 5,000 people.
The State Department of Health would be tasked to administer the program.
Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (R-Elgin) saw four bills she authored receive legislation action last week. Two bills received engrossment in the House and are now eligible to be heard in the Senate.
They are:
• HB 2854 puts a moratorium on statutory geographic restrictions for twoand four-year colleges across the state. The measure will allow the Oklahoma State Regents to meet their constitutional obligation to help degree- seeking students enter critical workforce areas, according to a legislative press release.
“This bill will en sure that the Regents and the institutions can work together to create innovative programs for all Oklahomans seeking a post-secondary education. This change is long overdue,” Hasenbeck said in the release.
• HB 2798 proposes that the Department of Human Services establish a statewide centralized hotline for the reporting of child abuse or neglect. The measure also proposes that DHS would provide hotline-specific training including, but not limited to, interviewing skills, customer service skills, narrative writing, necessary computer systems, making case determinations and identifying priority situations.
In addition, two bills received first readings in the Senate l ast week. They are:
• HB 1360, which seeks to amend state statutes and expand protections for personal information confidentiality related to domestic abuse.
It would allow the program manager of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) to request that personal information be kept secure and not publicly available online.
The measure would also allow ACP participants to obtain a court order requiring county assessors to also keep personal information confidential. An emergency tag is attached to the bill.
• HB 1096, which pertains to schools and would specifically create an Academic Performance Index (API). The State Board of Education will be tasked to develop the program that would include multiple indicators like test scores, graduation rates, college remediation rates, attendance rates, dropout rates, Advanced Placement participation and college entrance exam scores.
In addition, if the measure passes, the API will modify professional development programs for teachers and expand remediation course options to include Classical Learning Test exam scores. With the goal of providing a more flexible and comprehensive approach to measuring student performance and supporting educational achievement, the measure will update eligibility requirements for state scholarship programs.
Rep. Gerrid Kendrix (R-Altus) signed on to co-sponsor two bills related to military infrastructure funding. The measures, HB 2516 and HB 2518, were authored by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) and are ready to crossover and be heard in the Senate.
Both bills intend to create revolving funds in the state Treasury for use by the Oklahoma Military Department. The fund will be known as the Base Infrastructure Needs and Development (BIND) and will have two components, technology and schools.
“Oklahoma has a long history across multiple branches of the military and we want to send a loud signal that the state supports our bases,” Hilbert said in a pr ess release. “These funds will allow funds to accrue over time so we are able to take advantage of potential expansion opportunities as they become available and fight against any potential closures in the future.”
The BIND-Schools Fund is intended to make infrastructure investments improving common education facilities located on military bases in the state.
The BIND-Technology Fund will be used, on approval, to make infrastructure investments, which would include the purchase of license and software associated with military simulation training.
In addition, Kendrix authored three bills that received a f irst reading in the Senate last week. They are:
• HB 1031 proposes to extend the sunset or expiration date for the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026. The OERB is a state board with a broad mandate to support Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry through public education, developing energy resources, promoting efficient and environmentally sound production methods, addressing historical environmental issues in oilfields and supporting research and educational activities.
• HB 2735 is r elated to professions and occupations and seeks to amend a state statute that would add the Oklahoma Accountancy Board to a list of entities exempt from certain provisions regulating how criminal histories can impact professional licensing.
• HB 2736 is also related to professions and occupations and also seeks to amend state statutes pertaining to requirements to become a cer tified public accountant.
In part, the measure would adjust educational requirements and clarify the process for criminal history record checks.
Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) authored two bills that received a first reading in the Senate last week. They are:
• HB 1086 seeks to modify state school district funding regulations and would primarily focus on how general fund money can be calculated and used. It would amend existing statutes and provide school districts with more flexibility in using general fund revenues in specific circumstances.
• HB 1088 pertains to schools and seeks to amend state statutes which relate to transfer students. The measure would modify school transfer laws by offering clearer guidelines for students wanting to transfer to an adjacent school district when their home district does not offer the needed grade level.
• HB 1087, authored by Lowe, has been referred for engrossment and is ready to be sent to the Senate. The measure would give teachers in the later portion of their careers the opportunity to earn more money. This proposed measure would extend the teacher salary schedule through 35 years of service. It currently caps out at year 25.
Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton) authored two bills that crossed over and received a first reading in the Senate last week. They are:
• HB 2011 reintroduces the Fighting Chance for Firefighters Act. The goal is to allow cancer centers in the state to cov er the costs of occupational cancer screenings. After the screenings, further testing and procedures would be billed to the provider’s insurance coverage.
• HB 2019 is a me asure related to revenue and taxation and seeks to modify state statutes regarding tax credit provisions for the aerospace industry. Specifically it would extend available tax credits from Jan. 1, 2026, to Jan. 1, 2032.
Rep. Rande Worthen (R-Lawton) saw legislative action last week on four bills he authored or co-sponsored. Two of the bills, HB 1362 and HB 1689, both pertain to crimes and punishments and making certain acts unlawful.
• HB 1362 specifically pertains to new criminal penalties for persons who are illegally in the United States and are arrested for violating a criminal law in Oklahoma.
• HB 1689 specifically pertains to amending a state statute r egarding larceny of lost property and adding new provisions about shopping cart theft.
Violating the shopping cart measure would be handled as a misdemeanor and would be punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $1,000 or both.
• HB 1693 pertains to criminal procedure and, in part, would change state statutes relating to death penalty procedures for persons who are deemed mentally incompetent.
A mentally incompetent person is defined as someone who is not able to rationally understand why they are being put to death.
The measure outlines the process an inmate’s attorney must follow if seeking a ruling of mentally incompetence.
• HB 1817 pertains to waters and water rights and would create the Oklahoma Water Resources Board Well Driller and Pump Installer Program.
The goal is to recognize critical threats to groundwater resources caused by an anticipated nationwide shortage of geoscience workers.