Murray Evans

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Murray Evans

Gov. Kevin Stitt has apologized to an Oklahoma senator after Stitt made the senator’s wife’s job with the state mental health agency an issue as lawmakers debated over a decision to remove Stitt’s appointee as the leader of that agency. During a press conference at the Oklahoma Capitol on Wednesday, June 4, Stitt said he contacted Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, to take responsibility for the fallout from a statement the governor issued on May 29, in the waning hours of the legislative session.

3 weeks ago | pawhuskajournalcapital.com | Murray Evans

Preliminary standardized test scores for Oklahoma students in grades 3-8 will be delayed. The agency says the delay is due to a recent vote by the state Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability reverting to older standards. The Oklahoma State Department of Education says preliminary scores of students who took standardized tests this spring in English language arts, math and science in grades 3-8 will be delayed.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Murray Evans

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by an investors’ board led by state Treasurer Todd Russ against Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The court announced its decision on Monday, June 2, in a three-sentence ruling signed by Chief Justice Dustin Rowe that granted Drummond’s motion to dismiss the case, initially filed April 15 by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust’s board of investors. The court voted 7-1 on the dismissal, with Rowe as the only dissenting vote.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Murray Evans

A lawmaker with a history of disagreements with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has sued the agency, its leaders and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, alleging “ongoing violations” of the Oklahoma Open Records Act. Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, wants a judge to order them to not withhold public records, to provide “a declaration of the rights and responsibilities” in regard to public records.

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Murray Evans

Twenty-eight female state lawmakers – both Republicans and Democrats – have signed a letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt expressing “profound disappointment” in his veto of a measure to expand insurance coverage for breast cancer imaging and advanced diagnostic tests. In the letter, dated Saturday, May 31, they also told Stitt they are celebrating the Oklahoma Legislature’s override of that veto. House Bill 1389 was authored by Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa – who is battling breast cancer – and Sen.