TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma lawmakers have thousands of bills to review during the next legislative session.
They range from stricter domestic abuse punishments to advertisements on school buses.
Over 1,200 were filed in the House before the deadline and more than 800 in the Senate, not including bills carried over from last year.
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Here's a breakdown of some of the proposed bills.
Domestic Abuse
Senate Bill 1470, or the Oklahoma Survivors' Act, would reduce current sentences for crimes that stem from victimization.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 1326 would add those convicted of domestic abuse to the Marry Rippy Violent Crime Offenders Registration Act. In it, violent offenders must provide their address to law enforcement after sentencing or release and remain on the list for 10 years.
Taxes
Onto taxes, a big focus after the special session to eliminate the state income tax failed.
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Five bills filed by House Speaker Charles McCall (R) would lower personal and corporate income taxes.
One of them, House Bill 2949, would implement a flat personal income tax rate 4.25%.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R) is focusing on the state's grocery tax.
Senate Bill 1283 would exclude food and food ingredients from Oklahoma's 4.5% tax on groceries. Although, this bill wouldn't stop municipalities from taxing those items
Ranked Choice Voting
Many people likely have not have heard of ranked choice voting.
Under a ranked choice voting system, voters can rank all candidates from who they like the best to least, instead of just voting for one person. The candidate with the least votes is eliminated, with those votes transferred to a voter's second choice. This repeats until one candidate has more the 50% of the vote.
Along with New York City, states like Alaska and Maine have adopted it.
House Bill 3156 wants to ban this option for all state elections.
Adding School Supplies to Tax-Free Weekend
Lawmakers have quite the array of bills this upcoming session broadly related to schools.
As it stands, the only products affected by the Sooner State's yearly tax-free weekend are footwear and clothing. But House Bill 1039 wants to add certain school supplies to the list.
Of the more than 40 items mentioned, some include binders, writing utensils, and "all required textbooks on an official school book list" as long as they cost between $30 and $50.
Mental Health Appointments and Excused School Absences
Should lawmakers pass House Bill 1035, students would be free to take mental health appointments and have them count as excused absences from school, includes occupational therapy appointments.
The parents would just need to write the district a note ahead of the absence.
Advertisements on School Buses
House Bill 3062 would allow advertisements on school buses.
Specifically, it would give public school districts the choice to sell advertisement space on the yellow buses, albeit with some restrictions.
Plus, it would give districts an extra "revenue stream," according to the bill's sponsor, Rep. Jacob Rosecrants (D). He argued that "most districts struggle to keep their busses staffed and up to date."
The upcoming legislative session is scheduled to begin Monday, Feb. 5. 5pm on May 31 is the deadline for lawmakers to act on bills for the 2024 session.
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