Pensions, prescriptions and pot among proposals before lawmakers

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tax cuts, education policy and what to do with budget surpluses will dominate much of the upcoming legislative session in Oklahoma, but other subjects have attracted the attention of House and Senate members.

Headline-grabbing proposals like prohibiting “furry” costumes in public schools and the licensing and drug testing of journalists have little chance of passage. But scores of other bills, if passed, could mean big changes for Oklahomans in everything from land sales and medical marijuana to prescription drugs and state pension system investments.

House members filed more than 1,200 bills by last week’s filing deadline. Senators added more than 840 bills. Just a fraction of those 2,000 proposals–less than 20% by recent tallies–will make it out of both chambers and to the governor’s desk to be signed into law. Hundreds of bills that stalled out in the 2023 regular session remain available for consideration, too.

Medical marijuana continues to draw legislative scrutiny, both on the law enforcement side and for patient safety. Senate Bill 1980, by Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, would bring the unregulated market for hemp-derived cannabinoids, known as delta-8 and delta-10, under the purview of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. Delta-8 is sold in Oklahoma at non-dispensaries but looks very similar to many retail medical marijuana products. Public health officials have been alarmed at the rapid rise of the delta-8 market, as calls to poison control hotlines involving the products have spiked in recent years.

Meanwhile, lawmakers continue to propose limits on delta-9 THC, the intoxicating chemical in medical marijuana. SB 1753, by Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, would limit the THC content of edibles. Another Garvin bill, SB 1748, would tighten up requirements for minors to get a medical marijuana patient license. Both are updates from bills that stalled in the 2023 session.

Illicit marijuana growing operations and law enforcement concerns with foreign criminal cartels buying up cheap land for cultivation led to several proposals regulating land purchases by non-citizens and agents of foreign governments. House Bill 3125, by Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, would prohibit foreign ownership of agricultural land and establish an Office of Agricultural Intelligence to “collect and analyze information concerning the unlawful sale or possession of agricultural land by prohibited foreign parties or prohibited foreign-party-controlled business entity.” Rep. Neil Hays, R-Checotah, has a similar measure in HB 3077.

Some bills clarify legislation on property sales by legal residents who aren’t U.S. citizens. SB 1705 by Sen. Brent Howard, R-Altus, would clear up the affidavit process needed for real estate transactions under SB 212 from the 2023 session.

Several bills either contract or expand the Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, a 2022 law that gave the state treasurer powers to restrict contracts and investments with banking and financial institutions perceived to be hostile to the oil and gas industry. The implementation of that law led to confusion and bureaucratic sparring, but some lawmakers want to expand it and give the treasurer veto power over state pension funds that have taken an exemption.

HB 3541 by Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, would expand the law to include financial company policies hostile to timber, mining and agriculture interests. It would also allow the state treasurer to unilaterally override any exemption taken by a pension system. HB 3222 by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, would add firearms companies to the anti-discrimination status for financial investments and limit the ability of pension funds to take an exemption.

SB 1536, by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, would let the attorney general mediate disputes over the law’s implementation if a pension system and the treasurer disagreed on the need for a fiduciary duty exemption to the law. That came out of a legislative interim study in the fall.

Other lawmakers want to limit the law’s scope. SB 1510, by Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, would remove local governments from the law. That stemmed from concerns that cities and counties doing business with banks on the restricted list would have less flexibility. Among the cities with concerns was Stillwater, which saw an infrastructure loan from Bank of America get caught up in the confusion last year.

Several bills would make changes to the state’s sprawling superagency, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. A recent report by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency made recommendations after studying the agency’s operations. It handles information technology, purchasing, budgeting, employee management and state office buildings and fleet vehicles.

SB 1430, by Hall, would break out OMES’ Central Purchasing division into a separate agency and make the state purchasing director an appointee of the governor, with confirmation by the Senate. Another bill by Hall, SB 1416, would allow state agencies to contract for information technology services outside of OMES.

Prescription drug availability at independent pharmacists could be boosted by several bills. The rise of pharmacy benefit managers, owned by large retail drugstore chains, has caused problems for many Oklahomans as they fill prescriptions. Pharmacy benefit managers use their market power to force health insurance companies to have their customers fill prescriptions either by mail only or at the retail chains they also own. That limits prescription drug availability, especially in rural areas.

Lawmakers responded by giving the attorney general more enforcement powers. SB 1628, by Howard, would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from discriminating against a healthcare provider if it participates in a federal drug rebate program called 340B.

In the House, HB 3379 by Rep. Marcus McEntire, R-Duncan, creates the Oklahoma Health Care Safety Net and Affordable Prescription Accessibility Act. It would prohibit discriminatory pricing practices of pharmacy benefit managers. The federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals last year struck down a 2019 Oklahoma law regulating pharmacy benefit managers. Its ruling is in conflict with another federal appellate court, and the issue could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Other bills to watch:

HB 3959, by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City. It would create the Professional Sports Arena Act, allowing income tax revenue from visiting NBA teams to be captured and put into a fund for a new sports arena. Oklahoma City voters in December extended a temporary, one-cent sales tax to fund a new arena for the NBA’s Thunder that could cost more than $1 billion.

SB 1267 by Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City. It would add a paid family leave requirement to new recipients of the state’s Quality Jobs incentive program.

SB 1218 by Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant. It would prohibit licensed dealers from denying anyone over 18 from buying a firearm, unless they are otherwise prohibited under state law.

SB 1254 by Garvin. This proposal would increase the penalties from bringing a gun onto school property to a felony, up from a misdemeanor, and maximum fines of $2,500, up from $250.

Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.