Capitol Notebook: Stitt to decide on bill to make Marijuana Authority freestanding agency

A bill to make the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority a freestanding state agency awaits action from Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday gave final passage to legislation that is the result of years of discussions about moving the OMMA out of the Oklahoma Health Department.

The House has supported in recent years similar legislation, but it wasn't until Oklahoma City Republicans Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat and House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols authored Senate Bill 1543 this year that the idea really took off in the Senate.

Treat previously said he couldn't get on board with plans to move the OMMA until he saw details for how such a move would allow the agency to better enforce the state's medical marijuana laws.

"Having (the OMMA) under the Department of Health may have been a good start for it, but it's been shielded from proper oversight on its budget" Treat said in a January interview. "It's also been inhibited in its ability to truly become an enforcer of the rules and regulations that I think Oklahomans expect it to be."

Last year, the Senate shot down legislation to combine the Medical Marijuana Authority with the ABLE Commission, which oversees enforcement of Oklahoma's alcohol laws.

SB 1543 was included in House Republicans' 12-point plan for improving the state's medical marijuana program and cracking down on illegal cannabis operations.

Under the bill, the executive director of the OMMA would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

Democrats want veto override on financial disclosures bill

Legislative Democrats want the Oklahoma Legislature to override Stitt's veto of a bill that would have required his appointed Cabinet secretaries and state agency heads to file financial disclosure forms.

Republican legislative leaders will decide whether the Legislature will attempt to override any of the bills Stitt vetoes this session. So far, Stitt has vetoed 10 bills.

A veto override requires two-thirds support in both chambers of the Legislature. Senate Bill 1695 passed both chambers with unanimous support. However, Sen. Casey Murdock, the bill's author, previously said he does not plan to ask leadership for a veto override.

Stitt said he vetoed the bill because he wanted additional political appointees, namely those tapped by the Legislature, to file the forms that state elected officials fill out to give a high-level overview of their income, investments and property.

House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said recent audits and investigations into how the Stitt administration has spent millions in taxpayer dollars necessitates the veto override.

“Despite what the governor’s office says, the decision before Governor Stitt was whether or not to increase transparency this year. He chose not to," Virgin said in a statement. “It is now incumbent on the Legislature to override this veto and put these transparency safeguards in place.”

Stitt has vetoed three other bills that passed the Legislature this year with unanimous support. However, Stitt vetoed one of those simply because it was duplicative of a bill he'd already signed.

Bills Gov. Kevin Stitt signed at a glance

Stitt signed more than 75 bills this week. Here some highlights:

• Senate Bill 1613 creates a mental wellness division for law enforcement within the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.

• Senate Bill 1134 repeals a five-year residency requirement for the Oklahoma Department of Human developmental disabilities services waiting list. The bill repeals a year-old law that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said was unconstitutional.

• House Bill 3363, which takes effect immediately, creates a state broadband office with the goal of bringing high-speed internet to 95% of Oklahomans within five years. Stitt said the bill will be a boon for rural Oklahoma. “Digital transformation has been a priority of mine since the day I took office, and I am so proud to be delivering expanded broadband infrastructure to all corners of Oklahoma," Stitt said. The office will be funded with federal infrastructure dollars.

• Senate Bill 1464 aligns the state's newborn screening panel with federally recommended screenings. Oklahoma currently screens for 57 of the 61 genetic disorders on the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel, but that will soon change under the legislation from Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City.

• Senate Bill 1696 makes hunting and fishing licenses good for one year from date of purchase.

• House Bill 3543 creates a Free Speech Committee within the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education that will train college deans and administrators on First Amendment policies and be responsible for handling complaints.

• House Bill 1800 grants in-state tuition to a member of the military, their spouse or their children if the service member has lived in Oklahoma for at least a year at any point in the past decade.

• Senate Bill 1738 changes the process for determining the mental competency of someone who is set to be executed.

• House Bill 3409 increases the amount a tenant can deduct from their rent to make home repairs. The legislation raises the cap from $100 to the cost of one month's rent if a landlord fails to make repairs within a set timeframe.

• Senate Bill 1385 designates Lyric Theatre as the state's official theatre.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Legislature passes bill to make Marijuana Authority an agency