2023 OKFB Legislative Review

The first regular session of the 59^th Oklahoma legislature adjourned sine die on Friday, May 26, and the halls of the state Capitol have once again grown quiet.

Throughout the nearly four-month legislative session, Oklahoma Farm Bureau members and staff worked hard to make the voice of rural Oklahoma heard at 23^rd and Lincoln. In a session overtaken largely by education funding discussions, OKFB members still saw success in several key agricultural areas.

Landowner Advocacy

OKFB was pleased to see the passage of HB 1962 by Rep. Carl Newton and Sen. Darcy Jech. This bill allows persons between the ages of 14-17 who live on or work for a farm in Oklahoma to apply for a farm permit to operate Class D motor vehicles. Teenagers with this special driver’s permit will be allowed to drive to and from the farm, drive to conduct farm-related business and drive to school.

Farm Bureau members were quick to take action and encourage their legislators to vote “yes” on HB 2053 by Rep. David Hardin and Sen. Brent Howard in late May when the Senate-amended bill returned to the House and eventually back to the Senate for secondary votes.

HB 2053 clarifies who qualifies as an interested party in a groundwater permit application protest. Those appealing a groundwater permit based solely on the industry or entity applying to use the water are no longer considered an interested party, and such claims would be considered frivolous – opening the protestor up to court sanctions.

Oklahoma’s Future

Farm Bureau members placed a high priority on the future of rural Oklahoma and sought increased funding and expansion for the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Oklahoma Emergency Drought Commission this year.

Rep. Kevin Wallace and Sen. Chris Kidd worked to create the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medicine Authority Act through HB 2863. This would ensure the OSU veterinary medicine program has a dependable source of funding and a more efficient and effective way to carry out its mission and purpose through an authority similar to that of the medical schools at OSU and the University of Oklahoma.

Through HB 2863, the OSU veterinary medicine program will receive $79 million for capital improvements and a recurring $14 million for operations. HB 2863 made its way through both chambers but was vetoed by Gov. Kevin Stitt. The veto was overridden by the legislature on May 25.

The Oklahoma Emergency Drought Commission grew as a result of HB 1847 by Rep. John Kane and Sen. Grant Green. This measure adds two new members to the commission – one appointed by the Speaker of the House and one appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore. The expansion of the commission now permits two commission members to meet and discuss ideas outside of official meetings without violating the Open Meetings Act.

Additionally, the Emergency Drought Commission received $17 million to address previously unapproved applications as well as $20 million for future projects.

Farm Bureau members also saw the passage of SB 488 by Sen. Brent Howard and Rep. Kenton Patzkowsky. This measure requires the Oklahoma Wheat Commission to assess a fee upon all wheat sold by Oklahoma producers through commercial channels. The bill will effectively remove the current two-cent-per-bushel checkoff assessment from Oklahoma Statute and allow the OWC to determine the amount in the future.

Medical Marijuana

The beginning of March brought about the race to legalize recreational marijuana through State Question 820, and OKFB members stood adamantly opposed to the measure with specific policy against recreational marijuana. OKFB partnered with other state businesses and entities to form a coalition against SQ 820 and hosted a press conference at the OKFB home office in early March. The state question failed in all 77 counties after the March 7 vote, leaving medical purposes as the only marijuana use legal in the state of Oklahoma.

The state Capitol continued to see medical marijuana legislation throughout the legislative session, including HB 2095 by Rep. Jon Echols and Sen. Lonnie Paxton. HB 2095 authorizes the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to permanently revoke the license of any medical marijuana business that intentionally fails to pay excise tax on their sales. Additionally, it authorizes OMMA to enter into cooperative agreements with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Oklahoma Attorney General to investigate and enforce violations of the law.

HB 2095 also grants the powers and authority of a peace officer to OBN, OSBI and OAG when enforcing medical marijuana laws, makes it unlawful for a medical marijuana grower to employ undocumented immigrants and limits medical marijuana grower licenses to one per property.

Since the legalization of medical marijuana in 2018, foreign ownership of land has been a top-of-mind concern for Farm Bureau members as the initial lack of regulation on the medical marijuana industry brought a storm of fly-by-night and illegal marijuana activity to rural Oklahoma. OKFB members were pleased to see the passage of SB 212 by Sen. David Bullard and Rep. Justin Humphrey, which will prohibit any non-U.S. citizen from owning land in Oklahoma as an individual or as part of a business entity or trust.

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed SB 913 by Sen. Darcy Jech and Rep. Anthony Moore into law in late April, which will require marijuana growers to submit a $50,000 bond when applying for a license to cover any cleanup or restoration costs incurred in the case of facility abandonment. SB 913 also allows the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to increase the bond amount if they believe potential costs would exceed $50,000.

With the close of the 2023 legislative session, Farm Bureau members now turn their attention to the upcoming grassroots policy development season to prepare for 2024. County Farm Bureaus across the state will gather throughout the summer and fall to begin discussing legislative priorities and crafting resolutions that have the potential to become future OKFB policy.

For more information about this year’s legislative session or the upcoming policy development season, contact the OKFB public policy team at (405) 523-2300.

Top Legislation Monitored by OKFB