The first bill filed in the Senate chamber — Senate Bill 1 — proposes an individual income tax cut of a quarter-of-a-percent for all Oklahomans, as long as the state’s coffers see a $400 million dollar revenue increase year-over-year. That number is adjusted for inflation over time.
Adair Republican Senator Michael Bergstrom filed the measure.
Senate Bill 1 may hint at upcoming priorities within the Senate's majority GOP caucus. Income tax cuts — and tax cuts in general — have been pushed by the governor and much of the Senate and House, but have been successfully stalled by more money-saving minded lawmakers.
Last year, Republicans in the House and Senate sparred over the best way to cut taxes, eventually slashing the state’s portion of the grocery tax.
Across the rotunda, Rep. Steve Bashore, R-Miami, filed the first measure in the House, House Bill 1001. Titled "Lauria and Ashley's Law," the measure requires people convicted of accessory to murder in the first or second degree to serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentence.
It’s named after 16-year-olds Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, of Welch, who were kidnapped, tortured, raped and killed on New Year's Eve 1999. While their bodies were presumed to be dumped in a mine pit in Picher, they have yet to be found.
Ronnie Busick, a man convicted of accessory to murder in connection to the crime in 2020 received a 10-year sentence and only served three because of his good behavior. Bashore aims to disqualify people like Busick from leaving prison early, even if they are well-behaved.
"This legislation will ensure going forward that anyone connected with a felony murder such as this will not be released prematurely from prison and will not receive any type of credits for time served," Bashore said.
“The family was never told that accessory to felony murder was not an 85% crime,” a press release announcing the bill’s filing reads. “They would never have agreed to Busick's sentence had they known.”
Other bills regulate the distance windmills can be from homes or unrelated property and the use of biosolids in farming.
The legislative session kicks off on February 3, 2025.
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