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Out of 149 Oklahoma state lawmakers, only seven belong to the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus, but that isn’t stopping them from making bold plans for the second session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature beginning Monday, February 5th.
Outgoing Black Caucus Chair and current Tulsa mayoral candidate Rep. Monroe Nichols (D-Tulsa) detailed how his colleagues plan to progress their agenda for a more inclusive, equitable Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma’s leading the country on attacks on diversity, we’re leading the country on whitewashing history, and we’re leading the country on economic inequality,” Rep. Nichols told the Black Wall Street Times.
Over the last few years, the state has passed laws limiting discussion of race and gender in the classroom. Late last year, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order defunding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs statewide.
He’s currently pushing for an across-the-board income tax cut, despite warnings from Oklahoma Policy Institute that not making targeted cuts would lead to a further regressive tax system, in which low-income residents pay a larger portion of their income than wealthier residents.
The Black Caucus members, all of whom are Democrats, plan to sound the alarm on legislation they believe will harm marginalized communities. Yet they’re also pushing for bills that would take the state in a new direction.
Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus priorities
Rep. Nichols described six priorities for the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus this session. They include:
- Economic Opportunity.
- Criminal Justice Reform.
- Voting Rights.
- Education Funding.
- Combating attacks on diversity.
- Improving health care access.
Economic Opportunity
As the Oklahoma Supreme Court considers challenges to a petition to raise the state minimum wage, Sen. George Young (D-OKC) isn’t waiting. SB1276 would increase the minimum wage to $13 an hour with an increase of 50 cents per year over a five-year period.
Despite homelessness remaining an issue in Oklahoma, Gov. Stitt disbanded the state’s homelessness council last year in a move that was heavily criticized.
“Every state has this council. Oklahoma will be the only state without a council. It doesn’t make any sense,” George Shin, former chair of the statewide council, told the Black Wall Street Times in April 2023.
Meanwhile, Rep. Nichols’ bill HB 3243 would expand a tax credit for affordable housing.
Criminal Justice Reform and Voting Rights
Years after Oklahoma voters passed reforms to reduce penalties for non-violent crimes, Oklahoma’s incarceration rate has gone back up to fourth-highest in the nation, according to a 2023 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In addition, Oklahoma holds the notorious distinction of being number 10 in the nation for rate of police killings of civilians, according to Mapping Police Violence.
As the state’s first and only non-binary, Muslim lawmaker, Rep Mauree Turner (D-OKC) has faced outright hostility from members of the Republican-controlled legislature. Despite being censored last year, they’ve filed several bills this session that would address the criminal legal system.
HB4144 would eliminate polygraph test requirements for certain offenses, and HB4142 would require county election boards to coordinate with county jails to distribute absentee ballots for elections.
Charlotte’s Law
HB4143 would establish Charlotte’s Law. It would require courts to notify prisoners when their voting rights are lost and restored.
On top of that, Charlotte’s Law would require the Secretary of the State Election Board to develop a program that educates “attorneys, judges, election officials, corrections officials, including parole and probation officers, and members of the public…about the requirements of this section…ensuring” judges and state agencies understand their obligation to notify prisoners of their voting rights status.
HB4139 would retroactively decriminalize HIV, AIDS, and other infectious diseases, and several other of Rep. Turner’s bills would support people with felonies seeking the restoration of their voting rights.
“I will never apologize for showing up fully and freely as myself. I will never apologize for allowing the people of Oklahoma to show up fully and freely as themselves because that is the work that they elected me to do,” Rep. Turner said last year.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Lowe (D-OKC) has filed several bills that would address commutations (HB3732), automatic expungements for misdemeanors (HB3729) and phone call times for arrested persons (HB 3728).
Another bill by Rep. Regina Goodwin (D-Tulsa) would ban the use of chokeholds.
Education Funding Priorities for Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus
Last year, the federal government dropped a bomb shell when it announced states across the country had severely underfunded their Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) by hundreds of millions of dollars each over a period of years.
In the case of Oklahoma, the state Legislature has underfunded Langston University by nearly $420 million, an issue the Black Caucus plans to correct.
“We have to stop thinking about it as this bill that’s due,” Rep. Nichols previously told the Black Wall St. Times. “This is an investment in people, an investment in the state that’s gonna make the state a lot better in the short and long term.”
Sen. Kevin Matthews (D-Tulsa) represents Historic Greenwood in Tulsa, home to the original Black Wall Street. He filed SB1353 to restore equitable funding to Langston University.
Meanwhile, Rep. Nichols filed HB3248 to better support local school districts. He also filed HB3244 to require the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to create an education partnership grant program.
The bill filing comes after months of controversy from State Superintendent Ryan Walters, a far-right “anti-woke” Republican.
Walters faces several lawsuits for his alleged mishandling of a teacher bonus that he’s asked several teachers to pay back, along with allegedly misspending millions in federal dollars during the pandemic.
Rep. Regina Goodwin, a descendant of Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, continues to push for improvement on a scholarship fund for other descendants. She also plans to continue pushing her bill filed last year, which would establish a $300 million fund for reparations to survivors and descendants of the Massacre.
Combating Attacks On Diversity
As far-right political leaders seek to turn the clock backward on discussions around race and history, members of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus hope to move the state in a more culturally inclusive direction.
Sen. Kevin Matthews filed SB1356. It would send $1.5 million to the Oklahoma Historical Society to support the establishment of the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail. “In addition to the Black history of Oklahoma Black towns, it starts where the Osage Reign of Terror happened,” Rep. Nichols said.
Meanwhile, Sen Matthews’ SB1531 would add Juneteenth to the list of state holidays in Oklahoma.
The goal is “to really think about, in addition to combatting these assaults on history, how do we make it to where young people and folks across the state can really experience who we are as Oklahomans,” Rep. Nichols said.
Health care bill from Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus
When it comes to maternal mortality rates, Black women face the highest risk of death across the country. In Oklahoma, Black women are roughly twice as likely to die during or after childbirth than White women, according to the state’s annual Maternal Health, Morbidity and Mortality Report.
“Representative A.J. Pittman has been a huge champion on trying to address the infant and maternal mortality rates in Oklahoma, and as we know, they impact babies and mothers of color at a much higher degree,” Rep. Nichols said.
Rep. Pittman (D-OKC) is focused on solutions. Her bill HB3839 would provide a bonus program to award extra funds to health care facilities and operating teams for every high-risk birth they successfully perform. She defines “high-risk” as:
- Someone thirty-four (34) years of age or older.
- Preeclampsia.
- Eclampsia.
- Embolism.
- Gestational diabetes.
- History of high blood pressure.
- History of stroke.
- History of miscarriage.
- Carrying more than one baby.
To stay updated on the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus, follow their website.