Governor Stitt completes action on Oklahoma bills • Oklahoma Voice

OKLAHOMA CITY – When the dust settled on the legislative session, Gov. Stitt had already signed 488 bills and vetoed 32, some of which were overridden, according to his office.

The veto numbers do not include line-item vetoes, where Stitt objected to only certain sections of a bill but agreed with the rest.

The deadline ended Friday, when Stitt signed the remaining 74 bills, many of which concerned funding, and vetoed others.

The invoices signed by Stitt include:

• Bill 2914the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office Funding Assistance Grant Program, which provides $17.9 million to fund local departments.
• Bill 2923 The bill provides a 7% salary increase for district, associate and special district judges. It takes effect on July 1 and costs nearly $3.2 million. The legislature rejected a recommendation by the Board on Judicial Compensation that would have called for a 17% across-the-board salary increase for all judges.

• House Bill 2896 This will provide the Department of Public Safety with an additional $74 million for its central training center and related facilities.
• Senate Bill 1155 to help complete the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, currently under construction in Tulsa.
• House Bill 1734 Require criminal background checks for owners and employees of medical marijuana facilities.

On June 5, Stitt signed Senate Bill 1994 This bill would allow property owners, under certain conditions, to ask the sheriff to remove those who illegally occupy their property.

Anyone who unlawfully occupies or enters a property without authorization and causes damage of $1,000 or more is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.

On May 31, Stitt signed Bill 1105 This extended the deadline for submitting popular initiatives and referendums from 10 to 90 days.

Critics said the measure would make it harder to get bills on the ballot. Supporters said it was necessary to ensure the integrity of the process.

Stitt also signed Senate Bill 473 Establishment of judicial offices for commercial courts in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

In addition, an 11-member working group has been established to work on the creation of a business court system in Oklahoma. The final report must be submitted no later than January 1, 2026.

During the budget negotiations, Stitt advocated the creation of an economic jurisdiction.

Stitt approved on 31 May House of Representatives Bill of 1792called the Oklahoma Sentencing Modernization Act of 2024, which would overhaul the sentencing of capital crimes to provide more uniformity in sentences imposed from county to county.

Stitt also signed Senate Bill 1424 that protects poultry producers from civil lawsuits if they follow a government-approved waste disposal plan. Chicken waste is sold as fertilizer.

The disposal of chicken manure was the subject of a state lawsuit in federal court for pollution of the Illinois River basin.