From the desk of Rep. John Talley, April 19, 2024
(Oklahoma City, Okla) — We were busy at the Capitol this week, and the House had some tough things to work on.
I’ve heard from a lot of constituents on a couple of bills, so I want to take this opportunity to clear up some confusion.
On Tuesday, the House heard Senate Joint Resolution 34, which would have abolished the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), the current system used to name judicial appointees. The creation of the JNC was spear-headed by Republicans in 1967 following numerous high-profile cases of corruption within Oklahoma courts. The JNC comprises fifteen members, nine of whom are non-lawyers. When there is a vacancy on one of the state’s highest courts, they select three qualified candidates to pass to the governor who then chooses his nominee.
This bill ultimately failed 36-60. Of the 81 Republicans in the House, 51 of us decided to vote against SJR34.
If there are ways to make our current system better and more transparent, we should certainly look into that, but I felt that abolishing a commission put into place to end corruption was not the right move. I also don’t like the idea of giving more power to a governor of the future that I may not agree with. Our Founding Fathers were wise to put in place a system of separation of powers, and I think we should keep it that way.
The House did approve Senate Bill 518, which makes some changes to the initiative petition process. This isn’t a complete overhaul; instead, it adds some safeguards to ensure the continued integrity of Oklahoma’s elections.
The measure would require those submitting an initiative petition to pay a $750 filing fee, similar to people filing to run for political office. It also extends the protest period, requires signers’ legal first and last name and strengthens the process for verifying that petition signers are registered voters in Oklahoma.
Our last bill of the week was House Bill 4156, which would give law enforcement the authority to arrest and incarcerate illegal immigrants found in the state. We have a lot of immigrants who are authorized to work in this country in various industries that are important to House District 33. But if a person is undocumented, they don’t need to be in our country. This would help clean up rogue actors in Oklahoma’s marijuana industry, as well as better allow our state to fight the fentanyl crisis.
The U.S. has a severe problem at our southern border. Congress and the White House have failed to take significant action, leaving the responsibility up to the states. HB4156 may not be perfect, but it sends a clear message that if you’re an illegal immigrant from any country, don’t put up shop in Oklahoma.
When we weren’t on the floor voting, I had the chance to meet with the Leadership Cushing group that was here Thursday. We also had Leadership Guthrie at the Capitol last week. I always enjoy visiting with the impressive leaders of House District 33.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me at 405-557-7304 or [email protected]. Thank you for the honor of representing House District 33 at the State Capitol.
