This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel and Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill about the opioid trial starting in Norman which has grabbed national and international attention and state lawmakers end the 2019 legislative session a week earlier than required by the Constitution. The trio also discusses some of the bills signed recently by Governor Stitt.
May 30, 2019•22 min•Ep. 35
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a bill signed by Governor Stitt which he had originally vetoed giving patients the right to choose their own pharmacy provider and lawmakers pass a measure putting restrictions on the powers of the attorney general over settlements. The trio also discusses the governor's new task force to look at corrections reform and three agencies fac...
May 23, 2019•22 min•Ep. 34
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a final agreement on a budget between legislative leaders and Governor Stitt and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank, levels a constitutional challenge against an initiative petition to put Medicaid expansion before voters on the 2020 ballot. The trio also discusses the quick approval of Governor Stitt's nom...
May 16, 2019•28 min•Ep. 33
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a row in a Senate committee over a gubernatorial nomination for Finance Secretary as worry grows concerning executive power over state agencies, criminal justice advocates worry about a former corrections reform opponent working on Stitt's team and the House opens an investigation against a Republican lawmakers leveled by the co-founder ...
May 09, 2019•24 min•Ep. 32
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and siting in for Ryan Kiesel is ACLU Oklahoma Political and Advocacy Director Nicole McAfee about the State Supreme Court overturning a law limiting abortion-inducing medication, Governor Stitt signing a bill forcing abortion clinics to put up signs saying a drug induced abortion is reversible and the governor vetoing a bill giving overtime pay to state workers making less than $31,000 a ye...
May 02, 2019•21 min•Ep. 31
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel and Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill about a ruling by the State Supreme Court saying the lawmakers can't put a $350M cap on pain and suffering, supporters of Medicaid expansion file an initiative petition to get it put on the ballot in 2020 and Governor Stitt recognizes his first 100 days in office. The trio also discusses a bill to ban "free-speech zones" on college campuses an...
Apr 25, 2019•23 min•Ep. 30
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a lawsuit between the National Rifle Association and it's long time marketing partner Ackerman McQueen out of Oklahoma City, the opioid trial is going before a judge rather than a jury and Comanche County wants in on the trial after taking issue with the settlement between AG Mike Hunter and Purdue Pharma. The trio also talks about Gover...
Apr 18, 2019•27 min•Ep. 29
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the leader of the Senate wanting a more rigorous vetting process for gubernatorial nominations brought before the Senate and another member of the State Supreme Court leaving Governor Stitt with two positions to fill in his first few months in office. The trio also discusses the new members of the Oklahoma City Council including its firs...
Apr 12, 2019•22 min•Ep. 28
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the deadline for lawmakers to fund education by April First came and went without a budget despite a teacher walkout last year, state leaders criticize Attorney General Mike Hunter in the settlement with Purdue Pharma and vandals strike central Oklahoma buildings with hate-filled graffiti. The trio also discusses a coalition is forming t...
Apr 04, 2019•25 min•Ep. 27
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a $270M settlement between Oklahoma and Purdue Pharma with the lion share of the money going to OSU's Health Center in Tulsa, the leader of the Senate forms a working group on Cost of Living Adjustment for state retirees and a number of issues have recently arisen at county jails including Nowata, Washington and Oklahoma. The trio also d...
Mar 28, 2019•25 min•Ep. 26
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about Senate Bill 195 which was changed from a trigger bill making abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade was stuck down to an anti-abortion bill going before Oklahoma voters, only 810 pieces of legislation remain after last week's deadline and two Republican lawmakers get to meet with President Trump regarding free speech at Oklahoma colleges, unive...
Mar 21, 2019•20 min•Ep. 25
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about Governor Stitt signing legislation restructuring the boards and commissions of five state agencies and giving him power to hire and fire the agency heads, the "Unity Bill" on medical marijuana passes the legislature and heads to the governor's desk and Governor Stitt calls on the State Auditor to investigate the Oklahoma Health Care Auth...
Mar 14, 2019•25 min•Ep. 24
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the Oklahoma City Public School Board voting unanimously to approve the Pathway to Greatness to reconfigure the district, Republicans come to an agreement on bills to give more power to the governor over five state agencies and a Senate committee approves a measure allowing eye doctors in big box stores like Walmart. The trio also discus...
Mar 07, 2019•28 min•Ep. 23
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about Governor Stitt signing his first bill allowing anyone over 21 to carry a gun without a permit or training, a Senate committee passes measures to give the governor power over the hiring and firing of five state agency directors and another Senate committee passing legislation making abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade gets overturned in the U...
Feb 28, 2019•24 min•Ep. 22
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the Equalization Board approving appropriations for lawmakers with nearly $575M more than last year, a Senate committee approves SB 605 to expand healthcare through Insure Oklahoma rather than expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act and a bill allowing Oklahomans over the age of 21 to carry a weapon without a permit or trainin...
Feb 21, 2019•29 min•Ep. 21
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the passage in the House of a bill allowing anyone over the age of 21 to carry a gun without a license or training, the State of Oklahoma loses 30,000 teachers in just five years and Medical Marijuana sales exceed $4M in January. The trio also discusses a decision to not house Oklahoma County Mental Health Court participants in the jail ...
Feb 14, 2019•24 min•Ep. 20
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel mostly about the first State of the State Address from new Governor Kevin Stitt to kick off the 57th legislature. The trio also discusses the 2019 legislative agenda from House and Senate Democrats and Oklahoma County Commissioner Kevin Calvey gets into a battle with Sheriff P.D. Taylor after he shows up with 17 other people for a surprise ins...
Feb 07, 2019•25 min•Ep. 19
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel and Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill about Governor Stitt's executive orders rearranging his cabinet, investigating lobbying by state agencies, placing a hiring freeze on "classified" employees and selling the governor's plane as well as thoughts on the coming State of the State Address this Monday. The trio also discusses Stitt's pick for Cybersecurity Chief Mark Gower to also l...
Jan 31, 2019•27 min•Ep. 18
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about accusations of thousands of dollars in back child support against House Appropriations Chairman Kevin Wallace, legislators are heading into the 2019 session with more than 2800 bills and one of those is a bipartisan measure to make State Question 780 retroactive. The trio also discusses a series of Republican bills which appear to be in ...
Jan 24, 2019•25 min•Ep. 17
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the inaugural ceremony and speech for new Governor Kevin Stitt, former Sonic Executive John Budd tapped to not only perform as Stitt's Chief Operating Officer but also as acting head of the Oklahoma Management and Enterprise Services and deposits into the state's general revenue fund come in 9% above the estimate and 21% above 2017. The ...
Jan 17, 2019•25 min•Ep. 16
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about lawmakers elected leaders of both parties in the lead up to the 2019 legislative session, the state House passes new controversial rules including a ban on videos by lawmakers on the House floor and the state of Oklahoma is getting ready for a new governor with inaugural parties this weekend. The trio also discusses a funding increase fo...
Jan 10, 2019•25 min•Ep. 15
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about nearly $600M extra for the state to allocate in the coming fiscal year, incoming Governor Kevin Stitt nominate Blayne Arthur to be the state's first female Secretary of the Agriculture and a federal judge declares constitutional an OKC ordinance banning panhandling in certain medians. The trio also discusses a bipartisan push to pass cor...
Dec 20, 2018•25 min•Ep. 14
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the State Health Department passing rules for edible medical marijuana, Governor-elect Kevin Stitt might have to wait a while before moving into his new offices because of construction at the State Capitol and a southeast Oklahoma Democratic State Representative defects to the Republican Party. The trio also discusses a couple of new Sen...
Dec 13, 2018•20 min•Ep. 13
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the commitment from Republican leaders in the House and Senate for education funding, a the Chair of the Canadian County Republican Party calls on his GOP lawmakers to, in essence, defund education and state Senators file bills to make abortions a homicide and allow anyone to carry a gun without a license. The trio also talks about the o...
Dec 06, 2018•23 min•Ep. 12
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the top picks by Governor-elect Kevin Stitt for his Chief of Staff as well as Secretaries of State and Energy, Oklahoma owes the state's colleges and universities $150M in matching funds for faculty salaries and the incoming leader of the Senate files the first bill to conduct performance evaluations of state agencies. The trio also disc...
Nov 29, 2018•24 min•Ep. 11
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Politcal Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesell about Governor-elect Kevin Stitt picking political insiders to run his transition team, House Democrats pick new leadership after Steve Kouplen loses reelection and Oklahoma's newest Congressman Kevin Hern takes his oath of office. The trio also discusses straight party voting and a candidate for district attorney in Ada fails to win election ...
Nov 15, 2018•23 min•Ep. 10
This Week in Oklahoma Poltics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the win by Republican Kevin Stitt over Democrat Drew Edmondson in the race for Governor, the win in Congressional District Five by Democratic challenger Kendra Horn over Republican incumbent Steve Russell and the GOP holding on to all statewide offices. The trio also discusses the new makeup of the State Legislature and State Question 794...
Nov 08, 2018•27 min•Ep. 9
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about State Question 801 before voter which would allow school districts to use a portion of their building funds for other purposes and with one week until early voting how are the races going for Kevin Stitt and Drew Edmondson. The trio also discusses any other races to watch in the general election coming up on November 6th and a recent sto...
Oct 25, 2018•25 min•Ep. 8
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel and Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill about State Question 800 to create a dedicated account for excessive gross production taxes, the Oklahoma Public Employees Association plans to sue the State Department of Health over layoffs last year following a budget shortfall and Republican candidate Kevin Stitt gets an endorsement from his runoff rival Mick Cornett while Democratic candi...
Oct 18, 2018•25 min•Ep. 7
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and, sitting in for Ryan Kiesel, Oklahoma Policy Institute Legislative Director Bailey Perkins about a new poll on the governor's race showing Republican Kevin Stitt with a narrow 46% lead over Democrat Drew Edmondson at 40%, education supporters plan a rally at the State Capitol ahead of the general election and the independent candidate for State Treasurer attacks his Republican opponent o...
Oct 11, 2018•23 min•Ep. 6
