TRANSCRIPT:
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider, your weekly look inside Oklahoma politics, policy and government. I m Dick Pryor with eCapitol news director, Shawn Ashley. Our guest is the governor of the state of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt. Governor, it s good to have you back with us.
Governor Kevin Stitt: Thank you so much. Such an honor to be back with you guys.
Dick Pryor: The first session of the 58th Oklahoma legislature resumed last Monday with your State of the State address. Late in the speech, you noted that the most pressing issue for the state s future involves tribal sovereignty, specifically the U.S. Supreme Court s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma. That decision raises many important questions about Oklahoma s relationship with Native American nations. How are you proposing to resolve those critical issues?
Our democracy is being tested right now. It is not the first time. But it feels like a tipping point, and our very lives are in the balance. Can we find truth? Will we come to a place of peace? Can we resolve not to look the other way when the view is uncomfortable? Will those who stormed the Capitol, who aided and abetted seditionists, and who proliferated racism and dangerous lies, face punishment? Episode 18 is all about the fallout.
Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris,
First, let us offer our congratulations on taking office. Not only did you both campaign arduously and effectively to be nominated and subsequently win the election, to keep it real, it was looking kinda dicey there a couple of weeks ago. Yet the process of our democracy prevailed even though it was surrounded by armed troops this time.
Credit Darron Cummings / Associated Press
Gov. Eric Holcomb wants to create a new, regional development initiative that he says will help the state’s economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Holcomb unveiled the idea in his 2021 State of the State address Tuesday – which, due to security concerns across the country tied to the presidential inauguration, was pre-taped away from the Statehouse.
The governor began with a somber reflection on the toll COVID-19 has had on Indiana.
“It’s impossible to calculate the far-reaching ripple effect of the personal and community loss of lives and livelihoods,” Holcomb said.
After that, the usual talking points: his recently-announced budget proposal, which includes hundreds of millions to spend down state debt and a $377 million K-12 school funding increase; improvements in job creation and training; infrastructure investments; the state s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan and more.
and last updated 2021-01-15 14:14:22-05
NEW YORK (WKBW) â As part of his 2021 State of the State agenda New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a proposal to prevent individuals with active warrants from purchasing guns.
The governor s office says the proposal would prevent individuals with active warrants for a felony or serious misdemeanor offense from purchasing guns and closes a federal loophole. New York State will close a federal loophole that was created when the Trump Department of Justice reinterpreted an existing firearms law to mean only individuals who have fled from one state to another for the purpose of evading prosecution while subject to an active or imminent arrest warrant would be prevented from purchasing a firearm, while those subject to an arrest warrant who remain in state are free to buy guns, a release from the governor s office says.