Oklahoma City Representative Chris Kannady, who wrote the bill, said it would put every county health department on the same page, but those opposed said it is an overreach.
House Bill 2504 would take away a city appointment to the Tulsa and OKC health boards and replace that person with a state health commissioner appointee.
The director would then be required to discuss actions with the state health commissioner and ban local rules from being more strict than state guidelines.
It would also allow the state health commissioner to force a vote to remove the local director.
Critics said this is an obvious way to overstep and centralize power, give political appointees control, and undermine residents health and safety.
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