An audio version of this story
From left: Rep. José Cruz (D-Oklahoma City), Sen. Michael Brooks (D-Oklahoma City), Sen. Jessica Garvin (R-Duncan) and Rep. Ryan Martinez (R-Edmond) announced Wednesday they re forming the Legislative Latino Caucus.
Credit Courtesy
Four state lawmakers announced Wednesday they have created a new bipartisan, bicameral Legislative Latino Caucus.
Sen. Michael Brooks (D-Oklahoma City) said their goal as a caucus is not only to bring Latinos’ concerns and contributions to the capitol, but also to help them better understand what goes on at 23rd and Lincoln. Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the state of Oklahoma. We’re probably upwards of close to a half million people, we have 10,000 business owners in the Latino community and [in] several school districts, over half of the students are Latino, Brooks said.
The Oklahoma Senate sent several new abortion restrictions to the governor on Tuesday.
House Bill 2441 bans the procedure after a heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks. House Bill 1102 suspends the license of doctors who provide abortion. House Bill 1904 limits who may perform the procedure to board-certified OB/GYNs.
All three bills passed with overwhelming Republican support. Sen. J.J. Dossett (D-Owasso) voted for each one. Sens. Warren Hamilton (R-McCurtain) and Jake Merrick (R-Yukon) voted against the bills. They said the legislation didn t go far enough in banning abortion.
Sen. Julie Daniels (R-Bartlesville) is sponsoring several anti-abortion bills this session, including two of the three passed Tuesday.
Senate Committee Advances Several Stitt Nominations For Health Positions publicradiotulsa.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from publicradiotulsa.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.