Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
State Regulation Worked in Red Rock/Foster Jennings Case: Oklahoma Commissioner
May 4 2015 // The circumstances surrounding the liquidation of a small Oklahoma insurer highlight the concern over how effectively state insurance regulators are able assess potential buyers of insurance companies, according to a recent...
Beating Up on Workers’ Comp: Grand Bargain Taking Jabs from Multiple Directions
May 4 2015 // The state-based workers’ compensation system has stayed on its feet for 100 years in part by being able to defend itself against blows and then counterpunch when necessary. It has shown an ability to reform to fit...
Researchers in Oklahoma Developing Seasonal Tornado Forecasts
May 4 2015 // Weather researchers in Oklahoma are working on a method to develop seasonal tornado forecasts that could predict the likelihood of the severe storms weeks in advance. Harold Brooks, senior research scientist at the...
People – South Central
May 4 2015 // Julia Miller Spracklen, J.D., has joined Texas-based independent insurance brokerage firm, Roach Howard Smith & Barton, as vice president of risk services, responsible for overseeing the employees and function of the...
Doak Disputes WSJ Report; Says State Regulation Effective in Red Rock Case
May 4 2015 // The circumstances surrounding the liquidation of a small Oklahoma insurer highlight the concern over how effectively state insurance regulators are able assess potential buyers of insurance companies, according to a recent...
Rough Patches Aside, Oklahoma Comp Reform Works, Advocates Say
May 4 2015 // In his resignation letter to the governor, the first chairman of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission admitted that mistakes had been made in transitioning the state’s workers’ comp system from a...
Oklahoma Ban on Texting and Driving Goes to Governor
Apr 30 2015 // Oklahoma is in line to become the 46th in the nation to pass a ban on texting and driving. A bill passed on April 29 by the House goes to Gov. Mary Fallin, who urged lawmakers in her State of the State speech in February...
Oklahoma High Court Won’t Hear Challenge to Work Comp Alternative
Apr 30 2015 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declined to take up a case challenging the constitutionality of the portion of the state’s workers’ compensation law that allows companies to employ an alternative to...
Jury Trials OK’d for Medical Lawsuits over BP spill Clean Up
Apr 30 2015 // A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled oil spill cleanup workers who sue BP for medical problems that surface later in life have the right to make their case before a jury. The BP oil spill medical settlement reached in...
Oklahoma Driller to Pay $59K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Apr 28 2015 // Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P), a Tulsa, Okla.-based drilling contractor, will pay a former employee $59,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...
Storm Shelter Permit Applications Rise in Moore, Oklahoma
Apr 28 2015 // Applications to build storm shelters have spiked a month after a tornado touched down in Moore, Okla. Moore spokeswoman Deidre Ebrey says officials there have noticed an increase in the number of people applying for storm...
Seasonal Tornado Forecasts Being Developed by Oklahoma Researchers
Apr 27 2015 // Weather researchers in Oklahoma are working on a method to develop seasonal tornado forecasts that could predict the likelihood of the severe storms weeks in advance. Harold Brooks, senior research scientist at the...
Ramsey Appointed to Oklahoma CompSource Board
Apr 27 2015 // A former state representative and director of a statewide Oklahoma independent insurance agents group has been appointed to the board of director of the insurance company for the state’s workers’ compensation...
Bill Banning Local Drilling Rules Passes Oklahoma House
Apr 24 2015 // Legislation that prohibits cities and towns from regulating oil and natural gas drilling operations was approved by the Oklahoma House on April 22, one day after the Oklahoma Geological Survey said it is “very...
Oklahoma Geologists Also See Earthquake-Injection Well Link
Apr 23 2015 // The Oklahoma Geological Survey said it is “very likely” that most of the state’s recent earthquakes were triggered by the subsurface injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas drilling...
Oklahoma Governor Signs Asbestos Cleanup Bill
Apr 22 2015 // Gov. Mary Fallin has signed into law a bill she says clarifies the state Department of Labor’s role in asbestos removal projects in buildings and structures. The measure eliminates language related to asbestos...
CNA Appoints Cox as Arkansas, Oklahoma Branch VP
Apr 22 2015 // Chicago-based CNA announced it has appointed John Cox as vice president of the Arkansas and Oklahoma branches. Cox will be responsible for leading both branch teams to serve the diverse needs of CNA’s customers. He...
Insurers Urge Faster OK for Drones in Disaster Response
Apr 21 2015 // U.S. companies including insurers and aerospace manufacturers urged federal aviation regulators on Tuesday to speed up the use of drones in disaster response and relief operations in the United States. A report sponsored...
Higher DUI Fines OK’d by Montana Senate
Apr 20 2015 // Montana senators have endorsed a proposal to double DUI fines. Seven Democrats joined 20 Republicans Saturday to approve House Bill 488 on a 27-23 vote that reversed the Senate’s Friday opinion against the bill. The...
Oklahoma Enters Medical Marijuana Debate with Cannabidiol Bill
Apr 20 2015 // A medical pilot program using cannabidiol, a derivative linked to marijuana, is heading to a vote of the full Oklahoma Senate after being unanimously approved in the Senate Health and Human Services committee by a vote of...
