Latest Oklahoma Headlines
All the headlines from our Oklahoma Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Ridesharing Bill Passes Senate Without Discrimination Protections
Apr 17 2015 // A bill that sets up a regulatory framework in Oklahoma for ridesharing programs such as Uber and Lyft passed the state Senate, but not before a provision protecting gay and transgender passengers from discrimination was...
Oklahoma Reserve Deputy Facing Manslaughter Charges Is Insurance Exec
Apr 15 2015 // An Oklahoma reserve sheriff’s deputy charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a man who was subdued on the ground has surrendered to authorities. Robert C. Bates of Tulsa is licensed by the state insurance...
Amini Named General Counsel at Oklahoma Insurance Department
Apr 14 2015 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak has named Gordon Amini as general counsel of the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID). Amini held the same title when he previously worked at the department in 1981. Amini...
Texting While Driving Ban OK’d in Oklahoma Senate
Apr 13 2015 // Oklahoma drivers could be pulled over and ticketed for texting while driving under a bill passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate. The Senate voted 38-6 for the HB 1965, which now returns to the House for...
Oklahoma Enters Medical Marijuana Debate with Cannabidiol Bill
Apr 13 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...
Insurers AIG, USAA Receive OK to Test Use of Drones
Apr 8 2015 // Two more insurers have received approval to test the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, for their business. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved requests from USAA and American...
Floodplain Managers Group: Oklahoma Bill Threatens Flood Insurance
Apr 7 2015 // A group responsible for managing Oklahoma’s floodplains says bills moving through the Legislature that prohibit cities from regulating oil and natural gas drilling operations could prevent the state from...
Oklahoma Prescription Drug Database Bill Signed by Governor
Apr 6 2015 // Doctors in Oklahoma would be required to check a new prescription drug database before prescribing certain addictive drugs under a bill signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin. After the Senate voted 35-10 on March 31 for the...
1 Dead as Severe Storms, Tornadoes Sweep Across Oklahoma
Apr 6 2015 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak said more than 1,100 homeowners insurance claims had been filed by the day after severe weather crossed the state in late March, leaving one dead and many injured in the wake of...
Feds to Release New Earthquake Hazard Map for Oklahoma
Apr 6 2015 // The U.S. Geological Survey is expected to release a new hazard map for earthquakes in Oklahoma. The Oklahoman reports that data collection has continued with the help of the Oklahoma Geological Survey after the state...
Oklahoma Gov. Requests Federal Disaster Declaration
Apr 1 2015 // Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has requested a federal disaster declaration for Tulsa and Cleveland counties in the wake of deadly tornadoes that ripped through two mobile home parks near Sand Springs and another tornado that...
Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Commissioner Resigns; New Appointees Named
Apr 1 2015 // Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has accepted the resignation of Troy Wilson Sr., the first chairman of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission. His resignation is effective May 31. The governor named Dr. LeRoy Young,...
Number of Deaths From Oklahoma Tornadoes, Storms Rises to 4
Apr 1 2015 // The death toll from tornadoes and strong storms last week in Oklahoma has risen to four people. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had earlier said that one person died when the severe weather struck a mobile home...
More Counties Added to Oklahoma Earthquake Watch List
Mar 30 2015 // Oklahoma officials are expanding the number of counties that are included in earthquake “areas of interest,” and asking nearly 100 companies to prove their oil and gas waste-water disposal wells are not too...
Oklahoma Commissioner: Severe Weather Damaged at Least 1,100 Insured Homes
Mar 26 2015 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak announced that more than 1,100 homeowners insurance claims have already been filed following severe weather that marched across the state on Wednesday, March...
Storms Sweep Through Oklahoma with Tornadoes, Hail
Mar 26 2015 // Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt announced that Oklahoma’s Emergency Price Stabilization Act is now in effect for 25 Oklahoma counties after Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency due to tornadoes, severe...
Retooled Medical Marijuana Bill Gets OK from Georgia Senate
Mar 26 2015 // After two rancorous years of squabbling, confusion and heated debate, Georgia appears on the verge of having a medical marijuana law after the state Senate passed a sweeping bill Tuesday that would allow cannabis oil to be...
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Warned of Hail, High Wind-Packing Storms
Mar 25 2015 // While there has been a curious lack of tornadoes throughout the country’s midsection, that may soon change, according to federal weather forecasters. A cold front approaching Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri is...
Second Injury Funds: Are They Still Necessary or Just a Drain On the System?
Mar 25 2015 // Second (or subsequent) injury funds (SIFs) have been abolished in 20 states. Alabama and Maine began this movement in 1992, with South Carolina being the most recent convert; each ending its respective program in 2013....
Suits over Texas Softball Team’s Fatal Crash Settled or Dismissed
Mar 23 2015 // Though final report on an Oklahoma bus crash that killed four North Central Texas College softball players is still pending, three lawsuits have been dismissed or settled, though the reasons and terms have not been...
