Your Vote Counts: Open Primaries, Survivorship Bill, And Mental Health Settlement

The 60th Oklahoma Legislature is officially underway after its Organizational Day. Jason Dunnington explained what it’s all about during Your Vote Counts.

Legislature Kicks Off with Organizational Day

Oklahoma’s 60th Legislature began with Organizational Day, setting the stage for what lawmakers expect to be a significant session.

“Yeah, so Organizational Day happens every other year. This is the beginning of the 60th Legislature, so Organizational Day was an important day for the entire legislature to come in. They meet in their separate chambers. They elect the pro tem of the Senate. They elected the Speaker of the House. Probably most importantly, they adopted the rules at which they’re going to use over the next two years for the legislature,” Jason Dunnington said during Your Vote Counts.

“There was a little bit of some of the new folks that are in that were challenging some of the rules, but that’s all just part of the process. It really just kicks off the first day of the legislature. We’re about there. Bills are dropping. Get ready, guys, it’s coming.”

Jon Echols added that the new leadership is ready for the challenge.

“I think they’re going to do a great job. This new freshman class is a really conservative freshman class. I think they’re going to come in, have an opportunity to do a lot of good for the state of Oklahoma. Organizational day is when it all kicks off. We have a new speaker, a new pro tem. The Senate has a very conservative freshman class, too. You saw that with some of the fights over the rules, a little D.C.-ish stuff that we’ve already handled in Oklahoma. But as an Oklahoman, I think that’s a good thing. I like the movement right of the legislature. I hope that continues to go forward. Speaker Pro Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton gave a great speech. So did Speaker Kyle Hilbert. We’re excited to see what happens in this legislative session. So stay tuned.”

Open Primaries Stir Debate

One major topic on the horizon is the possibility of open primaries in Oklahoma, where voters wouldn’t be limited by party affiliation, and the top two candidates would advance to the general election.

“We do have a very low turnout. I think the answer is more polling locations, and I hope that we continue to do that,” Echols said. “I will say I don’t want to California my Oklahoma. There will be—the citizens will decide whether or not they want open primaries. That means you don’t run as a Republican or a Democrat. You can vote anyone in the top two. It’s identical to what California has. I think it’s going to be very well funded. I think it’s going to be a very big fight. And there’s going to be a signature petition to see what you, the citizens, want. It’s interesting. Both the Democrat Party and the Republican Party have both come out against it. We like agreeing on this show a lot. I think my friend and I are going to disagree some on this. But you citizens will get to decide. But I hope we don’t California my Oklahoma.”

Dunnington had a different take.

“Well, look, if both political parties don’t like it, we’re probably on to something here. And, yeah, we have incredibly low turnout. I mean, what this is supposed to fix is when you have six, seven percent of the electorate picking a representative, then you’re not necessarily having all voices heard. And I do love the irony of the argument. Don’t California my Oklahoma. The reason California did this was because it was going too far left. And Republicans’ voice wasn’t being heard in California. So they did this in order to moderate out the voice so that all people could be heard. It’s the reason why Oklahoma is doing this. I think it’s a good measure. I think we’re having a harder and harder time finding quality people to run for office. This will help that problem.”

Survivorship Bill Brings Justice

Another major win for the state is the Survivorship Bill, which considers the experiences of domestic violence survivors during sentencing.

“Well, they absolutely are,” Echols said. “One of the things I fought for was to be a champion for victims of domestic violence, for making domestic violence by strangulation a felony, to working with everyone from the Oklahoma Apple Seed Project to CPAC, one of the most conservative organizations in the nation, to pass the survivorship bill. What that said is if you are a victim of domestic violence, we are going to take that into account in your sentencing. This is about the rule of law. This is about making sure it’s not just the powerful and the politically motivated and connected and the wealthy that get true justice. And we’re seeing it work. We had the first individual that was released after serving 30 years in prison who was a victim of domestic violence. Later, someone else ended up killing her husband. This is working exactly the way it’s gonna work—the way it’s supposed to work. And my message out there to the domestic violence survivors, there are people there standing with you. The state of Oklahoma did a really good thing in this.”

Dunnington praised the effort as well.

“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I got to work on a number of criminal justice measures with my colleague, Jon. This one I did not. I’ll toot his horn, He didn’t say it, but the Survivors Act was an Echols bill and Echols and Greg Treat bill that the legislature worked on last year. Look, at the end of the day, we need to protect victims of domestic abuse, and that needs to be a part of sentencing. Those stories need to be heard, need to be told when it comes to sentencing. Not all of these cases are the same. I think that we understand that. I think the legislature got that. This isn’t a one size fits all, but in the instance where it was used this week, I think it was, you know, justice was served and this was gotten right.”

Mental Health Settlement Sparks Action

The legislature is also tackling a federal lawsuit about restoring competency for criminal defendants, a move that impacts victims waiting for justice.

“This settlement addresses a huge problem,” Echols said. “When we take years to restore someone to competency, victims are left waiting for justice, and that’s not fair to anyone.”

Dunnington added, “Yeah, well, when you say settlement, it makes us think that it’s over and unfortunately it’s not over. It looks like the governor’s office has kicked it back to the legislature. I think that’s probably the right move now that org day has started. The legislature is in session. But it looks like the legislature is gonna have to vote on this big settlement. And if I were the speaker pro tem or if I were the pro tem of the Senate, it’d be one of the very first things that I did. I would put this thing up for a vote. If you let it go out for another three months with that many voices, you’re gonna have stuff added to it. You know, the victims of this need closure. It should be a settlement so it should get settled. I would do it fast.”