Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton approved an interim study request for the Judiciary Committee to review establishing a state Foreign Agent Registration Act. The aim of the act would be to provide public transparency around political and propaganda activities conducted by agents of foreign countries of concern, which may overlap with lobbying activities. Study schedules and meeting notices will be posted on the Senate website at oksenate.gov and must be completed by October 31.

Make sure you understand pay-to-play regulations in your state. See all 50 states and nearly 300 jurisdictions in our online guidebooks. Check them out here.

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission has delayed the launch of Guardian 2.0, the state’s next-generation online campaign finance and lobbyist reporting system. The original launch date has been pushed from July 1 to early September. The timeline shift allows for final data conversion and system readiness following a six-month development effort. The current Guardian system will remain fully operational through August.

Monitor your registration thresholds by state, by referring to our easy to navigate online guidebooks. Request a web tour to learn more.

On June 6, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission announced their updated 2025 Ethics Rules had become available.

Some of the changes in the updates include increasing the meal expenditure limit for lobbyists or legislative liaisons from $500 to $750; eliminating the requirement of attendance at events by lobbyists, liaisons, or lobbyist principals when associated with a permissible gift; and increasing the permissible anonymous political contribution from $50 to $200. Additionally, the rules clarify that political contributions are prohibited by or from foreign nationals in connection with any state or local campaign. This prohibition includes advances of personal funds; contributions or donations made to political party committees and organizations; state or local party committees for the purchase or construction of an office building fund; and contributions or disbursements to make electioneering communications.

The rules also include a modified blackout period for campaign finance complaints and an incorporation of Senate Bill 890, which moves all political subdivision campaign finance reporting and compliance requirements to the Ethics Commission beginning on November 1, 2025.

The 2025 Annotated Ethics Rules and the 2025 Ethics Laws document, which is a compilation by the commission of the state’s constitutional provisions, statutes, and ethics Rules, are usually updated annually in July. This year, both documents were updated and became effective on June 1. The rules have the full weight of law in Oklahoma as they are adopted and published in accordance with state law.

Invite them out for coffee or a steak? Make sure you know the gift restrictions of your state or municipality. Request a demo of our online guidebooks today.

The First Regular Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature adjourned sine die on May 30. During the session, a bill passed amending the provisions of the Local Government Campaign Finance and Financial Disclosure Act to place municipal political committee campaign expenditures and contributions under the authority of the Ethics Commission. Another passed bill amends the law to allow county purchasing agents to select the next lowest and best bidder from the list of qualified bidders if the original bidder is unable to provide service. Bidders will be considered at or below the amount they originally bid. A separate bill passed amending the law to eliminate the requirement for a vendor to be authorized by a state contract in order to work with a board of county commissioners to establish an online bidding process.

Make sure you understand pay-to-play regulations in your state. See all 50 states and nearly 300 jurisdictions in our online guidebooks. Check them out here.

On July 1, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission is scheduled to officially launch a modernized, custom-built filing and disclosure system. The system, called Guardian 2.0, will serve as the online platform for all required disclosures by lobbyists and liaisons, candidate committees, political party committees, PACs, special function committees, and certain state officers and employees.

The commission announced all existing data and filings will be securely migrated to the new system. Current users will be prompted to create new login credentials upon their first login with the new system.

The commission also plans to introduce additional tools and user experience enhancements beginning in late 2025 and into early 2026.

On June 27, at 5:00 p.m. CDT, the current disclosure system will be shut down. After that time, no filings or updates can be made in the old/legacy system.

Are you able to track all legislative sessions in the states you do business? Our online guidebooks make it easy, request a demo today!

State Representative Jason Lowe resigned on April 7 to become an Oklahoma County commissioner. Gov. Stitt called a special election to replace Lowe with a potential primary election on June 10. A primary runoff is scheduled for August 12 and the general election on September 9. If a runoff is not necessary, the general election will be on August 12.

Campaign Finance

Oregon: “The City’s Public Campaign Financing Program Allowed Candidates with Little Support to Snag Taxpayer Dollars” by Sophie Peel for Willamette Week

Ethics

California: “Assessor Reports $1M Behested Payment, Biggest Charitable Donation Made at a Local Elected Official’s Request” by Jeff McDonald (San Diego Union-Tribune) for MSN

National: “Trump Transition Team Ethics Pledge Appears to Exclude President-Elect” by Betsy Klein, Steve Contorno, and Arlette Saenz (CNN) for MSN

Florida: “Tickets to Master’s Tournament Trigger Feud in Hillsborough County Politics” by Jack Evans and Justin Garcia (Tampa Bay Times) for MSN

Indiana: “Nonprofit Braun Transition Group Follows Former Governors’ Model” by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz (Indiana Capital Chronicle) for Yahoo News

Legislative Issues

National: “Supreme Court to Examine Power of Congress to Delegate Authority” by Justin Jouvenal (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

National: “As His Power Grows, D.C. Wonders: How do you lobby a man like Elon Musk?” by Cat Zakrzewski, Faiz Siddiqui, and Pranshu Verma (Washington Post) for MSN

New York: “N.Y. Ethics Commission Faces New Constitutional Challenge” by Brendan Lyons for Albany Times Union

State Rep. Ryan Martinez announced he will resign on September 1.

This announcement comes after Martinez pleaded guilty to two felony DUI charges from nearly a year ago.

Martinez would have been subjected to suspension and potentially expulsion from the House if convicted.

Martinez has represented House District 39 since 2016.

Gov. Kevin Stitt is expected to call a special election to fill the vacancy.

A special election will be held to fill the vacant seat in Senate District 32 that was held by John Michael Montgomery.

Montgomery resigned from his seat in the Oklahoma Senate to take a position as the President and CEO of the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce.

The special primary election will be held on Tuesday, October 10.

If a special primary election is not necessary, the special general election will be held on Tuesday, December 12.

The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned its regular session on May 27 without referring any measures to the 2022 ballot for voters to consider.

During the session, lawmakers considered referring constitutional amendments and state statutes to the ballot. Fifteen constitutional amendments and one state statute had passed in the chamber of origin but did not receive final approval in the opposite chamber before adjournment.

Proposed constitutional amendments must be referred to the ballot and receive voter approval to be enacted. To put a proposed constitutional amendment on a ballot, a simple majority vote of all members in both the Senate and House is required.

Legislators will return in June for a special veto session to address eliminating the state’s 4.5% grocery tax and reducing the personal income tax.

The Oklahoma Legislature called a concurrent legislative session to begin May 18 concerning $1.8 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund spending.

The special session will also cover $698 million in Large-scale Economic Activity and Development Act (LEAD Act) allocations to pursue Project Ocean, which state officials described as an economic development project that is considering Oklahoma for a major manufacturing operation.

The concurrent session can keep going after the regular session adjourns, which must be done by 5 p.m. Friday, May 27.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting dates.

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission will hold a regular meeting with an opportunity for public comment regarding lobbying issues on Friday, November 12 at the State Capitol Building.

The Commission will accept comment from the public on the following issues: whether lobbyist principals should be removed from the notifications to lobbyists and liaisons registered for them when a reporting deadline is missed; when proposed and filed compliance orders are issued; whether lobbyist principals should be notified of lobbyists or liaisons who register to lobby on their behalf; and whether the Ethics Commission should be required to notify lobbyist principals, lobbyists, or liaisons of reporting deadlines seven days and one day prior to a reporting deadline and within 24 hours following a reporting deadline.

Oral comments may be made during the public comment portion of the meeting and written comments should be submitted to the Commission via email or in-person by 4:30 p.m. on November 10.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called for a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature on November 15 to address redistricting issues caused by the delayed release of 2020 census data by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The special session has been called solely for the purposes of redistricting Oklahoma’s congressional and legislative districts, and amending statutory candidacy and redistricting deadlines, including amending candidacy and residency deadlines, as made necessary by the U.S. Census Bureau’s failure to meet the deadline for production of decennial census data.

It is not clear how long the specials session will last.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting dates.

The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned its 2021 regular legislative session sine die on May 27, one day before a constitutionally mandated deadline.

The House and Senate both adjourned before noon after each chamber passed a bill making some minor modifications to the state’s medical marijuana laws.

The House also gave final approval to a measure that allows the governor to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy should one occur. Both of those bills now head to the governor’s desk.

Ethics Rule Amendment 202101 related to candidate committee reporting is slated to take effect upon adjournment sine die. The amendment modifies ethics rules applicable to candidate committees formed for elections held prior to January 1, 2015, by providing a mandatory dissolution date, modifying uses of surplus funds and treatment of debt of those committees, and providing a repeal of ethics rules applicable to candidate committees formed for elections held prior to January 1, 2015.

The 2022 legislative session will convene on February 7.