More than 300 laws take effect in Oklahoma Nov. 1. Here are some that may impact you

TULSA, Okla. — While the Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked three abortion laws from taking effect, more than 365 new Oklahoma laws will go into effect Monday.

From education and immigration reform to new medical marijuana policies, the new laws coming to Green Country effect Oklahomans across the state.

Here are some laws that may impact you directly:

HB1090: Insulin Costs

Half a million Oklahomans suffer from diabetes currently, and the debate over rising prices of insulin has raged for years across the U.S.

This law will cap the copay for a 30-day supply of insulin at just $30. A 90 day supply of insulin will be capped at $90.

HB2774: ICE Detainers

This law will require all Oklahoma law enforcement officials to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on any and all requests. All sheriffs, prison workers, deputies and jailers will have to allow ICE agents access to their inmates.

After an Oklahoma County jail declined to respond to an immigration detainer request, calls for a law that would require law enforcement to comply became prominent in the state.

The requests will give ICE agents more time to take an inmate into federal custody if they suspect the inmate violated immigration laws or if their citizenship status is in question. Many people have said these requests are unconstitutional, and they are a topic of debate across the country.

HB2030: Mandatory Civics Tests

For the 2022-2023 school years, Oklahoma high school students will be required to pass a civics test in order to graduate. The questions will be drawn directly from the U.S. Naturalization Exam. In order to pass, students must score a 60 percent or higher on the 100-question exam that draws directly from U.S. history, The Constitution and the test administered to people who want to become U.S. citizens.

SB624: ‘President Donald J. Trump Highway’

A 20-mile stretch of highway across Oklahoma’s panhandle will soon be named after controversial figure and former president Donald Trump. The “President Donald J Trump Highway” can be found over a section of U.S. 287 that stretches from Boise City to the Oklahoma-Texas border in Cimarron County.

Another new law will allow elected officials to use their campaign funds to cover the costs of signs that depict the names of memorial highways, roads and bridges in Oklahoma.

HB1643: Law Enforcement Anti-Doxxing Law

Starting Monday, it will be illegal in Oklahoma to publish the personal information of law enforcement officers with the intention of intimidating or harassing officers. This practice is more commonly known as doxxing.

This could mean the officer’s badge number or name. If any posts are determined to be made with the intent to harass or intimidate, then legal action can be taken against the person who posted the information. The publisher can be charged with a misdemeanor if the officer has a “reasonable fear” of death of bodily harm due to the information being released.

HB 2646: “Try Before You Buy” Cannabis Samples

Local dispensaries across Green Country will be able to offer samples to customers.

Patients that have a prescription for medical marijuana will be able to smell and touch various strains of cannabis at dispensaries. This will be allowed as long as those samples are use for testing and display purposes only. Once someone samples a product, it cannot be sold to customers.

The law will also give cannabis dispensaries more distribution options. Businesses will be able to sell pre-rolled joints. Prior to this law, previous legislation only allowed licensed cannabis operations to roll and package marijuana cigarettes. On Nov. 1, businesses will be able to roll their own joints in-house.

SB172: Ida’s Law

This legislation addresses the issue of unsolved cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous People in Oklahoma. The law was approved unanimously by the Oklahoma State Senate.

The law is named after 29-year-old Ida Beard. Beard was a citizen of the Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribes, and she was from El Reno. She vanished in 2015 and has never been found.

Ida’s Law will direct state, federal and tribal law enforcement agencies to collaborate on working missing persons and homicide cases that involve Indigenous People. It also will provide funding for an Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.

SB368: Religious Freedom Act

This law declares that all churches across Green Country are “essential.”

No government institution or entity will have the power to close any religious institution for health or security purposes, according to the text of the law. These protections are greater for churches than they are for private businesses in the state of Oklahoma.

After mass closures of business, public spaces and churches during COVID-19, Gov. Stitt and other Oklahoma elected officials wanted to make it impossible for religious buildings to be deemed “nonessential.”

SB1679: The Sarah Stitt Act

Gov. Stitt’s wife, Sarah Stitt, championed this law for inmates about to be released back into society.

This law will allow people who are about to be released from prison to obtain a form of ID, a social security card, a driver’s license, a practice job interview and vocational/training records.

Law enforcement entities will also be required to help inmates to retrieve government documents prior to their release.

HB2122: Cocktails To Go

In May, Gov. Stitt signed the Oklahoma Cocktails To Go Act of 2021. This law will allow businesses with mixed beverage and catering licenses to sell cocktails, wine or mixed drinks for the purpose of “off-premise consumption.”

The beverages have to be single-serve and packaged in sealed containers in order to be sold for this purpose, according to the law.

HB 2687: No Patient Left Alone Act

The new law will require hospitals to let at least one visitor in with a patient. This law came in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where patients died from the disease alone in a hospital room.

Even if Oklahoma is in a state of emergency, the law will make sure patients have at least one visitor in with them.

SB281: A Student’s Rights

This law creates the “Oklahoma Student Borrower’s Bill of Right” that will prevent predatory student loan practices. This law also provides basic state protections for people who take out student loans to pay for their higher education.

Another education law, SB1800, raises the tax credit cap 10 times higher than it currently is. Right now, the tax credit cap for education is $5 million. On Monday, the cap will be raised to $50 million. Public and private schools in Oklahoma will also each receive $25 million caps on tax credits.

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