The House of Representatives voted on a party-line vote on H.R. 51 to make Washington, D.C., the nation’s 51st state, with 216 Democrats in favor and 208 Republicans opposed, and with the measure now proceeding to the U.S. Senate where it is almost certainly doomed to failure with 60 votes still...

After a long week of hearing bills on the Senate floor, we’ve officially concluded our work on House bills. Of the approximately 320 House bills that made it through the committee process, we approved approaching 280 of them.

By Andy and Renie Bowman Comments to: andybowman839@gmail.com Coffeetimecolumn.com Some years, and quite a few Coffeetime Columns ago, we wrote an article called Hellion Alert.

Even in the midst of national press scandals and more political (and agency) corruption than American citizens can get their arms around, America’s future is still bright and can be the city on a hill that so much of the world seeks to relish.

I wanted to inform District 19 on one of the latest controversies that I find myself in. I have been receiving negative news coverage over my role in Senate Bill 2. I managed to get an education bill placed in the committee I chair, which is Criminal Justice and Corrections.

This upcoming week is the final week for us to hear policy bills that originated in the House and were approved by their chamber. April 22 is the deadline to hear these measures, and of the roughly 320 measures we approved out of committee, we’ve heard approximately 120 of them on the floor.

This past week the Dogwood have made their presence known in Southeast Oklahoma, and when we see the muscadine break bud, we know the chances of a late frost grow less probable.

Mark Twain observed that “a lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.” Today, powerful voices seem determined to prove him right.

We’ve finally reached the final committee deadline of this legislative session. It’s been fast and furious, but April 8 was the deadline to hear House bills that were approved in their chamber in our Senate committees. They sent about 400 bills to our chamber, and we approved just over 300 of them.

Senate Bill 3, which was sponsored in the House by State Representative Justin Humphrey, proposes to give law enforcement officers access to telemedicine so they can seek an online professional assessment of individuals who may be going through a mental health crissis.