2025 Sine Die

From the Desk of the Executive Director

This Legislative Session saw the Oklahoma Municipal League have success in many different areas, but the one that will have an impact on everything you do is the passage of our Open Records bill. We know the onslaught of records requests that are coming into our cities and towns every day. This legislation takes a common sense approach to reforms that will continue to provide transparency, but will also streamline and provide uniformity to the process.

There were almost 3,200 bills filed this year, and OML was actively tracking almost one third of those bills. Out of all the bills that were filed, 526 made it to the Governor’s desk. Since digital record keeping began, this Session saw the fewest bills signed by the Governor (148) the most bills allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature (346), and the most vetoed bills by the Governor (75). The Legislature chose to override 47 of those bills on the last day of Session, which is most likely also another record.

Thank you for all that you do to support the Oklahoma Municipal League’s Legislative Agenda. We would not have the wins and successes that we see each year at the Capitol if it weren’t for our members who take the time to reach out to their Legislators to let them know the impact that Legislation will have on cities and towns across Oklahoma.

While Session has ended for this year, the work continues. We need to you to be in contact with your Legislators over the Interim to let them know the challenges you face as a municipality. We will continue with our Regional Council meetings this Fall and we will invite Legislators to join us for those meetings. But, please take the time to invite them to come to your City Hall to meet with your employees and to learn about your municipal budgets and operations. If we can assist you in setting up those meetings, please reach out.

The State of Oklahoma is strong because of our cities and towns and the work you do on a daily basis. We thank you for all that you do to make Oklahoma a better place to live, work and raise a family.

Sincerely,
Mike Fina
Executive Director