OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Legislative Latino Caucus hosted its inaugural Oklahoma Latino Youth Leadership Summit on Nov. 8. The event brought 110 young people together through engaging workshops, expert speakers, and peer-led discussions. The students explored leadership and professional development, community advocacy, and public service, all with an Oklahoma focus. 70 high school juniors and seniors from Guymon, Ada, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and other towns across the state joined 40 college-age mentors, and the members of the Latino Caucus at the state capitol on Saturday. “The simple truth is that these kids belong here,” said Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman. “Our caucus is dedicated to investing in youth development and empowerment, and we were proud to provide this opportunity. It was striking to meet such an outstanding group of young people who are passionate about Oklahoma's future.” The Chairman of the Latino Caucus says he is feeling gratitude for the success of the event and those who contributed. “More than anything, we want to say thank you. To all of the staff and volunteers who showed up to help with the summit, and for the generous support of our sponsors,” said Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City. “We could not have accomplished such a successful event without them!” The summit was non-partisan and featured breakout sessions on civic engagement, campaign basics, public service, college and career readiness, and the power of intentional leadership. Attendees were able to connect with mentors, universities, community organizations, industry experts, and elected officials. "This event gave me great optimism for the future,” said Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City. “Seeing young leaders engaging on themes of service and leadership reminded me of the impact we can have on others, especially the next generation. The Latino community is, and will continue to be, the fastest growing demographic in Oklahoma. As the community continues to grow in population, I hope that our elected representatives will reflect the makeup of our state. By starting this opportunity, we hope to ensure that young people see themselves involved in every role of public service." -END-
OKLAHOMA CITY – In a brief filed Monday, State Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, reiterated his challenge to $250 million in recent rate increases and more than $1 billion of bond payments approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) and currently being collected from customers of electric utility Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO). PSO primarily serves customers in Tulsa, McAlester, Lawton and surrounding areas. Gann’s appeal before the Oklahoma Supreme Court argues that the OCC failed to perform legally required audits related to February 2021’s Winter Storm “Uri,” making the OCC’s orders void and requiring refunds. He also argues the OCC violated PSO customers’ due process rights by allowing Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett to participate in cases involving witnesses of Hiett’s alleged criminal conduct. Hiett has been publicly accused of alleged sexual harassment and drunk driving at a 2023 party hosted by PSO attorneys Thompson Tillotson PLLC. Gann says state ethics rules require Hiett to disqualify from cases in which a reasonable person might question his impartiality, including cases involving those attorneys. In October, Attorney General Gentner Drummond, the OCC, PSO and the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers (OIEC) all filed briefs defending Hiett. “Parties to legislative rate cases are not entitled to due process,” the attorney general wrote. In its brief, the OCC specifically asked the court to dismiss the appeal claims against Hiett. Gann has been joined by State Reps. Kevin West and Rick West in five similar appeals brought in cases for OG&E and ONG. On Oct. 17, the attorney general and OCC filed a joint motion asking the court to suspend the other the utility appeals. The court’s Oct. 29 response denying that request was unequivocal: “This appeal shall proceed.” The AG, OCC and PSO also defended allowing the utility to internally audit its own $700 million of 2021 Winter Storm “Uri” costs, as well as the OCC’s subsequent one-page “audits” of the ratepayer-backed bonds issued to pay for them. Gann argues none of these audits were lawful because they were not performed by independent CPAs. In their briefs, the AG, OCC and PSO all argued the audits were lawful because licensed CPAs were not required. Gann writes their reading of the law “would permit OCC janitors and AG security guards to give financial testimony in OCC cases.” “To allow State Agencies to make up their own standardless definition of ‘audit’ is absurd,” Gann writes. He predicts that this misinterpretation of the law will lead to “financial chaos across state government if it is allowed to stand.” Oklahoma utilities PSO, OG&E, ONG and CenterPoint/Summit paid some of the highest natural gas prices in U.S. history during two weeks in February 2021, incurring some $2.8 billion in debt. Interest and other expenses added another $2 billion, bringing the total cost of the winter storm bonds being paid by Oklahoma utility customers close to $5 billion. Payments for PSO’s bonds have been collected as “Winter Storm Cost Recovery Rider” charges on the monthly bills of its customers since the bonds were issued in September 2022. They are scheduled to continue for another 17 years. The securitization law required those bond charges to be audited as part of the utilities’ subsequent rate cases. Gann says that hasn’t happened. Unless it decides to request additional briefs from the parties, Gann’s appeal is now in the hands of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Gann writes that he “has full confidence in this court’s ability to read and offer first-impression interpretations of the plain language of unambiguous laws, and to properly determine their applicability to the OCC.” Gann’s full Reply Brief can be read online here: https://www.oscn.net/dockets/GetDocument.aspx?ct=appellate&bc=1063629140&cn=CU-122861&fmt=pdf See also: Feb. 14, 2025: https://www.okhouse.gov/posts/News-20250214_1 August 21, 2025: https://www.okhouse.gov/posts/news-20250821_1 The progress of all the appeals can be followed on the Oklahoma Supreme Court website: PSO rate case: https://www.oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=122861 ONG, PSO & OG&E CY2023 fuel cases: (I'm showing this one does not list PSO) https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=122991 OG&E rate case: https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123021 ONG rate case: https://oscn.net/dockets/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&number=123348
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, received the Oklahoma Political Science Association’s (OPSA) award for excellence in public service at OPSA’s annual conference. “I am honored to be recognized by some of Oklahoma’s best political science experts," said Fugate. “It is important to expand our understanding of politics so we can examine the best ways to solve problems faced by everyday Oklahomans. Thank you to OPSA for this award.” OPSA’s yearly conference takes place Nov. 6-7, 2025 at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. The theme for this year's conference is “History as Our Guide to Politics” featuring keynote speaker Dr. Michael Cohen from American University. Topics explored at this year’s conference include National Elections/OklahomaElections/Voters/Media; Civic Engagement; Supreme Court; Criminal Justice; and OIL demonstration. -END-