By the time the dust settled on the legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt had signed 488 bills and vetoed 32, some of which his office said had been overridden.
The veto numbers do not include line item vetoes, with Stitt only objecting to certain parts of a bill but passing the rest.
The deadline was Friday when Stitt signed the remaining 74 bills, many related to funding, and vetoed others.
Bills that Stitt signed include:
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House Bill 2914, called the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office Funding Assistance Grant Program, provides $17.9 million to help fund local departments.
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House Bill 2923 which provides a 7% raise for district judges, associate district judges and special district judges. It will take effect on July 1 and will cost almost $3.2 million. The legislature rejected a Council recommendation on judicial compensation for an across-the-board 17% increase for all judges.
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House Bill 2896, which provides an additional $74 million to a Department of Public Safety for its centralized training center and related facilities.
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Senate Bill 1155 to help complete the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture being built in Tulsa.
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House Bill 1734 would require criminal background checks for owners and employees of medical marijuana facilities.
Bills Governor Kevin Stitt signed before the deadline targeted ballot initiatives and business courts
On June 5, Stitt signed the 1994 Senate bill into law, which would allow property owners to ask sheriffs to remove those unlawfully occupying the applicant’s property if certain conditions are met.
Those who unlawfully occupy or trespass on a property and cause damage of $1,000 or more may be subject to a misdemeanor, a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
On May 31, Stitt signed House Bill 1105, which extended the contestation period for initiative petitions and referendums from 10 to 90 days.
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Critics said the measure would make it harder to get measures on the ballot. Supporters said it was necessary to ensure the integrity of the process.
Stitt also signed Senate Bill 473, which created judicial offices in Tulsa and Oklahoma City for business courts.
It also created an 11-member task force to study the creation of a business court system in Oklahoma. The deadline for the final report is January 1, 2026 at the latest.
Stitt lobbied for the creation of a business court system during budget negotiations.
Stitt on May 31 passed House Bill 1792, also known as the Oklahoma Sentencing Modernization Act of 2024, which overhauls misdemeanor sentencing to provide more consistency in sentences imposed from county to county.
Stitt also signed Senate Bill 1424 that protects poultry producers from civil lawsuits if they follow a state-approved waste disposal plan. Chicken waste is sold as fertilizer.
The disposal of chicken waste was the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by the state over pollution in the Illinois River Watershed.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signs 488 bills, vetoes 32 from 2024 session
