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Posted: Jun 02, 2026 1:19 PMUpdated: Jun 02, 2026 1:22 PM
Local State Lawmakers Reflect on Legislative Session
Nathan Thompson
The state budget, new laws to address government accountability and education, a state question about raising the minimum wage and the future of data centers in Oklahoma dominated the conversation at a Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum Tuesday at Tri County Tech.
State Reps. John B. Kane and Judd Strom, and State Sen. Julie Daniels provided a wrap-up of this year's legislative session. The panel focused on bills that successfully passed and discussed the contentious issue of data center growth in Oklahoma.
Kane says there is a lot of intentional interference from adversaries like China feeding misinformation about data centers.
Daniels says the legislature has passed a couple of bills that deal with many of the concerns about utility use for data centers and land use notification, but more work needs to be done.
The panel disagreed on the future of a failed initiative that Gov. Stitt put forth making some executive positions like superintendent of public instruction as appointed rather than elected. Kane and Daniels were in favor of the move.
Strom says he represents the people of his district. He says his constituents overwhelmingly want to continue to vote for state superintendent.
You can hear the full forum below.
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