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Top headlines
Legislators also frustrated with perception of performance:
Voters aren’t the only ones frustrated with the Oklahoma Legislature. Legislators are, too. [Tulsa World]
House leaves $6.8 billion general appropriations bill for last day of session:
How Oklahoma’s 2016 legislative session ends pretty much depends on what the House of Representatives does Friday. Sometime after it convenes at 9 a.m. Friday, and more likely sooner than later, the House will take up the $6.8 billion general appropriations bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday. [Tulsa World]
State budget agreement brings sharp funding cuts to agencies overseeing Oklahoma’s environment:
After months of deliberation and closed-door meetings, lawmakers in the Oklahoma House and Senate are poised to cut a deal to fill a $1.3 billion shortfall and fund government for 2017. The $6.8 billion presumptive budget agreement has been praised for preserving money for education, prisons and Medicaid, but some of the sharpest cuts are aimed at agencies that regulate industry and protect the environment. [StateImpact Oklahoma]
Citizens join effort to defeat SQ 777:
A group of area residents gathered Monday night in Muskogee to voice their opposition to a state question that will alter Oklahoma’s constitution and strip the ability of local governments to regulate corporate agriculture. [Tahlequah Daily Press]
School may be out, but hunger takes no vacation:
As you start to plan your family’s vacation or your child’s summer camp, there’s something I’d like you to consider. There are parents in Oklahoma who aren’t sure how to plan where their child’s next meal will come from. [NewsOK]
House defeats water, energy funding bill:
A spending bill that included a rider to stop the Obama administration from implementing its “waters of the U.S.” rule failed in the House after conservatives bolted over an amendment that was adopted to protect LGBT rights. [Agri-Pulse]
To survive the bust cycle, farmers go back to business-school basics:
After several boom years while the rest of the economy struggled, farming is entering its third year on the bust side of the cycle. Major crop prices are low, while expenses like seed, fertilizer and land remain high. And that means farmers have to get creative to succeed. [Harvest Public Media]
Trump woos the heartland:
Donald Trump may be a penthouse-dwelling New York City slicker, but he’s winning hearts in rural America — and his campaign has quietly started reaching out to farmers to bolster support in key agricultural states. [Politico]
Science should trump emotion:
Two decades of research. Respected scientists. Peer review. The conclusion? Genetically engineered crops are safe for human and animal consumption and do not cause adverse health effects like cancer, autism or other chronic disease. [High Plains Journal]
