By Rep. Phillips
Our second week of session was just as busy as the first as we continue to work on behalf of all Oklahomans. A number of important measures advanced through House and Senate committees and I wanted to highlight a few of them this week.
A bill that would eliminate the state grocery sales tax advanced in the Senate. Senate Bill 1495 effectively eliminates the state grocery tax by lowering the rate from 4.5 percent to zero percent. The bill does not prohibit cities or counties from levying their own grocery tax. Just 13 states, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri, levy a state grocery sales tax. If SB 1495 passes, Oklahoma would join 32 other states and the District of Columbia in exempting groceries from sales taxes.
Three important pieces of legislation, House Bills 3643, 3644 and 3645, passed out of the House Common Education Committee this week. These bills focus on modifying various aspects of the Oklahoma charter school laws. They deal with creating more transparency in contracts entered into with educational management organizations, oversight requirements for charter sponsors and attendance and truancy policies for charter schools.
The Oklahoma Legislative Mental Health Caucus, which I am a part of, this week announced an expanded leadership team and two major priorities for the 2022 Oklahoma Legislative Session. Members voted this week to focus our efforts this session on preventing youth suicide and filling critical shortages in the mental health provider workforce. During the height of the pandemic, about half of all Oklahomans experienced anxiety or depression, and suicide in rural Oklahoma increased by 27 percent. Meanwhile, hospital systems reported, in some cases, double the number of children and youth going to the emergency room in suicidal crisis compared to pre-pandemic levels. There is reason for optimism heading into the legislative session, due to bipartisan solutions supported in 2021 by the Legislature and the governor’s office, such as telehealth expansion and funding for crisis services operated by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). I am a fierce advocate for mental health issues and will continue to bring attention and awareness to decrease stigmas and increase resources for those in need.
Finally, my House Bill 3168 passed out of the House Technology Committee this week. The bill, which creates the Telephone Solicitation Act of 2022, is designed to prohibit certain sales calls and give those who are accosted by these calls causes of action to bring against entities that violate the law. Specifically, the bill prohibits:

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  Automated telephonic sales calls ("robocalls") without prior express written consent;
• Telephonic sales calls that do not display on the caller ID the originating telephone number and name;
• Telephonic sales calls that intentionally alter the voice of the caller in an attempt to disguise or conceal the identify of the caller in order to mislead or confuse the recipient;
• Sales calls before 8am and after 8 p.m;
• More than three sales calls within a 24-hour period on the same matter; and
• Telephonic sales calls that block caller ID or display a different phone number than the originating number.
• The measure provides 26 exemptions to the act, including:
• Sales calls of an infrequent or one-time nature;
• Calls for noncommercial purposes;
• Solicitors who do not make the sales presentation during the call, but rather arrange a face-to-face meeting;
• Financial institutions or licensed securities, commodities, investment, or insurance brokers;
• Newspaper or cable solicitations, or book, video, or record club plan; and
• Qualified business-to-business sales calls.

I'm here for you, and I want to hear from you! If I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7306 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Logan Phillips represents District 24 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes Hughes, Okfuskee and Okmulgee counties.