A bill to study the possibility of moving water from eastern Oklahoma — where it’s abundant — to western Oklahoma — which has been suffering under half a decade of drought — has residents in the east worried about what transferring water out of their area would mean for their own water supply and the tourism so many communities there rely on. 

Legislation to prohibit Oklahoma from regulating the practice of so-called gay conversion therapy has been approved by a state House committee.

Without debate, the Children, Youth and Family Services Committee voted 5-3 and sent the bill to the full House.

In other states, bills have been filed to ban conversion therapy, a range of practices aimed at changing one's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

A proposal to force certain sex offenders in Oklahoma to undergo chemical castration as a condition of release from prison has failed in a state Senate committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-4 on Tuesday against the bill by Republican Sen. Mark Allen of Spiro.

Since this week is a deadline for bills to emerge from committee, the measure is likely dead for the session.

State mental health commissioner Terri White has apologized to a judge who threatened to hold her in contempt-of-court because a mentally ill defendant did not get treatment for six months.

The Oklahoman newspaper reports that White promised during a meeting Friday that the judge would be notified if competency treatment cannot be provided for a defendant within a reasonable time.

District Judge Ray C. Elliot dismissed a contempt-of-court proceeding against White after the meeting.

A bill allowing parents to receive cash subsidies from the state to send their children to private schools has cleared a Senate committee despite bipartisan opposition.

The Senate Finance Committee voted 8-6 on Tuesday for the bill that is fiercely opposed by education groups, including those representing school boards, administrators and teachers.

The average price for gasoline across Oklahoma is rising and now stands at $2.16 per gallon.

AAA Oklahoma spokesman Chuck Mai said Tuesday that the price of gas is going up despite falling prices for crude oil.

AAA says the price for a gallon of self-serve regular in Oklahoma is up 3½ cents from last week and is almost 35 cents per gallon more than in late January.

Average prices in selected cities across Oklahoma range from $2.09 per gallon in Idabel to $2.22 in Lawton. The average price in Lawton has risen by 12 cents per gallon in the past week.

The Oklahoma House has overwhelmingly approved legislation to prohibit texting while driving.

House members voted 96-2 for the bill and sent it on to the state Senate for debate and a vote. A similar bill is already pending on the Senate floor.

The bill by Republican Rep. Terry O'Donnell of Tulsa marks the second consecutive year he has authored legislation to ban texting while driving in the state. Last year, a similar bill died on the House floor.

Facing a budget hole of more than $611 million, state lawmakers said they're looking everywhere for revenue to fill that hole.

On Friday, Governor Fallin's finance secretary, Preston Doerflinger, said he may have found a source of savings: agency travel costs, agencies' memberships to other organizations and agency promotional and events expenses, or what his office calls "swag."

Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment in a series reported jointly by Oklahoma Watch and KGOU Radio.

When offenders leave prison to re-enter society, one of the steepest barriers they face is finding a job.

Then they encounter a second barrier: paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees to reinstate a driver’s license so they can look for and keep a job.

Oklahomans who lose a license because of failing to pay a traffic fine or appear in court on the matter may have to pay several hundred dollars to restore the license.