Following the guidance of state and federal health officials, the Oklahoma Legislature will not meet again this week in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The House and Senate stopped work and left the Capitol building after setting rules to allow them to adjourn to the “call of the chair” instead of a specific date.
The only constitutionally mandated duty the Legislature must perform before May 29 at 5:00 p.m. is to pass a state budget. However, rules were changed to erase committee and floor deadlines, so any bill which was still alive when they stopped meeting is still alive. Closure happened shortly after a Senate staffer tested positive for COVID-19 on March 17.
The House changed rules so members may vote by proxy. That has yet to take place.
