Oklahoma
Oklahoma Senate passes bill to ban any ‘unauthorized camp’ on state land
A bill that critics say would effectively push homeless people off public rights-of-way and state-owned land passed the Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday, despite an impassioned plea by one senator who grilled the bill’s sponsor with questions for more than 15 minutes before the vote.
By a 37-6 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 1854, which was cast by its author, Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, as a safety issue. The bill now can be considered by the state House of Representatives.
The bill would prohibit any “unauthorized camp” – defined as “any tent, shelter, or bedding constructed or arranged for the purpose of or in such a way to permit overnight use on a property not designated as a campsite” – on public rights-of-way or state-owned lands.
The bill would subject violators to a misdemeanor charge, but says the first violation would be considered as a warning, “and a citation may not be issued unless the person refuses any assistance offered to them by the arresting officer. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, transportation to a shelter, food pantry, or other place where resources are made available to assist the indigent and homeless.”
Weaver, a former director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control and an inductee into the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Hall of Fame, had a back-and-forth exchange with Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, about the bill on the Senate floor. Kirt has a passion for addressing issues involving the homeless and served as a founding member and co-chair of the Legislative Mental Health Caucus.
“What I am concerned about is criminalizing someone who doesn’t have a home,” Kirt said. “That’s not solving our problem. We talk about moving someone across the street (to non-state-owned land) but that is still in our community. We’ve not solved the challenge that that individual is facing. This is written in a very broad manner that makes it difficult to analyze who would be impacted.”
She added: “What I see is we need to flip the way we’re approaching the challenge of people who are unsheltered. If somebody is sleeping under a bridge, they have nowhere else to sleep.”
Bill’s author says it won’t apply to local municipalities, only state-owned properties
Under questioning, Weaver said the bill won’t apply to municipalities in Oklahoma, only state-owned land, although he frequently referenced people staying near highway underpasses. He specifically mentioned people who often can be seen camping around Interstate 240 underpasses in south Oklahoma City.
“We’ve had a lot of challenges in our community, one of which is safety,” Weaver said. “This has to do with safety. This is not a ‘solve all the problem for homelessness.’ That’s not what the intent of this bill is. The intent of this bill is very specifically a safety issue when it comes to these roads and … where we have jurisdiction in this body, on state-owned lands. I don’t want no member to believe that this is going to solve our homelessness (issue).”
Weaver said, “At some point, even individuals that are homeless have some level of responsibility for the safety of themselves and the people around them. … It’s something we maybe don’t want to talk about, but it’s true.”
Asked how many people would be affected by the bill, Weaver said he didn’t specifically know, saying only “several.”
According to the annual “point in time” count in Oklahoma City in 2023, the city had 1,436 homeless people counted, up about 100 from the 2022 count. About 20% of that number are families with children, about 9% are military veterans, about 28% are considered chronically homeless and 31% are unsheltered. Kirt said homeless people often wouldn’t have the financial resources to pay any fine that might be levied if the bill becomes law.
“As a general rule, criminalizing homelessness is counterproductive,” said Dan Straughan, the executive director of the Homeless Alliance in Oklahoma City. “Misdemeanors generate fines that people experiencing homelessness can’t easily pay, which leads to a failure to appear in court, which leads to needless bench warrants. All this to say, making the infraction a misdemeanor doesn’t really prevent it from leading to jail time. Once an individual has entered the criminal justice system, that creates yet another barrier to getting back into housing. Housing is the proper response to homelessness. Needless fines are simply a step backward.”
The six senators who voted against the bill included five Democrats – Kirt, Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City, Jo Anna Dossett of Tulsa, George Young of Oklahoma City and Kevin Matthews of Tulsa – along with Republican Dave Rader of Tulsa.
NORMAN — Oklahoma’s game against Florida on Saturday unexpectedly turned into a bullpen game for the Sooners.
OU starter Cameron Johnson exited the contest after only one inning of work, forcing the Sooners’ relief pitchers to record the remaining 24 outs. The results from Oklahoma’s bullpen were mixed, as the No. 15 Sooners ultimately lost 10-5 to the No. 25 Gators.
In his lone inning, Johnson allowed back-to-back baserunners to open the game before retiring three Gators in a row. Johnson went back onto the mound before the second inning before meeting with coach Skip Johnson and one of OU’s trainers. The pitcher then departed from the mound and Michael Catalano — OU’s usual midweek starter — entered the game.
Catalano gave up a run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning before Caden McDonald hit a three-run home run in the third to give Florida its first lead of the game.
Trent Collier was the next man up and entered with two outs in the third. Collier made it just one inning and allowed Florida to score two runs, both of which were unearned.
Nick Wesloski, who replaced Collier, had the longest night on the mound for the Sooners. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before giving up a solo home run to McDonald.
Nate Smithburg, Mason Bixby and Jaden Barfield were OU’s final three pitchers to take the mound, and they gave up three runs over the final two frames.
Offensively, the Sooners scored early but not often.
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Jaxon Willits got OU on the board in the first inning with a two-RBI double to give the Sooners an early advantage. Camden Johnson logged a two-out two-RBI single to shrink Florida’s lead from four runs to two runs.
Four of Oklahoma’s five runs, though, came from those two hits. Deiten Lachance hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for OU’s first run in five innings.
OU finished the game with eight knocks, and Johnson (3-for-4 with two RBIs) was the only Sooner with multiple.
For Florida, McDonald was the star. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs.
Oklahoma’s loss on Saturday follows its 4-3 win over the Gators on Friday. The Sooners scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn their comeback win.
The Sooners dropped to 30-15 overall and 12-11 in SEC with the loss, while Florida improved to 30-17 and 12-11.
Sunday’s rubber match between Oklahoma and Florida will begin at 2 p.m.
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Oklahoma closed the book on spring football in April, but that doesn’t mean the development process goes on ice throughout the summer.
The next few months are crucial as OU’s strength coaches get another chance to shape the team while the players work with each other to continue to build chemistry.
With no post-spring transfer portal window this season, every program across the country must look internally this summer to increase depth on the roster instead of to other rosters across the country.
Here are five Sooners who could raise Oklahoma’s ceiling this fall with a productive summer leading up to fall camp.
DT Nigel Smith
David Stone and Jayden Jackson are going to be Todd Bates’ go-to guys at defensive tackle, but their absence in the spring allowed for players like Nigel Smith to get crucial reps throughout spring football.
Smith, a converted defensive end hoping to have a breakout season at defensive tackle, was perhaps the biggest beneficiary.
Injuries kept Smith from pushing for a spot in the rotation last year, but without Damonic Williams, Gracen Halton and Markus Strong, Smith projects to be one of the first names called upon behind Stone and Jackson.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables praised the “maturity” of OU’s defensive tackles, but Smith needs to build on the momentum from the spring to achieve his potential this fall.
WR Trell Harris
Virginia transfer Trell Harris was one of the Sooners’ big offseason additions from the transfer portal.
Harris underwent a cleanup procedure right before spring practice, however, which held him out of OU’s practices and the Spring Game.
Quarterback John Mateer said Harris was always around, doing everything he could to learn the offense and build chemistry with his new quarterback in team meetings and from the sideline, but the summer will offer Harris the chance to get back out on the field and catch passes from Mateer, even if the duo is just battling air.
Harris will have an uphill battle to fight.
Last spring, Mateer had ample time to get on the same page with fellow transfer Isaiah Sategna, which led to Sategna emerging as Mateer’s favorite target and enjoying a career year.
Harris is eager to prove that his 2025 campaign was no fluke, so he’ll want to hit the ground running in fall camp with Sategna, Parker Livingstone and the rest of Mateer’s targets.
LB James Nesta
Owen Heinecke’s victory over the NCAA means the Sooners have three experienced linebackers — Kip Lewis, Heinecke and Michigan transfer Cole Sullivan — but James Nesta’s development will be important for both 2026 and beyond.
Lewis and Heinecke are entering their final seasons in Norman. Venables and inside linebackers coach Nate Dreiling will want to develop the next wave of linebackers, and it’s a position that the Sooners have been willing to play a large rotation in the past seasons.
Nesta played in 13 contests last year, totaling four tackles, and like Smith, he was able to take a majority of the snaps in practice this spring with Heineicke awaiting the ruling in his injunction and Lewis playing the role of additional coach while younger players got to spur their development in practice.
The third year in Venables’ defense has been a season where the light bulb has come on for many players, and Nesta coming on strong with a big summer and fall camp would only bolster OU’s options at the heart of its defense.
TE Jack Van Dorselaer
Like Nesta, tight end Jack Van Dorselaer is a player whose development could be important for 2026 and beyond.
General manager Jim Nagy, Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle completely overhauled Oklahoma’s tight end room over the offseason.
Florida veteran Hayden Hansen was brought in, as was Colorado State redshirt senior Rocky Beers, to work under new tight ends coach Jason Witten.
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OU also added Van Dorselaer, who earned a role in Tennessee’s offense last year as a freshman.
Spring offered a clean slate for all, with the trio getting adjusted to a new school, a new offense, and a new position coach, but Van Dorselaer believes he can offer the Sooners much more than the five catches for 23 yards and one score that he gave the Vols in the passing game in 2025.
The summer will offer Van Dorselaer more opportunity to dive further into the playbook and set himself up for a productive season that he can build on in 2027 and beyond as the Sooners’ veteran presence at tight end.
DB Jeremiah Newcombe
Jeremiah Newcombe is another Sooner who felt ready to contribute in 2025, but was forced to rehab an injury.
Now, Newcombe will be relied upon to help Reggie Powers provide depth at cheetah.
Newcombe practiced throughout the spring with a blue non-contact jersey out of an abundance of caution, but the summer will provide a chance for Newcombe to get fully back into the swing of things so that when fall camp rolls around, he can play with the physicality that is demanded of every piece in a Venables defense.
The Sooners need Newcombe to play a real role, too.
Kendal Daniels is now an Atlanta Falcon, and while Powers is an experienced replacement, Venables will be looking to a handful of new players to mix and match with Powers to replace Daniels’ snaps.
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Keeping the attention of third-graders can be difficult, but a new initiative at Oklahoma City Public Schools is captivating students.
“Third grade does Oklahoma history. And we wanted to focus on a part of our city that our students may not know the history about, which is Deep Deuce,” said Theresa Fout, with Oklahoma City Public Schools.
The Oklahoma Hall of Fame’s “Oklahoma Originals” was created to teach students about impactful people from the state.
“This program first started as a rural program, an opportunity for us to reach out to underserved communities,” said Jorge Chavez. “Currently focusing on Ralph Ellison, a very notable author, worldwide known.
Students listened intently to the acclaimed author and his childhood in Oklahoma City.
“Learn about reading and writing, and we learn about the book ‘Invisible Man,’” said one third-grade student.
Ellison’s award-winning book, The Invisible Man, challenged the students to write about a time when they felt invisible. There was also a magic art creation, and each student left with their very own Ralph Ellison book.
“This is a great way for us to just connect directly with each school here in Oklahoma City,” said Chavez.
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