Policy positions
Fiscal transparency
In 2019,Treat authored a bill to create the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, [10] an entity to increase transparency and accountability in state government by providing the public and lawmakers independent,objective data on state spending and program performance. Treat also authored several landmark government accountability measures that give the governor the ability to hire and fire the director of five of the largest state agencies. [11] Treat authored Senate Bill 1848 in 2014,which required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles (48 km) of their practice. The law was struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2016,with the court citing Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt as a precedent. [12] [13]
Tribal compacts
In June 2023,Treat criticized senators who did not show up for a tribal compact vote to override Governor Kevin Stitt's veto. [14] The next month,he called the Governor "ineffective" and said they were one vote shy of overriding. [15] When the override vote was called again,they were able to get enough votes,but Stitt called it an "illegitimate process." [16]
Domestic violence
In 2024,he authored Senate Bill 1470 along with Representative Jon Echols of the House,called the Oklahoma Survivors' Act. It passed the senate with no nay votes,and then the house with only 3. [17] [18] The bill "would permit courts to reduce sentences for domestic violence survivors for crimes they committed relating to that abuse," such as criminalized survivor April Wilkens,who was able to watch the vote pass the House along with other incarcerated women in Mabel Bassett. [19] But Governor Kevin Stitt vetoed the bill along with ten other bills. The very next day after Stitt's veto,Treat called for a Senate veto override. [20] Treat accused the DAs of going back on a deal he struck with them and saying that another bill had been drafted to ensure criminals couldn't abuse the system, [20] addressing any concerns prosecutors had with the bill. [21] Treat accused the governor of having "zero communication" with him or any discussion on the bill. He said,"There's an absolute target on senate bills from the governor,he has already vetoed 8 of them." [22] The Senate veto override passed and it was the first veto override of the session. [23]
Treat also spoke out when delays in April Wilkens' resentencing hearing were occurring in Tulsa,saying "justice delayed is justice denied." [24]
Controversies
In April 2023,a "week before the deadline for bills to be heard in the opposite chamber's committees," Treat and the Speaker of the House,Charles McCall,were said to "continue to throw jabs at each other's education plans," leading parents and educators to be concerned there wouldn't be a solution that session. [25] As the session neared its end,both McCall and Treat still had not come to an agreement. [26] It was reported that the "two sides didn't even agree on how much they had been talking about education." [27] McCall reportedly thought the talks were going well,while Treat said he didn't feel "very hopeful." [28]
For school vouchers in a bill introduced in 2023,Treat acknowledged that "private schools wouldn’t be forced to admit all students,but he believes schools would expand enrollment when more families can afford it." Democrats have had concerns that "there are no assurances that low-income students would be admitted into a private school." Treat has also accused House Speaker Charles McCall of "refusing to negotiate and said the Senate’s income cap was a “more responsible”school choice plan." [29]
