The Oklahoma House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 1002, the chamber’s rules package for the sixtieth Legislature, after extended floor debate and a series of contested amendment votes. The resolution passed by a roll-call vote of 66 to 25.

Leader Josh West introduced HR1002 as the procedural framework for the session and said the changes were compiled from submissions by both caucuses and are intended to implement a new two‑tier committee process for policy review. That two‑tier structure places policy committees as a first‑tier vetting body and oversight/full standing committees as the second tier before measures reach the floor, a change House leaders said will allow more deliberate review of legislation.

Members of the minority caucus and other critics questioned both the substance of the new process and the manner in which the rules were prepared. Representative Forrest Bennett and others asked whether Democrats had been invited to the rules committee; leadership acknowledged minority members had not been members of the rules drafting committee and said they were invited to provide suggestions during the summer and in later outreach. Critics said the absence of minority members from the drafting committee was a missed opportunity for buy‑in and transparency.

Several amendments aimed at increasing transparency and ensuring recorded votes were available at members’ requests were offered from the floor but ultimately were tabled by the body in separate votes. For example, an amendment by Representative Shaw to allow any member to secure a recorded vote on the floor without the current one‑fifteenth second requirement was tabled (tabling motion passed, 83–8). Other proposed amendments to change how measures move between committee tiers or to limit the speaker’s ability to transfer bills between committees were likewise tabled by majority votes.

One of the most contested floor changes originated as an amendment offered by Representative Jenkins that would limit access to the female restroom in the chamber to people “born as a biological female.” The amendment was modified on the floor to add an exception for house operations, and the amended language was adopted after a division vote (71–17). The proposal prompted extensive questions from members about enforcement, effects on pages and small children accompanying members, and whether the language would affect single‑occupancy and unisex bathrooms elsewhere in the Capitol; proponents said the measure was intended to designate the rear chamber bathroom for female members only.

Other organizational items on the day’s agenda passed with less controversy. Leader West presented HR1003, which sets chamber deadlines for the session; it was adopted by unanimous consent. Earlier procedural motions — including the report adopting mileage allowances and authorization for members to receive up to $2,000 for office supplies from the comptroller — were approved by unanimous consent.

Discussion vs. Decision: HR1002 is a formal change to House procedure and was adopted by recorded vote; many transparency‑oriented amendments were debated but not adopted. The article reports actions that were taken, the principal lines of debate, and the explicit procedural outcomes recorded by the House clerk.