February 1, 2026

Friends,

I hope you and your loved ones fared okay during our storm – as I write this, temperatures are still very low!  During the worst of the storm and cold, I volunteered at the City’s new winter shelter for homeless individuals.  It was a challenging environment and I commend all those who helped bring individuals into the shelter and managed nearly 250 people who are in deep need in less than ideal circumstances.  I don’t know if I was much help but I was certainly reminded to feel grateful for all I have.

It also brought into perspective for me the challenges of supporting people who are desperate and destitute and often have serious mental health illnesses, intellectual disabilities, and/or debilitating addiction.  The collective work of SafeMove Tulsa was able to connect some individuals with available services that could help them find long term alternatives to living on the streets.  I recently read this article and found it heartbreaking.

It seems what’s happening in Minnesota and across the country is on everyone’s minds and hearts.  I know I feel concern and uncertainty as we watch unprecedented actions by the federal government.  The seemingly avoidable harassment and deaths are tragic and I want to pause and mourn the loss of life and the trauma caused.  I share the concerns many of you have voiced about accountability, failure of checks and balances of power and a disregard for civil rights.

I am proud that two Oklahomans lead national organizations – Governor Kevin Stitt is Chair of the National Governors Association and OKC Mayor David Holt is President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors – and both put out thoughtful, bi-partisan statements.

Some Good News

Last Friday, Tulsa Public Schools held its annual legislative breakfast and it was just remarkable to hear how much progress they’ve made in the last few years.  The district has seen academic growth in every area measured by the state.  The number of F schools has been cut in half in 2 years.  Tulsa has been able to recruit and retain teachers and has 98% of its certified roles filled. These outcomes are a result of intentional, dedicated work and I just have to applaud it!

This legislative session there are many bills to improve literacy outcomes for our students – it’s exciting that TPS will be well poised to receive any support the state provides to do so.  Read more about one of the lead literacy bills here.

Budget Hearings

This week I was back at the State Capitol for budget hearings.  Each year, Oklahoma’s eight biggest agencies present to the legislature on their proposed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.  After many years of flat budgets and reductions in federal spending, many agencies are seeking new dollars to meet their core responsibilities.  Much of the legislative session will be evaluating and prioritizing these needs.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the entity that manages the state’s Medicaid plan is in need of nearly $500 million dollars to meet our healthcare coverage obligations.  You can read more about this particular budget hearing here and this follow up statement from OHCA.  Bottom line on what I learned from the budget hearings –  there will be some difficult decisions to make to deliver on our core responsibilities as a state.

Bills

By the state constitution, legislators’ only actual obligation is to create a balanced annual budget.  Obviously, a lot more legislating is done in the House and Senate – some good and some bad and some very bad.  Below are the  bills I will likely be prioritizing this session – it’s a dynamic situation hence the “likely”.  As always, they are ideas and needs from Tulsans and focus on work that our state should and can do to help Oklahomans and the economy to create the quality of life we want.

Priority HD 70 bills for the 2026 session:

• HB 4298: workplace violence act, allowing for employers to seek protective orders against former employees who threaten, harass or endanger current employees.
• HB 4199: trishare pilot program to incentivize employees to participate in childcare costs by offering to match family and employers contributions with a state contribution.
• HB 4201: cuts red tape in the childcare industry by matching master teacher requirements to enrollment rather than licensed capacity
• HB 1849: creates the fair renewal act protecting consumers from automatic renewal of costly subscriptions.
• HB 4204: allows for limited residential power generation outside of the grid to offset energy cost.
• HB 4203: updates the building code to allow for a single staircase in a small multi unit residential dwellings.
• HB 4197: sales tax relief for public safety foundations supporting local public safety needs.

Besides my own bills, I will be serving on several committees which is the process by which we sort and evaluate all legislation.  This year, I was appointed to the Appropriations and Budget Oversight Committee through which all fiscal bills must pass.  It’s a lot of extra work, but I am honored to serve on this committee which vets all budget requests.  As I mentioned earlier, I have a feeling we are going to be making a lot of hard decisions.