Friends,

Thank you for continuing to follow along with the 2023 Legislature! I have some additional updates, even after the session has ended!  The House reconvened today to vote to override a bill Governor Stitt extending an agreement for any tribe with an existing motor vehicle licensing or  registration agreement with the state to extend until December 31, 2024.  We also passed a resolution to extend our special session until July 31, 2023.  The extension will allow for the legislature to review other vetoed legislation and allow for the Senate to also act on bills.

Interim Studies

If you have any suggestions on policy ideas that you think we should be studying further please fill out this form. You can evaluate past interim study ideas here.  I plan to request a study on the relationship of medical debt and medical billing as well as a study on the childcare workforce.  We have until June 30th to offer policy ideas to study further – I look forward to hearing from House District 70 on the ideas you have to improve Oklahoma. Feel free to reach out if you think you have an idea but would like to discuss before submitting.

House Research Staff Summary of Session

Here is a summary of legislation passed this session prepared by the Oklahoma House of Representatives Research staff.  In reviewing, I noted three bills that I thought would be worth highlighting: SB844, HB1031, and HB1029.

In 2016, by passing State Question 780 voters approved savings from changes to drug and property crime classifications to be spent on community mental health. SB844 takes the next step in criminal justice reform by moving the management of the monies invested in local communities to be directed by the counties – allowing counties to specifically invest in mental health care that communities desperately need. Additionally, each county will be required to report what the money is invested in. This is a big step forward for Oklahoma in changing how we handle minor offenses within the criminal justice system and giving individual counties the ability to serve their communities most effectively.

HB1031 created the Oklahoma Rural Housing Stability Program which will incentivize homebuilders to build new and affordable homes with interest rates as low as 0%. The bill incentivises affordable housing by allowing both homebuyers and homebuilders to apply for grants that will help build and buy these new affordable homes.

And finally HB1029 creates a home caregiver tax credit for up to 50% of the expenditures incurred while caring for an eligible loved one that is 62 years or older. Each family is capped at $2,000 or $3,000 depending on whether the loved one is also a veteran or has been diagnosed with dementia.

Door Knocking 

We will be knocking doors throughout the summer so look for me in your neighborhood.  I learned so much about what issues folks care about and want their state to work on by meeting voters in their neighborhoods last year that I think it’s important to take time to do that during the interim. These short conversations can be so helpful in not only generally learning what issues are on the minds of House District 70, but also specific policy ideas that can have real impact.  For example, a general issue might be concerns around homelessness, but a specific idea might be fixing statutory language – recently I’ve had suggestions around property tax exemptions, regulations for roofers, and protective orders in the context of divorce.

If I don’t see you on the doors, I want to invite you to a coffee on June 22nd at 8:30 a.m. at Collaborative Coffee – 4532 E 51st St! There, I plan to discuss the list of interim study ideas proposed but also just allow for open dialogue, much like we would on the doorstep. You can RSVP to join us here!

Let’s keep going –

Suzanne