Okla. Legislature Meets

Normally, if I write “Legislature meets” in mid-April, many would think, yes, and what’s newsworthy about that? These are much different days.

The Legislature met in special and regular session Monday, April 6, under extraordinary circumstances. It was unlike any legislative session I’ve attended.

I and other lawmakers had to get our temperatures taken before we could enter the Capitol. The building itself was eerily quiet. Very few staffers were on hand to assist with the session. Most are working by remote. Most of us wore gloves and masks that we brought from home to protect others with whom we would come in contact and our families and communities when we returned home. We listened to the session from our offices, texting questions to our floor leader. When it was our turn to vote, we entered the chamber in groups of eight, keeping a good social distance between ourselves.

We were asked to vote on five measures in total, two in special session and three in regular.

The special session was required in order for the Legislature to approve the governor’s declaration of a Catastrophic Health Emergency, which is akin to invoking the Oklahoma Wartime Powers Act. This gives him broad control over state and county health departments, allowing them to function as one unit for 30 days in all 77 counties in the state in response to COVID-19. This allows him to purchase necessary medical supplies and equipment up to the limit of $50 million. It allows him to use the National Guard for the movement of such supplies and to set up field hospitals should they be needed. It also allows a slight relaxing of HIPPA laws in that first responders will now be notified if they are called to a home where there is a person with COVID-19. This will allow them to take necessary precautions.

Some were concerned we gave the governor too much power. The Legislature’s second measure, however, was to recess the special session instead of ending it so we can come back in if necessary, to either end the declaration or continue it. We will all be watching how the governor uses his authority, and we have this safeguard in place should he overstep.

In regular session, we passed three budget bills that allowed us to move money from the state’s Rainy Day and Revenue Stabilization Funds into the General Revenue Fund to help us make up for a $416 million revenue shortfall that exists for the current fiscal year. With many businesses closed because of COVID-19 and the current sharp drop in price of oil and gas, the revenue failure is imminent. Because we were prudent in years past and established the stabilization fund and built up our Rainy Day reserves, we will be able to finish this year with no cuts to state services.

In the meantime, we continue to work on our budget for FY21, Again, our reserves will help us.

I want to end this column on a bright note. I’ve heard of many Oklahoma businesses that have retooled during this crisis to help meet healthcare needs. There’s a distillery making hand sanitizer. There are companies making ventilators and hospital gowns and masks.

This is the Oklahoma standard in action. We truly know how to love our neighbors here. I’m so blessed to be a resident of this state.