We wrapped up one of the most successful sessions in recent history about a month ago, and as July begins, the 2022 fiscal year budget is now in effect. Due to the economic rebound our state experienced on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of our state agencies that receive funding appropriated by the Legislature will actually see a budget increase.
We approved many measures during session that will positively impact the lives of Oklahomans across the state, including several I had the honor of authoring. You may remember me previously sharing information about Senate Bill 712, which authorized the State Election Board secretary to purchase electronic precinct registries. This means when you go to vote in the future, you could be checked-in electronically instead of manually by a poll worker. This will increase efficiency on Election Day as well as reduce risk that a voter will be issued a wrong ballot upon check-in. Thirty-six states across the nation already utilize this technology, and I’m glad Oklahoma will now be caught up in the digital age. This measure goes into effect on November 1 of this year.
As Oklahoma voters, we are blessed with an efficient and accurate election process. We are a national model for success when it comes to our election systems, and we can thank our state election laws and state and county election board employees and volunteers for this.
We also passed Senate Bill 313, which deals with special license plates and registration. Under current law, if you have a special license plate – like one supporting your favorite sports team, organization or school – you’re required to register both the special license plate and original license plate, as well as keep the original plate in your car. Under this measure, if you purchase a special license plate, you’ll surrender the original license plate to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and only keep up with registering the special plate. This will simplify and streamline our car registration process for Oklahomans across the state.
Finally, we also approved House Bill 1880, which I was proud to carry as the Senate author in our chamber. This measure created a restorative justice program that is an alternative sentencing prosecution system through the Department of Corrections (DOC). It was proposed and designed by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association, and I worked with District Attorneys Jason Hicks and Angela Marsee on this measure. It’s a victim-centered program, meaning the offender’s victim would be required to consent before a case could go to the program. These would be non-violent offenders with cases where the offender takes responsibility and makes restitution. The case must also be reviewed by a panel. DOC is seeking federal funding for the program, so there’s no cost to Oklahoma taxpayers. Our hope is this program will give some offenders a second chance to turn their life around.
As many of you know, we completed legislative redistricting this session, meaning we re-drew state Senate and House district lines. We now will reconvene in a special session to address congressional redistricting, which is the process of drawing U.S. House and Senate district lines. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, official census results were delayed, meaning we haven’t received official census bureau data. While we were able to use estimated data from the census bureau to complete state legislative redistricting, we cannot use estimated figures for congressional lines. This is why we will go into a special session to complete this task later this fall.
In closing, I’m proud to share that I received a perfect score from the Research Institute for Economic Development, which scores legislators based on their voting record for pro-business measures. I’d also like to give a thank you to the Oklahoma Rural Water Association and Conservation Commission for selecting me as their 2020 Legislator of the Year. Due to the pandemic, we were just now able to connect, and I now have these awards proudly hanging in my office.
Thank you for allowing me to be your voice at our state Capitol. If there’s anything I can do to help you, please reach out. You can contact me by email at Darcy.Jech@oksenate.gov or by phone at 405-521-5545.