We met our final floor deadline of this legislative session on Thursday, April 28 as we concluded voting on House bills that were approved out of our committee. Of the 290 measures eligible for a floor hearing, we advanced about 200 of them. These bills will now head back to the House for final approval if we made any changes, or to the governor’s desk if we passed them as written. I served as the Senate author of six House Bills this session, and four of those were approved from our chamber.
We’ll now turn our focus to the completion of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget. Passing a balanced budget is the only constitutionally required duty of the Legislature, so it must be complete before we are required to adjourn by the last Friday in May.
Thankfully, our economy has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic and our budget outlook for this next year is very bright. The Board of Equalization certified that we’ll have more than $10.4 billion to appropriate to the more than 60 state agencies that fall under our purview.
One of the misconceptions from those not at the Capitol is that the budget is thrown together in the last few weeks of session and done so in backroom dealings with no transparency. I want to assure you that is not the case. We begin working on each year’s budget as soon as we complete the previous one – it is that long of a process. We hold open and transparent meetings throughout the year with agency heads to hear their budget requests and review how they’ve spent their money, and our appropriations committee meetings where we take up and vote on budget bills are streamed online and open to the public.
As we finalize the FY ’23 budget, I’ll continue to advocate for investing in our core services, like education, rural health care, and our roads and bridges, while still being fiscally conservative and setting aside additional funds in our state savings account.
I had the privilege of meeting five students from Merritt – Leia Snuggs; Bentli Whitson; Hudson Dyer; John Haynes; and Austin Smith – who were recognized for winning first place in the seventh through ninth grade division for their Well Site Safety Tik Tok, which was part of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) well site safety contest. I also met Thomas-Fay-Custer first grader Felicity Lakin as she displayed her second-place poster from the OERB coloring contest. These students were recognized for their talents at Well Site Safety Day at the Capitol, and I enjoyed welcoming them to the building.
I also had the chance to Facetime with Mr. Dan Thompson’s class at Cyril High School and speak to his students about the legislative process and what it’s like to serve in the Senate. I appreciate that technology allowed me to interact with the class even during a busy week here at the Capitol.
Finally, we welcomed a group of the Blaine County Cattlemen’s Association, let by Becky Bedwell, to the Capitol this past week. It was great to see some familiar faces advocating for the beef industry, and I always look forward to these types of visits.
I’ll keep you updated as we continue to finalize the 2023 budget. It’s an honor to serve as your state Senator, and 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.