By State Rep. Rick West
Last week, I attended several budget meetings at the state Capitol.
The first was a presentation by State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. She said the State Department of Education is asking for an additional $17 million this year to pay for health care for teachers, bringing the total for the benefit to $552,578,785. She also wants $60,600 for textbooks, a $27,600 increase. Her total ask from the state for Fiscal Year 2022 is almost $3.2 billion – an almost $191.4 million increase. Another almost $1.6 billion is expected to come to the department from the federal government, including almost $826 million Coronavirus relief funds. Much of the federal funding covers child nutrition and special education services as well as the other federal title programs.
We also heard from the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education. For Fiscal Year 2022, the Regents are asking for an additional $88.8 million over their FY21 appropriation – a total of more than $859.2 million. Part of that is an additional $4 million to fully reimburse colleges and universities for the concurrent enrollment programs for high school juniors and seniors. Concurrent enrollment is a great program. It allows high school students to take college classes at no charge to themselves or their families. This earns them some college credit and gives them a good start if they decide to pursue a college degree.
Also last week, I attended the Appropriations and Budget for Public Safety Subcommittee meeting where we heard from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET). I questioned the director on current qualifications that allow people with resident-alien status to be CLEET certified. In other words, people who are not citizens of the United States of American can get certified to arrest citizens. My House Bill 1118 would correct this by removing that language from statute.
We also heard from Department of Corrections Director Scott Crow. I got to ask him about prison farms. We have beef cattle and dairy operations in McAlester and a beef cattle operation in Stringtown, which sell their products to other facilities in the system. The catch is if wardens find cheaper prices elsewhere, they are not allowed to purchase them. My contract purchasing bill will help address this problem and others for our prisons and other state agencies.
I also asked Director Crow how big of a problem contraband tobacco is in our prisons. He held his arms wide open and said huge. My House Bill 1114 would correct this. It would allow inmates the ability to purchase tobacco from the prison canteens to smoke in designated areas. This would cut down on contraband and result in fewer write-ups that keep inmates in prison longer.
I’ll talk more in depth about each of these bills as they make their way through the legislative process. In the meantime, make sure to listen for me on KPRV radio every Thursday morning during the legislative session, I will give updates from the Capitol as well as discuss local issues. I want to make sure you know you always have a voice and a listening ear in state government.
If I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.
- Rick West represents District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of LeFlore County.
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