Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and parts of LeFlore and Pittsburg counties.
And just like that its December. It has me wondering where this past year has gone. December means the beginning of bill filings at the Capitol with Dec. 6 being the last day to request bills for the next session. We then work on the language in the bills and have until Jan. 16 to formally file them. House members are allowed to file eight bills per session. I have filed six as I write this. I’m planning to file two more this week.
I believe tax cuts will be the top subject this session as I have filed two bills pertaining to automobile excise and sales taxes. I believe this system needs some correction. As we pursue avenues to reduce taxes, we have to be cautious making sure we “eliminate” not simply transfer the tax burden to other entities.
December also means caucus time for the Republic house members. We will gather this weekend to discuss policy for the upcoming session as well as look at preliminary budget numbers for the next fiscal year. Budget numbers are always preliminary until we get the final revenue certification from the state Board of Equalization. We get an estimate in December, but the final figure is released in mid-February. At that point, exact numbers are available for how many dollars are available to appropriate for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.
I wish to thank Latimer County Farm Bureau for hosting a recent meeting of concerned land owners in the southern part of Latimer County. Concerns have been voiced about inevitable development, and talk centered on whether a neighboring city could annex some of this land or should the local area incorporate. Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s legislative team answered questions in detail about how each process works. The meeting was informal and informational as well.
As always, thank You for allowing me to serve you. I can be reached at (405) 557-7381 or by email at jim.grego@okhouse.gov.
Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and part and Pittsburg County.
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