This week, session kicked off in high gear as far as hearing bills on the House floor. We have 10 legislative days to get all our House bills heard and moved to the Senate.

A couple of my bills were receiving more questions than answers.

House Bill 3464 deals with cornea transplants. It would have prohibited a for-profit entity from engaging directly or indirectly in the acquisition, transfer, or distribution of any human eye or parts thereof. The measure provided an exception for parts used for products that are regulated as devices, drugs, biologics, or combination devices.

House Bill 3475 deals with open records requests. The hope was to help government bodies deal with duplicate and disruptive requests that stop the flow of normal business or put an undue burden on the office.

After working with all parties involved, I decided to lay over both bills. I will attempt to rewrite these over the summer and fall and to reintroduce them next session.

This month has been great for having students visit. Last week I had FFA groups from Red Oak and Crowder. This week, Talihina’s Native American Club stopped by. I always enjoy visiting with you as I try to explain the legislative process. These will be our future leaders someday, and I’m glad they take such an interest in coming to their state Capitol.

On this note, I would encourage high school juniors and seniors to explore the House Page Program. Every year, hundreds of students from across the state come to the Capitol to work as pages in their representative’s office. This gives them the chance to view the legislative process up close and gain experience working in state government. More information about the program and how to apply can be found online at https://okhouse.gov/Pages/Index.aspx.

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 parts of LeFlore and Pittsburg counties.

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