We made it! This pretty much sums up the conclusion of the first portion of the 60th legislative session. This being our final week, we mostly will be looking at cleanup of any leftover bills and considering any possible veto overrides. One area I feel like we have left unresolved is funding for the Department of Mental Health and addressing their financial shortfall. We did provide supplemental funding of just over $31.5 million to finish out this fiscal year. Hopefully, we haven’t just kicked the proverbial can down the road.
We passed what I consider a good budget for next year. Naturally, everyone didn’t get what they had hoped for, but rarely in life does this ever happen. One of the wins, I believe, includes a quarter-percent tax cut with a path to more reductions providing that state revenue meets certain benchmarks. Funding for a new veterinary medical school at Stillwater is happening, as well as OU Health getting a new pediatric hospital. Both are wins in my opinion. A questionable win is we now will own an additional prison. This really wasn’t something we sought, but as negotiations broke down with the owner of a private prison in Lawton, this seemed our best option.
Another win, I consider, is the governor signing into law my House Bill 1183, which directs Service Oklahoma to no longer use National Automobile Dealers Association values for vehicle purchases for excise tax purposes. The agency now will use actual purchase price, which makes more sense to me. I think this will be a win for most of us when we purchase our next vehicle.
I had the opportunity to speak at my alma mater, Wilburton High School, as the keynote speaker for graduation this year. What a privilege and honor. I also spoke at the local VFW’s Memorial Day remembrance. This is an annual pleasure. This Friday evening, I will be at a town hall hosted by our local library in Wilburton. Last year, we did this in McAlester, and it was a success, so I am confident this will be as well.
I am thankful there were no reported major injuries as our last round of tornados and severe weather passed through Latimer and Pittsburg counties, just a massive amount of property damages.
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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