One of the things I’m always amazed about is who shows up at our State Capitol. Last week, Congressman Frank Lucas was scheduled to speak, and I by chance ran into him. We had a very good visit discussing Washington items including raising the debt ceiling as well as progress on the newest farm bill. Yesterday, Sen. MarkWayne Mullin addressed our caucus talking about the lifting of Title 42 on our southern boarder as well as raising the debt ceiling in order to keep our dollar strong.
In the state Legislature, we are still at an impasse on our education package. The House passed a bill that would give parents tax credits if they want to choose an option other than public education for their children, but we’re not sending this bill to the governor until the Senate approves our version of increased funding for public schools and teacher raises. The House plan would raise funding for our rural schools to offset any favor shown to families in urban or suburban areas of the state through the tax credits.
It is imperative to pass our education package in order to get next year’s budget taken care of. Education is always the largest portion of appropriations, followed by human services, transportation, health and mental health care and public safety among others. We have the next two weeks to get the budget done so we can get it to the governor in advance of our sine die. According to the state constitution, we have until 5 p.m. the last Friday of May to conclude our work.
On a final note: this week I’m hosting a page, Titus Montgomery from Red Oak. Titus is an outstanding young man. I’m confident he will go far in this world. I’m looking forward to hearing good things about this young man.
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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