By Rep. Randy Randleman
The Legislature adjourned our regular session sine die at the end of May, but on Monday, we returned to the State Capitol for two special sessions. One of these was called by the Governor to deliver tax relief to Oklahomans being hit hard by President Biden’s out-of-control inflation.
The Governor’s special session call only outlined personal income tax and the state grocery sales tax as the two areas of tax relief we could offer. The House had previously approved both of these tax relief policies during our regular session, but the Senate was not willing to work with us on these measures.
This special session gave the Senate another chance to come back to the drawing board and provide the inflation relief I know my constituents desperately need, especially those on a low or fixed income.
Ultimately, the House passed multiple avenues during special session to reduce personal income taxes and reduce or eliminate the state grocery tax, which have all advanced to the Senate for consideration. We approved different versions of each policy to give the Senate several options to choose from, any of which the House would be happy to see take effect.
I was glad to support each of these tax relief measures, which I hope will help the constituents in my district, as well as Oklahomans throughout the state. The House has stood up for tax cuts—it’s up to the Senate now to decide which measures to send to the Governor.
The House also met in our other special session, which the Legislature called last month to distribute $1.8 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help Oklahoma’s economy continue to recover from the pandemic.
Last year, the Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding was created to partner with the executive branch in determining how ARPA funds were to be spent. The committee met with public stakeholders, and more than 1,400 projects were submitted by the public to the committee for consideration. The committee has begun sending bills to the Legislature for approval.
This week, the House approved seven bills to address the workforce shortage in healthcare and nursing, as well as improve rural broadband access, open a children’s behavioral health center and help nonprofits recover from the fundraising hit they took during 2020.
This special session will meet as necessary throughout the summer to continue identifying and approving projects that will benefit Oklahoma, and I’ll provide updates on those projects as they come forward.
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve you. If there is ever anything I can do for you, you can reach me at 405-557-7375 or randy.randleman@okhouse.gov.
Rep. Randy Randleman, a Republican, serves District 15 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which covers Haskell County and portions of Muskogee, Sequoyah, LeFlore, Pittsburg and McIntosh counties.
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