The House in February passed House Bill 2775 that would have added more than $9.6 million to schools attended by students who live in House District 3. The money would have gone toward $2,500 across-the-board teacher pay raises and to schools that receive below-average funding from local tax revenue. A portion of the funding also was to be distribute to public school districts on a per-pupil bases to be spent on specific classroom materials or for additional learning opportunities for students.
We also passed House Bill 1935 that would have given parents tax credits if they choose to homeschool their children or send them to private schools.
The Senate amended both bills. Under the Senate plan, schools in our district would receive millions less in funding. The speaker of the House made it clear that if the bills were amended, he would not reconsider them in the House. At this point, it looks like we’ll have to start over on this legislation. The speaker can introduce new legislation at any time during the process, so I’ll be watching to see what emerges.
In the meantime, I had a very pleasant surprise last week – a visit from Former House District 3 Rep. James Lockhart. He’s now teaching at Arkoma, and he brought his 7th-grade class to the Capitol to meet with me and several other representatives and to give his students a look at the legislative process. I got to have lunch with the group. Lockhart talked about how things had changed since he served at the Capitol. It was good to visit with him and his students.
As for where we are in the legislative process, the Senate sent 400-plus bills over to the House to consider. I spent several days this week reading each bill making sure I’m ready to vote on them. I’ll be watching for amendments as the bills go through the committee process, which starts in earnest this week. After bills pass committee, they can be heard on the House floor.
Speaking of legislation on the House floor, one of our younger representatives has proposed House Concurrent Resolution 1004, relating to the Future Caucus and the Millennial Action Project. The Future Caucus Network is said to foster “bipartisan dialogue and expertise among state legislators dedicated to advancing future-oriented solutions to the issues facing future generations.” Last week, the Oklahoma Future Caucus participated in the Millennial Action Project’s National Week of Action “marked by young leaders moving beyond partisan divides to usher in a new era of collaboration and innovative approaches to policy.”
The Congressional Future Caucus has been behind such efforts as supporting new student loan repayment plans. The Oklahoma Future Caucus have their eye on issues such as criminal justice reform, Native issues and school safety, dealt with in a bipartisan manner, according to caucus leaders.
On the surface, this may not look like much, but underneath, it erodes the very heart of conservative values. I’ve gotten some calls about this, and I just cannot agree to put my name to it. Many times concurrent resolutions are enacted with unanimous consent, but if this comes up on the House floor, I will object to my name being added.
As always, if I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.
- Rick West serves District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes part of LeFlore County.
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