Alva Review-Courier -

The 2023 legislative session is now officially underway. The main focus of the first day is a joint session in the House of Representatives where members of both chambers gather to hear the governor’s State of the State speech. In this annual address, he talks about past accomplishments as well as his priorities for the year ahead.

I thought Gov. Stitt made a lot of good points. He talked about helping Oklahoma families with more tax relief, and focusing on better utilizing our education system, including high schools, higher education and CareerTechs, to focus more on workforce development initiatives that will meet the needs of businesses wanting to locate and expand in our state.

One issue he hit on that is extremely important in this district is the criminal activity that’s developed in Oklahoma since the adoption of the state question on medical marijuana. I’ve personally worked hard on legislation to address some of these issues, and was pleased to hear the governor outline the progress we’ve made. He said Oklahoma has deactivated over 800 illegal marijuana farms, completed 165 arrests, and seized over 600,000 pounds of illegal marijuana. It’s a start, but I think everyone in rural Oklahoma knows there’s more to be done.

He also vowed to protect Oklahoma from the Communist Party of China, and said as long as he was governor, our state would not allow foreign nationals to purchase farmland in Oklahoma. I will continue to work with my fellow members to pass legislation to better protect our law-abiding citizens and our land.

By Tuesday, our attention was focused on presenting and voting on legislation in committee, the first stop for bills in the legislative process. I presented Senate Bill 692 to the Retirement and Insurance Committee, dealing with first responders, like emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Right now, we’re struggling to attract and keep them, especially in rural communities. Many EMTs leave that career and join fire departments, and a big reason for that is that firefighters and police have a better retirement program and can retire after 20 years, compared to 30 for EMTs. My bill levels the playing field for first responders by lowering the retirement age to 20 years for EMTs. Because this would have a fiscal impact on the retirement system, it will have to be studied by an actuary, but I appreciate the committee’s support of my bill and remain hopeful we can ultimately get this on the books.

I also won approval for another of my bills which, was heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Victims Protective Orders (VPOs) are a tool to prevent criminals from stalking and harassing victims. These are often obtained by victims of assault, sexual assault and domestic violence, but the way our current law is written, children who are victims of abuse cannot get VPOs. My legislation, SB 291, would allow a parent or guardian to seek a VPO on behalf of a child abuse victim. This bill will next be considered by the full Senate.

It is my honor to serve you in the Oklahoma State Senate. You can reach me by calling 405-521-5626 or emailing [email protected].