Alva Review-Courier -

The final week of the 2023 regular session was extremely busy. Once the education agreement was reached, that cleared the way for negotiators to complete work on the rest of the budget. I will talk a bit more about budget highlights in the coming weeks, but one of the items I want to mention that we approved was additional drought relief funding.

Despite being blessed with some recent rainfall, it isn’t nearly enough to offset the devastating impact of the prolonged drought. Northwestern Oklahoma counties continue to be listed as being in severe, extreme or exceptional drought as of May 23, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Fortunately, we provided a $17 million supplemental appropriation for drought relief funding in the current budget year, in addition to the $3 million we approved last May. Furthermore, we approved an increase of $20 million for Fiscal Year 2024, bringing the total appropriation for the new budget year, which begins July 1, to $23 million. That was an important priority for Senate District 27, and many other parts of Oklahoma as well.

We continued working through other budget bills this past week, completed work on executive nominations and conference committee reports, and overrode gubernatorial vetoes on bills that had passed both chambers on wide, overwhelming margins. I was very proud that my colleagues joined me in unanimously overriding a veto on my Senate Bill 291, to allow a parent or guardian of a victim of child abuse to get a Victims Protective Order (VPO) against the abuser. I filed that bill on behalf of a citizen who couldn’t obtain a VPO for her child because the current law didn’t include this circumstance.

My fellow members also helped me override a veto on another of my bills, SB 976, creating a task force to study and make recommendations on how Oklahoma could better combat and slow the spread of invasive species in order to protect our state’s habitats as well as ranches and farmlands.

Lastly, I want to thank my intern, Noah Albert, of Forgan in Beaver County, who has served in my office during the 2023 legislative session. Noah is an upcoming senior at the University of Oklahoma, and has interned with us through OU’s Capitol Scholars program. He’s accompanied me in committee meetings, meetings with other legislators, and even meetings with Governor Stitt. He’s had a seat at the table that has given him tremendous insight into government, policy, and how those can impact the citizens of our district as we work on their behalf. He’s been able to join me in meetings with constituents, listen to their concerns about proposed legislation, and he’s had the opportunity to express his own views on policy.

As a political science major, he’s on the pre-law track, and one day he hopes to be able to return to the Capitol to serve the citizens of this district in the Legislature. Noah has a deep love for northwestern Oklahoma and his fellow citizens here. I anticipate an exceptionally bright future for this young man. I thank him for his service to District 27, and wish him the absolute best in all his future endeavors. It’s been a pleasure, Noah.

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].