Alva Review-Courier -

The Capitol has been busy the last few weeks as legislators have been finalizing bill language and preparing to file their legislation by the deadline, which was Jan. 16. The final count tallied 840 Senate bills and 19 Senate joint resolutions filed. When added to measures filed by the House, we will have more than 2,200 bills to consider this legislative session.

While this is a large volume of legislation, it is important to note that not all bills will make it to the governor’s desk to be signed into law or vetoed. After proposed laws are filed, they must be assigned to a committee and pass by a majority vote of the committee members to make it to the floor of the bill’s respective chamber. Once the bill is passed off the Senate or House floor, it then must go to the opposite chamber to be heard. If it is passed by both the Senate and the House, it then goes forward to Gov. Stitt for approval.

After meeting with a group of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members from Drummond who are passionate about tightening Oklahoma’s seat belt laws, I’m proud to run Senate Bill 1303 this session, which modifies seat belt requirements for passengers under the age of 16 riding in the back seat of a vehicle. Current Oklahoma law only requires children eight years old and younger to be buckled up when riding in the back seat, and we are the only state that doesn’t require all or most children to buckle up in the back seat. An interim study hosted this fall showed that Oklahoma’s statistics on adolescent death and injuries for back seat riders were much higher than other states. Our goal is to become a Top Ten state in the best categories – not the worst – and I am not satisfied with Oklahoma being known as one of the worst in the nation for child deaths due to vehicle collisions. We can and must do better.

Another bill I’m excited to run this session is SB 1712, which modifies current Oklahoma law to allow anyone to obtain a license to engage in the growth, cultivation, handling or processing of industrial hemp. As of now, only those growing hemp for research purposes or those approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that have gone through the Oklahoma Industrial Hemp Program may receive a license to grow hemp. This law restricted many farmers and ranchers from growing this cash crop, and I believe any agriculturalist that wants to grow hemp should have the opportunity to do so without jumping through hoops for hard to obtain licensing requirements.

I’m looking forward to a great legislative session that will kick off Feb. 3 with Gov. Stitt’s State of the State address. If you are interested in reading any legislation that has been filed, you can find all bills at oksenate.gov. If you have any questions or concerns, please know my office is always open to your call or visit. You can reach us 405-521-5630 or find us in room 413. Thank you for allowing me to serve you.