The second week of the 2023 legislative session carried with it the same momentum seen in week one. Once again, state lawmakers were hard at work as they continued committee meetings and hearing bills.
Highlighting the week was an education funding package authored by House Speaker Charles McCall. House Bills 2775 and 1935 would work together to increase public school funding by $500 million and would allocate an additional $300 million in potential tax credits for children in private or home schools.
If passed, the $500 million for public schools would be broken down into three sectors. The first is a $150 million increase to the existing school funding formula to provide a $2,500 pay raise for Oklahoma teachers. The second would grant $50 million to the Redbud Fund, which assists low-income school districts around the state.
The third sector would set aside $300 million to increase each school’s per-pupil funding amount, up to $2 million per school district. The $2 million cap allows a majority of the funding to go to Oklahoma’s smaller, rural schools.
The additional $300 million for students in private and home schools is part of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act and would potentially give families a $5,000 tax credit per student attending private school and a $2,500 credit per student participating in a homeschool program.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau strongly supports this education package as it was designed to assist rural school districts and provide a compromise in the ongoing school voucher debate. Both bills passed the Appropriations and Budget Committee and move to the House floor for consideration.
In addition to the education package, OKFB followed the progress of a number of other bills this week, including SB 689 by Sens. Jessica Garvin and Jack Stewart which would allow counties to create nuisance ordinances for odors emitted from meat processing facilities and marijuana growing operations. SB 689 was laid over in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee and was not heard this week.
The House Ag Committee heard HB 1008 by Rep. Rick West this week. The bill, known as the Right to Garden, would void local ordinances or regulations on vegetable gardens on residential properties. HB 1008 passed in committee with a vote of 11-2.
The House Ag Committee also voted unanimously to pass HB 2053 by Rep. David Hardin which would protect agriculture water users from frivolous permit protests. Both HB 1008 and HB 2053 now move to be considered by the full House.
OKFB was pleased to see legislation advance this week proposing additional funding for the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medicine program – a top priority for OKFB in 2023. Farm Bureau members hope the additional funding for the OSU vet school will help address the current shortage of large-animal veterinarians in the state.
As with nearly every legislative session, OKFB is keeping a close eye on multiple county zoning bills and legislation proposed to increase ad valorem taxes. Notable county zoning bills are still awaiting a committee hearing, and the primary ad valorem bill was laid over this week and was not heard in the House County and Municipal Government Committee. OKFB will continue to track these measures and maintain an active role in the conversation against the legislation.
For an update on weekly happenings at the Capitol and an outlook on what is ahead, be sure to tune in to OKFB’s weekly public policy update each Friday at noon.
