As January melts into February, it can mean only one thing … we are quickly upon another legislative session. Last year’s successes are behind us, and new issues lay ahead. This will be the last session for some legislative members, as term limits have caught up with them. We wish them God’s speed and good luck as they embark on a new chapter in their lives. We also want to thank them for their service to the state of Oklahoma. It’s not always easy to do what these members do on a day-to-day basis, and for that we say thanks!
This session we face the prospect of changing our state’s constitution to protect farming and ranching into the future. We continue to see on a federal level – and now even on a state level – no end to the activists who want to tell you how to farm and ranch. Frankly it would be nice if people just said “thanks for feeding and clothing me” and moved on, but that’s not how it works today. This year we hope to have a “Right to Farm” state question if legislators will send it to a vote of the people. This constitutional change protects OKFB members well into the future and ensures the Oklahoma agriculture sector will remain strong and vibrant.
As always, there will be no end to the legislative bills that deal with raising taxes in some form of a fee or new tax, and there will even be a few that will try to cover people trespassing with some sort of fancy deal. We will see a few bills that deal with wind energy and how we deal with windmills. As always, we stand ready to make sure the body is well educated on behalf of our 100,000-member organization.
We will also face the prospect that all of the house members and a handful of senators will be up for reelection. We will need to make sure the folks who have decided to run for office reflect the vision and ideas that make up Oklahoma Farm Bureau. We will also have a few statewide races including governor and two U.S. senate seats. Gov. Fallin and Sen. Inhofe have both been great friends, and we look forward to their reelection in 2014.
This year will probably shape up to be one of the most important election cycles we have seen in a long time. We stand ready in the public policy division to face these battles head on. If we can be of service to our membership or the members of the legislature and Congress, please do not hesitate to ask. We look forward to moving Oklahoma agriculture forward again this year.
