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The Oklahoma House and Senate are out of session.

Bartlesville Senator Julie Daniels has three years of experience to boast about and said the 2019 session was incredibly successful. She said there was good policy measures that were passed that year that had, in part, to do with the budget.

This was the first year Sen. Daniels served as the Chairman on the Judiciary Committee. She said it was an honor. While it was more work at times than she expected, she said she walked away with more respect for the system of government that is in place both in the State of Oklahoma and in the United State.

House Representative Derrel Fincher for District 11 echoed what Sen. Daniels said about the 2019 session. He said people just want to see the Legislature and the Government work again, and he believes that they got that done this session.

House Representative Judd Strom for District 10 said that the success in this session comes during a time where there was significant shift in leadership.

There were 46 members from the House and Senate combined that made their first apperances at the Capitol. Representatives Strom and Fincher were two of the new comers to the scene.

When session let out Thursday, Rep. Strom said he made it a point to walk around and thank the leadership that has been aaround the longest. Their dedication and patience with the newcomers, he said, lent a helping hand when it was needed so they could get work done.

Some highlights in the State Budget and Policy from the 2019 Session include:

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

• $200 million in savings.
  • Brings Oklahoma’s total savings at the end of this fiscal year to $1 billion.
• $29 million for a fund to preserve Medicaid provider rates during economic downturns.

EDUCATION

• $157.9 million in increased funding for public schools:
  • $74.4 million in new classroom funding
  • $1,220 on average teacher pay raise
• $18 million for the CareerTech system for pay raises and course additions.
• $28 million for higher education for increased research and a professor pay raise.
• $7.5 million for concurrent enrollment.
• $5.5 million for the Reading Sufficiency Act.
• Increased classroom instructional time to benefit students (SB 441).*

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY & MODERNIZATION

• Series of bills giving governor the authority to hire/fire the director of five top state agencies (SB 456, SB 457, HB 2480, HB 2479, HB 2483).*
• Creation of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (SB 1) and $1.7 million appropriation to fund LOFT startup.*
• $37.7 million for a state employee pay raise of up to $1,500. 
• $16.4 million for digital transformation of state services to improve customer service and enhance transparency.
• $700,000 to hire new auditors in the State Auditor’s Office.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL OKLAHOMA

• $1.1 million for wildfire mitigation and additional resources for rural fire fighters.
• $1.5 million to improve rural flood control dams.
• Advanced the production of industrial hemp in Oklahoma (SB 868/HB 2628).

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND JUDICIARY

• “Pay for Success” which encourages innovative public/private partnerships to help state agencies provide services without risking tax dollars (HB 2670).*
• $20.1 million to reform District Attorney office funding.
• $10 million for “Smart on Crime” mental health and substance abuse treatment programming.*
• $1.5 million for the Women in Recovery diversion program.*
• $1.7 million to expand drug courts options for nonviolent offenders.
• Protected Oklahomans’ Second Amendment rights via constitutional carry legislation (HB 2597)
• $4,000 raise for Department of Corrections employees “behind the wire.”
• Modernized the Oklahoma Supreme Court judicial districting maps to enlarge the pool of qualified candidates eligible to fill judicial vacancies (HB 2366).
• Preserved and strengthened landmark workers’ compensation reforms (HB 2367)

ECONOMY & JOBS

• $1 million for additional job growth and economic development in the automotive and aerospace industries through the Aerospace Commerce Economic Services (ACES) program.
• $1 million to help entrepreneurs and innovators through the Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology.
• Created income tax credit for qualified software or cybersecurity employees (HB 2759).

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

• $2 million to decrease Developmental Disability Services (DDSD) wait list.
• $8 million to increase DDSD provider reimbursement rates by 4 percent.
• $4.6 million to increase immunizations and staff county health.
• Passage of testing/labeling requirements (“Unity Bill”) for medical marijuana (HB 2612).

VETERANS & MILITARY AFFAIRS

• $2 million appropriation for two new veterans’ facilities.
• Designated Oklahoma as a Purple Heart State (SB 232).
• SB 931 creates the Revised Uniform Veterans Guardianship Act.
• Modified the Oklahoma veterans’ registry, and set the official launch date as Jan. 1 (SB 358).
• Enabled the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs to grant preference to veteran-owned business entities when contracting for goods or services (SB 135).
• Expanded benefits for the dignified interment of homeless veterans (SB 340).

TRANSPORTATION

• $30 million in funding for the County Improvement for Roads and Bridges (CIRB).
• Appropriations to fully fund Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s eight-year plan.