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On Monday, the Legislative Showmanship was held at the Oklahoma Youth Expo. Legislators from every corner of the state joined Oklahoma's future farmers and ranchers for the Oklahoma Youth Expo, the world's largest junior livestock show. It was an excellent opportunity to meet with the future agriculture industry leaders.

I want to thank Sydney Hodge, part of Caney Valley FFA, for coaching me along as we showed her outstanding steer, Mr. Tinder. Ag education programs like 4-H and Future Farmers of America create opportunities for Oklahoma's youth to build life skills and grow students into dedicated, committed young adults who appreciate the value of hard work and determination.

It was a short week at the Capitol, but last week, the House completed its third reading deadline on Thursday, March 14. We passed 422 bills and joint resolutions off the House floor before the deadline, just a fraction of the thousands of measures filed this year.

These bills covered various topics, including multiple tax cut measures, a cost-of-living adjustment for state employees, modified graduation requirements, and crackdowns on crime. As the House is the body closest to the people, many of these bills directly resulted from constituent requests.

The House will now swap bills with the Senate and consider their 279 bills, beginning with hearing measures in our House committees before they advance to the floor. In the coming weeks, we will work to finalize the state budget. The Senate recently concluded its work in this area and released its budget figures, which do not include cash from prior fiscal years or money available to be appropriated from various state funds.

I had the pleasure of attending Collinsville Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, where I met with many of our constituents. Senator Ally Seifried and I joined the attendees for a presentation by the Department of Commerce, during which we heard from State Main Street Director Buffy Hughes and Interim Commerce Director Hopper Smith. Thank you to everyone who attended!

It is such an honor and privilege to represent you at the State Capitol. I want to encourage any constituent with questions or concerns regarding legislation to reach out to my office at (405) 557-7358 or at john.kane@okhouse.gov.

John Kane, a Republican, serves House District 11 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which covers Tulsa and Washington counties.