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Bartlesville
Posted: Jun 03, 2025 1:27 PMUpdated: Jun 03, 2025 1:30 PM
Chamber Forum: Legislative Wrap Up
Tom Davis
Our local state lawmakers appeared in panel fashion to respond to questions regarding the latest Oklahoma legislative session at Tri County Tech over lunch on Tuesday presented by the Greater Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce.
Before the discussion began, Adam Maxey, Vice President of Government Affairs with the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, presented State Senator Julie Daniels with the Legislator of the Year Award for ceaseless efforts to bring business law reforms to our state on behalf of businesses and service providers.
The panel, comprised of State Representative John B. Kane, State Senator Julie Daniels, and State Representative Judd Strom, answered questions pertaining to the budget, overriding the Governor's vetoes, a new smelter coming to the Port of Inola, education, energy, business law, worker's comp, property rights and tort reform from moderator and former State Representative Mike Wilt.
As for the budget and the vetoes, it was a late night for lawmakers in Oklahoma City on Thursday. Senator Daniels said, "It ended up, sadly, as the governor vetoed an incredible number of bills this year. He has increased the number of vetoes each year, and each year we may override a few. But yesterday, I believe, between the House and the Senate, we took up something like 36 veto overrides, and maybe we overrode all but about two of those."
The Senator said that the lateness of the hour after the four hours of vot was kept open, lawmakers had to take a hard decision Thursday night to remove the mental health commissioner. According to Daniels, " She's probably a very nice lady. I've only met her a couple of times, but it had to be done."
State Representative John B. Kane talked about the new smelter coming to the Tulsa Port of Inola from the Middle East and all the job it will create plus the additional jobs that will come from other business coming in to support the new plant.
State Representative Judd Strom voted "no" on the project as he believe those incentive dollars could be better spent helping businesses already in the state. However, Strom did say that the addition of the smelter will be good for the area and the state.
Strom also talked about the two bills to improve educational access for National Guard members. Among them, House Bill 1243 establishes a financial assistance program that helps eligible Guard members pay for certification or licensure programs at CareerTech schools for up to three years.
The question of energy bills came up will all the lawmakers agreeing that they started off the session with a lot interest, but in the end, they failed to go anywhere. The main problem appears to be property rights and the objections of neighbors when it comes to wind turbines and solar arrays.
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