TRANSCRIPT
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Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider – taking you inside politics, policy, and government in Oklahoma. I’m Dick Pryor with Quorum Call publisher Shawn Ashley. We are three weeks into the legislative session, and committees are hard at work discussing bills. With more than 5,000 bills and joint resolutions to address, lawmakers have to move quickly. How much work have they done in the last week?
Shawn Ashley: A lot. More than 455 bills and joint resolutions were on subcommittee and committee agendas for the past week. Some committees' agendas were small, maybe one, two, or three bills, but others were large. One House committee, for example, tackled more than 30 bills in a two-hour-long meeting. Most of those 450-plus bills passed and moved on to the next step of the legislative process. Just over a dozen failed to advance. So, it seems like we'll have a lot of work to do as we move forward.
Dick Pryor: That's for sure. And Shawn, at that pace, how much time do they actually spend on each bill?
Shawn Ashley: It depends on the particular bill and the lawmaker's interest in it. And in addition to what they hear from constituents, lawmakers bring their real-world experiences and knowledge into the committee rooms and onto the House and Senate floor. Someone with ranching experience, for example, may ask more questions about a bill affecting large animal veterinarians. In the two-hour committee meeting I mentioned, legislators who spend a lot of time in the Capitol, particularly this time of year, spent half an hour discussing a bill that would allow Oklahomans with a concealed carry permit to bring guns into the Capitol, which currently is prohibited. That bill did not advance.
Dick Pryor: It should be said that there are multiple versions of bills that relate to the same topic, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are aligned.
Shawn Ashley: That is one of the things that surprised me when I first started covering the Capitol - that you could have multiple bills that did the same thing very differently. That's true this year in bills related to data centers that use large amounts of electricity. Three bills that approach that issue differently have passed House policy committees. House Bill 3392 by Representative Amanda Clinton, a Democrat from Tulsa, requires the Corporation Commission to study the impact of large load data centers on the power grid and their cost to consumers. House Bill 3917 by Representative Mickey Dollens, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, requires public utilities to develop new rates for large load customers. Additional revenue generated by those rates would go into a special fund for improving the electric grid. House Bill 2026 by Representative Brad Boles, a Marlow Republican, would require certain new large load customers to cover the infrastructure costs tied to their operations so those costs are not passed on to consumers. All three bills passed out of their committees unanimously.
Dick Pryor: Typically, there are numerous bills that gain notoriety early in the session, but wind up going nowhere. Do you see much of that so far?
Shawn Ashley: There are some hot button bills, but unlike previous years where there would have been one or two notorious bills, if you will, this session has been relatively quiet, at least so far.
Dick Pryor: So far. We expect education to be a major theme in this year's session. And that appears to be happening. What stands out?
Shawn Ashley: Lawmakers are very focused on student literacy, and they seem to be trying to address this issue from all angles. They already have passed a bill that would require students to show reading proficiency in order to receive their driver's licenses. They also have passed bills that require students to show proficiency in reading at the third grade level or face being held back. Another bill makes a reading support specialist pilot program an ongoing program of the State Department of Education. And yet another measure prevents adjunct teachers, those who don't have a teaching certification, from teaching several core subjects, including English language arts.
Dick Pryor: What is on the agenda for the week ahead?
Shawn Ashley: More committee work. The House will be focusing on the second step of its two-step committee process - oversight committees, which will take a second look at bills that have passed out of policy committees - and the Senate will continue to consider bills in its standing committees. They have until March 6th to do so.
Dick Pryor: Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go toquorumcall.online. You can find videoof Capitol Insider segments on the KGOU You Tube channel. Audio and transcripts are at kgou.org and look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. And, Shawn and I will be at Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City at 6:30 p.m. on February 26th for a Capitol Insider Conversation about this year’s legislative session. RSVP and submit questions at KGOU.ORG. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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