State Senator Chris Kidd Senate District 31
(Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson, Stephens and Tillman counties)
August 19, 2019
I hope everyone has had a good summer and is getting back into the swing of the school year. We’ve spent the last couple of months working in our districts updating our constituents about new laws and the budget. Our attention is shifting towards next session as interim studies and other meetings are getting underway.
More than 70 Senate interim studies were approved along with 90 in the House. These will be conducted at the discretion of the chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over the topics. Those who have requested studies are currently working with their chairmen to educate them about why their studies are needed and what they hope to accomplish.
As dates and times are set, the schedules will be posted on the Senate website. Information for each study can be found under Committees and Interim Studies. Once each meeting is conducted, the presentations and any other documents will be available as well.
Two bipartisan, bicameral working groups have also been assembled to find ways to improve healthcare outcomes in the state as well as to create the new Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT). Working groups are different than interim studies given that members are appointed by leadership whereas studies are assigned to specific standing committees.
In both interim studies and working groups, experts from around the nation are brought in to share research and tell what has and hasn’t worked in their industry or state. Business owners as well as private citizens who have been impacted by an issue are also brought in to share their perspective.
Interim studies typically involve a day or two of testimony while working groups can last several months. You’ll remember that one was held last year to help figure out the framework for the medical marijuana industry in the state.
The healthcare group is looking to find ways to make Oklahoma a top ten state in various health indicators rather than one of the bottom ranking states. They want to improve access to high quality healthcare, especially in rural Oklahoma; improve our uninsured rate; lower obesity and our smoking rate; and address other health issues plaguing our state.
The LOFT committee is in the process of creating the job responsibilities for the new agency’s director and then they will begin the job search. Once a director is in place, more financial and budgetary experts will be hired to begin diving deep into state agency spending and program performance. This agency will be able to provide the legislature and public up-todate financial information to improve agency transparency and accountability as well as make the state budgeting process more efficient.
I’ve been traveling around the district in recent months visiting with numerous groups about this past session and the budget as well as listening to their concerns and gathering their ideas for future legislation. This is the time that we must work together on bills for the upcoming session. If you have any ideas or concerns, please contact me as soon as possible. The bill filing deadline is the first week in December. We’ll use the information gathered in the various interim studies to help us as we decide what bills we’re going to file this session.
In closing, I was honored recently to receive the 2019 Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association Legislative Award for my support of important public safety legislation this past session. Our law enforcement officers have such a difficult job and I’m determined to do all I can to make their jobs easier and ensure their safety as well as the public’s.
At the State Senate, I can be reached by writing to Senator Chris Kidd, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 427, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, emailing me at kidd@oksenate.gov, or by calling
(405) 521-5563 and speaking to my assistant Suzanne Earnest.