This year’s legislative session ended on Thursday after I had an extremely productive week at the Capitol. I passed three bills and voted in support of the state budget proposed for the upcoming fiscal year.This budget increases appropriations from the current fiscal year, but that’s largely due to one-time expenditures for targeted investments in state services. The spending plan includes increased funding for public education distributed through the school funding formula. There are also additional dollars for off-the-formula school districts. The budget includes pay raises for some judges, district attorneys and law enforcement personnel. Also included is funding for key public safety initiatives, including a new Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation headquarters and a new Department of Public Safety tactical training center. OETA, Oklahoma’s PBS affiliate, will receive new funding for infrastructure upgrades to continue broadcasting severe weather alerts and public safety announcements to every corner of the state. This budget also contains $45 million in critical funding to help communities like Barnsdall recover and rebuild after recent tornadoes.The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will receive $200 million in new funding to speed up infrastructure projects in growing rural areas. Rural counties will also receive more funding for road maintenance under a bill that eliminates an existing cap on the amount of motor vehicle tax collections that currently go to counties. This budget also sets aside long-term funding for the state to address deferred maintenance at public colleges, universities, state parks and other state-owned properties. With an initial investment of $350 million, the state and our higher education institutions will be able to tackle building repairs and improvements that have been put off for years. Overall, I think this is a strong budget that will benefit Oklahomans across the state.Senate Bill 809, which amends a pandemic-era law that allows some businesses to sell to-go cocktails, was among my final bills to advance this session. This measure clarifies the procedure for a restaurant or other business to provide a customer a to-go beverage as part of a drive-through or pickup order. SB 809 also updates the definition of beer after the ABLE commission fined a business for breaking the law by serving a mixed drink. What ABLE classified as a mixed drink, though, was just a beer with a piece of fruit in it, which is a common way to serve a Corona, Tecate or Blue Moon.The Senate also passed Senate Bill ...
