Capitol Update from Rep. Luttrell

Rep. Ken Luttrell represents District 37 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes parts of Kay and Osage counties.

This week we finally reached the finish line. After 67 legislative days we adjourned Sine Die for the first session of the 58^th Legislature and we achieved some big wins for the people of Oklahoma. This is the most comprehensive conservative session that I have ever been a part of, and the legislation that we passed this year will benefit Oklahomans all across our state.

Before I get into the legislation, I would just like to say how honored I am to serve as your state representative. I don’t do this for me, I do it for the people of the 37^th District and I hope I have served as a representative you can be proud of. I will now be back in the district more regularly and I hope to see as many of you as possible over the summer months. Here are some highlights from the session:

Education

• Implemented open transfer policy to expand parental choice (HB 2074, SB 783)
• Reduced class sizes in kindergarten and first grade through increased appropriations
• Maximized funding formula by making money follow student (HB 2078)
• Created charter and traditional school funding equity with Redbud School Funding Act (SB 229)
• Required passage of U.S. Civics Test to graduate high school (HB 2030)
• Banned teaching critical race theory in public school classrooms (HB 1775)

Tax relief

• Reduced personal income tax by .25% for all taxpayers (HB 2962)
• Reduced corporate income tax from 6% to 4% (HB 2960, HB 2961, HB 2963)

Budget

• Set state record for common education appropriations (HB 2900)
• Replenished savings to record $1.3 billion
• No functional budget reduction for any agency
• Funded Medicaid expansion per SQ 802 (SB 1045)
• Restored one-time pandemic changes to pension and transportation funds

States’ Rights

• Established constitutional process to challenge federal overreach (HB 1236)
• Expanded pro-life policies (HBs 2441, 1102, SBs 918, 778, 779)
• Protected churches from infringement of constitutional worship rights (HB 2648, SB 368)
• Protected female sports (SB 2)
• Supported more Second Amendment protections (HB 1630, SB 631)

Government & Elections

• Modernized civil service system to improve state government workforce (HB 1146)
• Addressed issues surrounding driver’s license backlogs (HB 1059, SB 1057)
• Completed fair, transparent, constitutional legislative redistricting plan (HB 1198, SB 1066)
• Add extra day of in-person early voting (HB 2663)
• Improved state questions by disclosing fiscal impacts, allowing recounts (SB 947, HB 2564)

Economy

• Set framework, incentives for broadband expansion (HBs 1124, 2928, 2040, 2946, SB 802)
• Sent $35 million to economic development funds for new jobs (HB 2900, SB 1082)
• Protected utility customers from large winter storm bills via securitization (SB 1049, SB 1050)
• Dedicated $15.5 million to Rural Economic Action Plan (HB 2900)
• Enhanced film industry recruitment efforts (SB 608)

Public Safety

• Protected public from rioters, government disruptions (HB 1674, SB 403)
• More criminal justice reform through Sarah Stitt Act, driver’s license reforms (HBs 1679, 1795)
• Required local jails to comply with immigration enforcement (HB 2774)

Thank you again for allowing me to serve you, it’s a privilege. If I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7355 or email me at [email protected].