Capitol Update from Rep. Luttrell

Rep. Ken Luttrell, a Republican, serves District 37 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes parts of Kay and Osage Counties.

Our third week of session started out with a snowstorm that we were warned about, but that not many of us were prepared for. For all of you dealing with burst pipes, lost power or other difficulties during this unprecedented week we’ve had, please know that if you need assistance you can reach out to my legislative assistant and she will direct you to the correct resources.

Although life stalled in many places around our state, the work at the Capitol had to continue as we fulfilled our constitutional duty to the people. We have one more week for bills to be heard in committees and we passed a number of important bills out of committee during this week of session. A school funding reform bill, that would help the money invested in a child’s education follow the student, passed the House Appropriations and Budget Committee by a vote of 25-7.

A bill regarding long term care visits also passed out of the Health Services and Long-Term Care Committee that would protect the rights of those in a long-term care facility to have visits by friends and family members. During COVID many of our long-term care facility residents went weeks and months without seeing family members, and some are still being denied those visits today. This bill would remedy those situations.

Additionally, House Bill 1783, a piece of legislation I authored that would authorize the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission to assume jurisdiction over amateur kickboxing, passed out of the Tourism Committee by a vote of 6-0.

Finally, the Board of Equalization approved $9.6 billion in appropriations authority for Fiscal Year 2022. This is an increase of $1.8 billion over appropriated expenditures for Fiscal Year 2021. Our main functions as legislators are to properly represent you at the Capitol, and to be good stewards of your tax dollars. As we appropriate these dollars our goal will be to do more with less for the benefit of all Oklahomans.

That’s it for this week, but stay tuned for my next update. Thank you for your continued support.

If I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7355 or email me at [email protected]. Once again, if you have any needs arising from the weather of this past week, please don’t hesitate to call or email and we will get you pointed in the right direction.