By Rep. Ty Burns
The First Session of the 60th Legislature will start at noon Feb. 3. The first thing that happens each year is we hear the governor’s State of the State address. After that, we get to work hearing bills in various committees before they are eligible to be considered on the House floor.
I’ve been given new committee assignments this year. I will chair the House Appropriations & Budget Finance Subcommittee. This committee oversees funding legislation that has to do with the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Oklahoma Broadband Office. Bills passed by this committee then move to the full A&B Committee, of which I also am a member.
I also will serve on the Joint Committee on Appropriations & Budget (JCAB) and on the General Conference Committee on Appropriations (GCCA). The Oklahoma Legislature uses the JCAB to bring budget bills through each chamber before they are heard on the floors in each body. The GCCA uses the conference committee process to arrive at a single version of budget bills that have passed through the two legislative chambers in different forms.
I also will serve as a member of the Commerce & Economic Development Oversight Committee and on the Agriculture Committee.
The House this year has a two-tiered committee structure for all policy bills. Each policy measure that passes in regular committee will then be assigned to the appropriate oversight committee where passage must be gained before a bill will be considered for hearing on the House floor. This will ensure a full vetting of each measure before it is considered by the full body. We’ve always had this two-step method for appropriations’ bills.
Each year about 400 pieces of legislation get signed into law. This new committee structure should help us ensure only the measures that will do the most good for Oklahomans will make it through.
Once bills pass committee and on the floor in their chamber of origin, they must go through the same process in the opposite legislative chamber. If they pass both chambers, they’re sent to the governor for his consideration of signing them into law. We must end our session – sine die – by the last Friday in May.
If I can help you with anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to my Capitol office: (405) 557-7344 or [email protected].
Ty Burns serves District 35 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Pawnee County and parts of Creek, Noble, Osage and Payne counties.
