A message from Representative Patzkowsky

Hope everyone had a happy Easter and enjoyed some fellowship at church and with family.

Seems like spring is finally here. Much different than what we had in February. On the unprecedented temperatures we experienced in February, the utilities in the state are searching for ways to ease the burden on Oklahomans left to pay the huge electric and gas bills set to start coming in soon. Because this ice and snow storm hit the entire U.S. at once, we couldn’t borrow power as we normally might, and utilities had to go to the open market to purchase gas and electric power at peak rates. Legislators are examining exactly what happened and looking for ways to stop this from occurring in the future. In the meantime, we are working with utilities to allow them to bond some of the extra cost and pay it back over time. They would then be able to spread the high gas and electric bills from February to their customers over time as well.

I spoke to Lance Terry, our 9-1-1 coordinator, on Monday. Good news. Beaver County is to come online this month. Cimarron County and Harper County have a plan in place and could be ready later this year. This will help those who need emergency services.

In the House, the deadline for Senate bills to be out of House Appropriations and Budget subcommittees was April 5, and the deadline for Senate bills to be out of House policy committees is April 8. We have until April 16 to pass bills out of the full Appropriations and

Budget Committee and until April 22 to pass them out of the House. The Senate meanwhile is hearing many of our House bills.

If bills are amended in the opposite chamber, they have to go back to their chamber of origin to be approved before they move to the governor. If they pass as is, they can go straight to the governor to be signed into law. At the same time, we continue to work on the state budget.

Well that’s the news from the state House. Soon, I’ll be heading back to the farm house.