Budget negotiations began last week
One of the committees I serve on is the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Human Services, and we did extensive work last week to address mental health across the state. In addition, we have been working on the next state budget.
House A&B Chairman Kevin Wallace has worked with each subcommittee to finalize a budget that the House and Senate can agree on. Getting the members of both chambers to agree on a budget for the state is more challenging than I expected upon joining the committee several years ago.
When I came into the Legislature in 2019, there was very little money reserved in savings. Now, we have around $2.3 billion set aside to protect the state budget during economic difficulties.
I believe Oklahoma should take advantage of opportunities to grow our economy, but we should only do this if we have money in reserves. The Legislature and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt have moved Oklahoma into a strategic position to bring industry to our state, as well as cut taxes.
I’m the vice chair of the A&B Subcommittee on Human Services, which covers Medicaid and Medicare services. This has become another challenging area to navigate due to Medicaid expansion.
I’ve worked with Rep. Mark Lawson (R-Sapulpa), who is the chair of my subcommittee, to develop the budgets for the Department of Human Services, Department of Juvenile Affairs, Commission on Children and Youth, Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Office of Disability Concerns. The waiting list to access Developmental Disabilities Services is more than 1,300 people long, so we’ve also budgeted money to reduce the long wait for families. Combined, these make up nearly $1 billion in appropriations.
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In addition to budget negotiations, I’ve continued working with superintendents in Class 2A, 3A, and 4A sports to develop a plan that is equal for all students in our playoff system. This is an important topic that Stigler Public Schools Superintendent David Morgan asked me to pursue. It has been a major issue for the Stigler football team, who may face private schools that can recruit people outside the district during championship games.
I’ve been in frequent contact with David Jackson, the executive director of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA), to keep him updated on my discussions with the superintendents. No schools are being considered for removal from the association. Rather, we are looking at modifications within the OSSAA, with Jackson’s support.
On Thursday, I met with a small group of superintendents from both private schools and public schools that have been selected by their organizations to discuss possible solutions. We’re looking at differentiating schools based on restricted and unrestricted enrollment.
I think this would be very important for the public schools in House District 15, and I’m supportive of people on all sides of this.
I will continue to keep you informed of this process.
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If you have any questions on this or thoughts you would like to share, feel free to call my office at the Capitol at (405) 557-7375.
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Randleman, a Republican, serves District 15 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which covers Haskell County and portions of Muskogee, Sequoyah, LeFlore, Pittsburg and McIntosh counties.