Rep. Cody Maynard
Wednesday, on the House floor, the Legislature expressed Oklahoma’s support for the country of Israel through House Concurrent Resolution 1006.
Israel is a long-standing ally of the United States of America. Over the years, Oklahoma and Israel have cultivated a warm relationship based on shared interests and respect. I was honored to recognize the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence.
Last week we finished the third-reading deadline for legislation to pass from its opposite chamber.
Once a bill passes its opposite chamber, it can move to the governor if it’s unamended. The governor has already signed over 190 pieces of legislation into law so far this year.
If bills are amended in the opposite chamber, they must return to their chamber of origin for a vote to accept or reject the changes. If amendments are rejected, the bills have one final possibility to advance in the current session – through the conference committee process. This is where members from both the House and Senate committees where the bills were originally considered gather to approve or disapprove final language. Many measures die at this crossroads, but a few survive.
Now that the major policy deadline has passed, the House is starting to focus on finalizing the state budget for Fiscal Year 2024, which begins July 1.
The House has second-read several bills scheduled for our Joint Committee on Appropriations & Budget. We have a record amount of about $12.6 billion to appropriate, but we still have to negotiate where this money goes, how much we’ll leave in state savings, and how much we will return to taxpayers in the form of tax relief.
Over the next few weeks, the Appropriations and Budget chairs and subcommittee chairs, along with fiscal staff, will work together while negotiating with the Senate and governor’s office. Accomplishing a balanced budget is the one thing we are constitutionally required to do as a Legislature each year.
Again, thank you for electing me to serve District 21. It is truly an honor and privilege to represent you at the State Capitol. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any concerns at 405-557-7366 or cody.maynard@okhouse.gov.
Rep. Cody Maynard, a Republican, serves District 21 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which covers Bryan and Marshall counties.