Fiery weeks at Capitol

The weeks leading up to a legislative deadline can get hot at times – patience wanes, and the mood becomes testy. We hear dozens of bills on the House floor each day. We get inundated with emails and calls explaining what measures do and don’t do, who is in favor or opposed to certain pieces of legislation, and much more – all in an attempt to either win passage of a bill so it advances or to kill it. We generally hold several caucus meetings to debate which measures have the most merit and to take the temperature of the caucus on other bills to see if they have the votes to put on the floor.

On the floor, authors of contentious bills generally face numerous questions. Tempers sometimes flare. Debates get a little fiery as passions get stirred. If we’re not careful, feelings can get hurt. We try hard, however, to maintain a level of decorum in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Cool heads from the presiding chair and the bill’s presenter, and a bit of humor, often go a long way toward softening hard edges.

This past week was one of those weeks. We heard 158 bills in the House over the course of four days. That means we’re a little over a quarter of the way through the number of bills that passed out of committees and are eligible for a vote on the floor before our March 24 third-reading deadline for bills in their House of Origin. We won’t hear all of those measures, but we’ll hear enough to pass a considerable load of work over to our colleagues in the Senate. They’ll give us our fair share of work as well.

At the same time, we’re hearing numerous bills, we’re answering constituent requests. We’re babysitting legislation already in the opposite chamber. We’re talking to people involved in various pieces of legislation. We’re negotiating the state budget and attending meetings and so much more. Though it’s quite busy, it’s actually an exciting and stressful time, one that makes me grateful to be a legislator – believe it or not. I like doing the people’s work and don’t mind working under pressure. Having to work with others to make sure bills get heard and passed is exhilarating. 

One of the bills I authored passed this past week on the House floor. House Bill 3498 is designed to help us attract computer software employees and companies to our state. These jobs are quality, high-paying jobs. The bill extends a tax credit for the first five years of employment that incentivizes the hiring of Oklahoma-educated software employees. An example of the types of companies we hope to attract is Northern Data, which recently announced it will make a $270 million investment in building its North American operational headquarters in Pryor, initially employing 150 people. I’d like to see these types of companies all across our state employing Oklahoma-trained workers.

We’ll be back at the Capitol next week to face more of the fire. We will be ready. 

Please feel free to contact me at marcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7327.