Two important House bills recently passed the Senate Appropriations committee. One will reimburse the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) fund, and the other expands the Pay for Success Act. If these gain the approval of the entire Senate they could be signed into law by the governor.




Last year the Legislature borrowed from the CIRB fund when we were dealing with budget shortfalls; it is time to pay back that money. Restoring CIRB funding is a big deal, particularly in rural Oklahoma where we have to drive longer distances than those in urban areas--often on roads needing greater repairs.


At one time, Oklahoma had 1,800 structurally deficient bridges, but lawmakers made transportation a funding priority and now that number is down to less than 200. Paying back the funds borrowed means our county transportation workers can continue bridge renovation while keeping other roads projects on track. When you see county transportation workers, thank them for their work.


The Pay for Success Act, meanwhile, would expand a program that allows private/public partnerships to help divert certain women from prison by treating them for substance abuse. We would rather them be treated, working and being reunited with their families, rather than in jail. Pay for Success is much less expensive than incarceration, and it is better for families and employers. The program has been immensely successful, changing the lives of the women involved as well as their families. This bill would broaden the act to be available to all state agencies, allowing them to contract with private entities to provide programs or services that achieve certifiable and beneficial results for state residents. The state would pay only if the desired results are achieved. The bill is a way to encourage innovation and benefit the state without risking state dollars on programs that may not work.




In other news this week, the state reached a $270 million settlement in its lawsuit against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. Our state’s attorney general has promised nearly $200 million will go to the Oklahoma State University Center for Wellness and Recovery in Tulsa, which will create a national addiction center modeled after the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. About $17.5 million will go to counties and cities to help them deal with the opioid crisis. The state has other lawsuits pending against additional manufacturers, so there could be future settlements as well.


Serving as the House budget chairman over mental health and substance abuse, I welcome the Purdue Pharma settlement. Yet, I was disappointed by the lack of communication from the Attorney General's office to the Legislature about the terms of the settlement and essentially bypassing the Legislature's appropriation process. In my opinion (I do not speak for the Legislature on this matter), the settlement belongs to you and those affected by addiction. Don't get me wrong; I believe a national addiction research center is needed. However, I will be fighting to ensure future opioid settlements are negotiated to benefit the entire state, not merely the northeast corner of it.


As always, I will keep you updated as the session progresses. Please feel free to reach out to me with your questions or concerns atmarcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov, or by calling my office (405) 557-7327.
 
God Bless! 
Marcus

​Thursday was what is called the "third-reading deadline." It is a deadline for all bills to pass out of their legislative chamber of origin in order to stay alive this session. The House finished its work just before noon Thursday after working many late nights for the past few weeks. In total, we passed 360 bills and resolutions over to the state Senate. We passed 167 this week alone. This is from a total of 1,754 bills and resolutions filed at the beginning of the session. I was able to pass 12 bills before the deadline.

Things went much more smoothly on the floor of the House this year than in my previous two years as a state representative. There was truly a spirit of bipartisanship. Many freshman lawmakers were able to pass pieces of legislation. We cheered for each freshman as their first bills were passed. This is a tradition in the House. Of course, there were a few topics that drew some ire, heated questioning and debate, but there was so much less animosity than in the past legislative session. We are disagreeing better.

Next week the workload will be lighter than normal; it is Spring Break week for many school districts in the state. Lawmakers will take a few days to spend with their families and get refreshed before coming back to the Capitol to finish the remainder of the session.
 
The next step in the legislative process is for the House to receive Senate bills they passed and the Senate to receive House bills we just passed. These bills will be assigned to various committees and then be eligible to be heard on the floor. If the bills are passed as they are, they can be sent to the governor to be signed into law or vetoed. If amended, they return to their chamber of origin for approval of the amendments and final passage. If amendments are not approved, there’s one final step known as "conference committee." This is a joint committee of House and Senate members who meet to hash out final details before a bill dies or is enacted.

Several pieces of legislation have already made it through the legislative process and been signed by the governor this year. These include agency accountability measures that will allow us more direct authority over the spending of taxpayer dollars and programs that benefit our state citizens. This comes by giving the governor direct hiring authority of five agency directors and the governor and the Legislature more appointment power over these agency boards.
 
As always, I will keep you updated as the session progresses. Please feel free to reach out to me with your questions or concerns atmarcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov, or by calling my office (405) 557-7327.
 
God Bless! 
Marcus

I had the honor of being the presiding officer in the House of Representatives this week. Four members from the class of representatives elected in 2016 with me are taking a turn running the speaker’s chair and presiding over the day’s business. Wednesday was my turn.
 
My time as presiding officer seemed to fly. I’m sure as I get more practice, the pace will seem to slow. The House considered a half-dozen bills during my stint. In the beginning, my mind raced as I anticipated what to do and say next. After the first couple of bills, I hit my stride. The floor ran smoothly the entire time I was in the chair.
 
The presiding officer’s job is a serious one since he or she must keep decorum and order in the House. Representatives are not just allowed to ask questions or debate freely; there’s an order to proceedings. The presiding officer directs members’ attention to the bills being presented and makes sure during questioning that members stay on questions and not stray to debate. If questioning or debate become excessive or duplicative, the presiding officer must decide when to bring the member to order. This can often spark anger. It’s a balancing act of allowing enough questioning to satisfy the requirement of being fully transparent in running the people’s government but not bogging down the process to the point that no legislation gets passed.
 
Presiding officers also are sometimes called upon to rule on whether members are adhering to House rules. One must be careful to be fair and objective, but with any ruling there is a real risk of angering one side or the other.
 
We often must call for order in the House and ask members to take their seats or their conversations outside of the chamber. As you can imagine, with 101 representatives, other staff members and pages all in one space, as well as people filling the House gallery, it can become a noisy place.
 
I look forward to my next time in the speaker’s chair.
 
On a separate note, my House Bill 1902 passed the House Appropriations & Budget Committee this week. This measure would increase the Medicaid nursing home reimbursement rate to improve the quality of care for our nursing home residents. It also would improve staffing ratios, increase staff training, and incentivize nursing homes to improve care using a pay-for-performance model that would improve rankings on quality of care. Our nursing homes are in great need of this additional funding. With better pay and better training, staff will be able to provide better care to the residents in these facilities. This measure now is eligible to be heard on the House floor.
 
I will keep you updated as the session progresses, and please feel free to reach out to me with your questions or concerns at marcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov, or by calling my office (405) 557-7327.
 
God Bless! 
Marcus

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