Quick Roundup of State News

-CVS Whistleblower Confirms What I Have Been Telling You

I am glad to see insiders blowing the whistle on Pharmacy Benefit Managers’ (PBM) business practices. I have been attempting to stop this abuse of citizens and taxpayers for the past four years. It is nice to see what I am convinced has been occurring actually is occurring and it is very intentional. I will continue to fight, argue, and strategize to make these business practices known and attempt to stop them through policy.

This article is worth a read if you want to see how national PBMs are sticking it to those on Medicare by intentionally driving up the costs of drugs and also sticking it to community pharmacies. This must stop.

To learn more about PBMs, here is an entertaining and simple to understand video explaining them. You won’t regret it.

-988 is a Game-Changer for Mental Health

9-8-8 is the new three-digit lifeline to mental health services in Oklahoma. If you are dealing with crisis, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression or other mental health issue, you should try the number. You will be connected to a trained professional to get you the help you need. All calls are confidential and you may text the number, as well. The line is open 24/7.

-Highlights from Tuesday's Senate debate between Rep. Markwayne Mullin and Speaker TW Shannon

https://www.oklahoman.com/.../five-things.../65390279007/

Gas Prices Continue to Fall

Gas prices have fallen for the seventh straight week and should fall below $4 soon. The price could rise in some areas due to supply in the Northeast US. The average prices in Oklahoma and in Tulsa on Tuesday were $3.761 and $3.626, respectively, according to AAA. This puts OK with the third lowest priced gas in the nation. (GasBuddy; Tulsa World)

Oil and Gas Revenues to OK Skyrocket

Oil and gas revenues have skyrocketed to record levels in July. Last month, the state set an all-time high, but July increased only more.

Total collections in July of $1.38 billion are 13.3 percent higher than receipts in July of last year. Receipts from the gross production tax on oil and gas extraction set a one-month record of $187.2 million, up by $104.6 million, or 126.6 percent, from the prior year. This surpasses last month’s record by $16 million, or 9.4 percent.

“Gross production collections are coming in at historic highs, which are driving growth in overall revenues,” Treasurer McDaniel said. “Looking ahead, inflation continues to be a major concern, even though we’ve seen some minor relief at the pump.”(July 2022 Treasurer’s Bulletin)

Justin Brown Resigns at DHS and Samantha Galloway in as Interim Director

DHS Director Justin Brown resigned as the director of DHS, but will still serve as the Human Services Secretary. His interim successor will be Samantha Galloway. Galloway has worked for OKDHS as a legislative liaison, case manager in Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS), chief of staff and deputy director.

“The services we provide at OKDHS provide hope and empower Oklahomans to dream and strive for brighter tomorrows. I cannot imagine a nobler career path than this one I have been blessed to live at OKDHS,” Galloway said. “Like so many others in the agency, I am incredibly sad that Justin’s time has come to an end, but I’m also overwhelmingly grateful for the leader and friend he has been to me, as well as for the vision and renewed energy he has shown to the more than 6,000 dedicated employees who serve across all 77 counties. I am committed to continuing to build on our accomplishments together and to keep those we serve at the forefront of every decision we make.” (News 4 OKC)

Guardrails for Managed Care

I gave this fight everything I had, but it looks like the state is going to be forced to accept the governor’s $2.2 billion Managed Care Plan for Medicaid expansion.

Earlier this session, I amended Senate Bill 131 to require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) to implement internal managed care instead of outsourcing to out-of-state, for-profit, private corporations. The Senate rejected my amendment. Instead, the bill went to conference committee where some “guardrail” language was inserted. Though this issue will still need some work next year, this at least gives the Legislature some input into the boundaries within which the corporations tasked with overseeing Medicaid will need to operate to meet the needs of Medicaid patents and the health care providers who treat them.

Since contracts have been signed with these corporate managers, we at least should be able to say we are providing the best care and the best service for that plan.

I’m so proud of my colleagues in the House for the courage they displayed in passing my original amended version of this bill. They passed the new version of this bill Thursday. With $2.2 billion of taxpayer money at stake, we simply must retain some legislative oversight into how that money is spent, and at least allows that.

Also this week, the House approved the general appropriations bill to fund state government for Fiscal year 2022, which starts in July. This $8.8 billion budget is the largest and most comprehensive in state history. It contains a record $3.2 billion for common education, an increase of $210.3 million from last year. This will allow us to enforce lower class sizes in kindergarten and first grade grades. This hopefully will result in greater academic success for these students as they advance in school. This funding also will allow us to create greater equity for school districts in low property value areas, and it will boost per-student funding by getting rid of duplicate student counts in the school funding formula.

This budget also restores transportation funding, making the state’s ROADS Fund and our County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Fund whole after a year of borrowing from the funds to help other areas of government during the pandemic.

We’re also allowing $42 million in tax incentives for rural broadband expansion to underserved or unserved areas. This will benefit Oklahomans who now lack access to high-speed internet. This is crucial in our current society.

We’re also saving some money in this budget. We saw during the pandemic and during previous economic downturns how important it is to have some state reserves.

These are just the highlights of the budget. It’s much better than we could have anticipated at the start of the last fiscal year when we had no idea what the effects of the pandemic would be.

In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at marcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7327.
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God Bless!
Marcus

Last Leg

The Legislature this week met its third-reading deadline for bills and joint resolutions to be passed from the opposite chamber.

We started the session with 1,987 House bills and joint resolutions filed; 503 of those made it out of House committees; 416 passed the full House and were sent to the Senate; 354 of those passed out of Senate committees; and 278 of those passed the full Senate.

So far, a total of 141 House measures and 183 Senate measures have been sent to the governor. He’s signed into law 79 House measures, vetoing two, and 101 Senate measures.

If bills are amended in the opposite chamber, they must return to their chamber of origin for final passage. If the chamber of origin accepts amendments on a bill, it can be sent to the governor. If the original chamber rejects amendments, the bill can still move to conference committee where members of the committee from both chambers work to come to an agreement on final language for the bill. Honestly, many bills die in conference committee, but some are passed and come back to the chambers for final approval before moving to the governor.

The two weeks leading up to a deadline are filled with long days and sometimes long nights as we hear, question and debate multiple measures in the chamber. This week, I presented 35 of the 185 Senate bills heard in the House. It was exhausting, but we were able to pass needed legislation.

I want to highlight one of the bills the House passed this week. Senate Bill 229 would correct funding disparities for traditional public schools in low property value areas while addressing the needs of brick-and-mortar charter schools.

The State Board of Education recently settled a lawsuit that would have allowed local funding sources, including ad valorem taxes, to go to state charter schools. The board’s decision was made in part because charter schools are paid less per student than traditional schools. Charter schools also can’t pass bonds for building needs.

The problem was this would have shifted tens of millions of dollars away from traditional schools. We realize brick-and-mortar public charters need building funds, but, we don’t want to take the money from other schools.

Instead, SB229 creates the Redbud School Funding Act, which proposes using medical marijuana taxes and the Common School Building Equalization Fund to provide annual per-student funding grants to charter schools. The grants also would go to traditional Oklahoma school districts that receive below average funding for their education from annual local tax revenue. We’ve found there are 334 such districts in the state.

This is a great solution to help equalize school funding for all districts.

In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at marcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7327.
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God Bless!
Marcus

Budget Negotiations

While the Legislature is in the process of hearing numerous bills over the next week, there is another feverish process going on to finalize the state budget.

House and Senate budget leaders are meeting each week to go over the most current revenue figures and negotiate each chambers' funding priorities. The race is on because we must pass a balanced state budget before the last Friday in May when we are constitutionally required to sine die.

Education, which gets more than 50% of each year’s budget, is always the first topic on the weekly agenda. This year, we hope to give education more than $100 million additional dollars with the hope schools will be able to meet classroom size limits specified in state statute. Lowering classroom sizes should help students get more individualized instruction, improve academic outcomes and help teachers.

Fortunately, the budget picture looks favorable for funding Medicaid Expansion. I would be singing a different tune if substantial pandemic relief federal monies had not been injected into our health care agencies. Those funds will keep Medicaid afloat for the next two years. Please be aware that the third year of expanded Medicaid will be the true test of our budget because the federal relief money is likely to be depleted by that time.

With all this talk about funding priorities, we also hope to save some money this year as we have in the past. This is a wise decision since none of us knows what might be lurking around the corner.

The good news is we have about $7.9 bill to appropriate this year. This is just slightly more than we appropriated last year. It is pretty miraculous to me the state is in a relatively flat budgetary position considering the uncertainty wrought by COVID-19.

Writing about the budget this late in session may lead you to think we do not work on it all year, but we do; it is a year-long process. As soon as one state budget is signed, we begin working on the next one. During the interim, House and Senate budget leaders meet with various state agency heads to discuss their future needs. By November, those agencies must deliver to the Legislature their official budget requests for the next fiscal year, which starts the following July.

In February, the governor delivers his budget priorities to the Legislature during the annual State of the State Address. The House and Senate both have funding priorities, as well. This begins the process of negotiating the budget, which occurs throughout the session. Negotiations have been fairly smooth this year and when we complete it, it will be drafted in the form of several appropriations bills that must pass both the House and the Senate before they are delivered to the governor for his final approval.

In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at marcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7327.
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God Bless!
Marcus

Investigating Land Purchases

Lawmakers throughout Oklahoma have heard concerns from many of our constituents about the purchase of large tracts of land by non-U.S. citizens and foreign business entities – those formed under the laws of foreign countries. In many instances, the property is paid for with large amounts of cash at above market prices, which locks out local farmers and ranchers and other state residents who want to purchase this land. Many of these tracts are being turned into marijuana growing ventures.

Of course, such individuals and entities can purchase land in the U.S., but this is occurring at an alarming rate throughout our state and others. The fear is the potential for underlying criminal activity and the threat that poses to U.S. safety and security and to the states where the land is purchased.

With this in mind, 50 other representatives and I sent a letter to the state’s Attorney General Mike Hunter voicing our support of his efforts to work with local and statewide law enforcement to track these questionable transactions and determine if illegal activity is in fact occurring.

The letter follows House Bill 1497, which prohibits property ownership by aliens from countries that ban United States citizens from owning property in that country. It passed in the House 88-5, and now awaits Senate approval.

Hunter is the chief law enforcement officer for the State of Oklahoma. If violations are occurring, it will be up to him to report it to any other federal or state entities with jurisdiction over such matters.

The other representatives and I will support Hunter’s compilation efforts in any way we can including encouraging our local law enforcement officers to cooperate with his office in gathering information to determine if further investigation is warranted by any other state or federal agency.

In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me at marcus.mcentire@okhouse.gov or (405) 557-7327.
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God Bless!
Marcus