Monday, May 15, 2023

Remember in school when you procrastinated all semester and suddenly found yourself overwhelmed with so many deadlines and so much work that you went to sleep Sunday night wondering whether you could get everything done or whether you should just change your name and skip town?

Welcome to the penultimate week of the Oklahoma Legislature's 2023 regular session, where — EEEK, OMG OMG OMG! — lawmakers have a lot left to do. Before we run down the list, let's talk timeline to underscore the urgency and long days ahead:

• The Oklahoma Constitution says the Legislature must adjourn by 5 p.m. Friday, May 26. The Constitution also states that lawmakers have a duty to pass a balanced budget.
• Working backwards from May 26, the governor of Oklahoma has five days (excluding Sundays) to sign, veto or let bills become law without his signature. That means lawmakers must get all their measures to the governor's office before it closes this Friday, May 19, if they want time to consider overriding budget bill vetoes, which could include line-item rejections from the governor.
• It takes four days to reveal and fully pass budget bills through the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget process. So if the primary appropriation bills are heard Tuesday in JCAB, they can be heard in their chamber of origin Wednesday and their opposite chamber on Friday. (There's a required day of inaction so the bills don't get tired, or something.)

All of that is to say, legislative leaders worked this weekend to prepare for passing some sort of budget this week. Whether the budget includes a "deal" on education funding and school choice remains to be seen, but the hour is nigh. To that end, House JCAB meeting notices have been filed for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and (*sigh*) Saturday. As of this distribution of this email, Senate JCAB notices have not been posted.

As the week unfolds, you can check the status of JCAB agendas here: House | Senate

For a refresher on last year's agency appropriations, click here.

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1 minute:
Where the stalemate stood Thursday

After nearly three months of acrimonious negotiations between the House and the Senate over a massive education funding and reform package, leaders of the Oklahoma Legislature have made significant progress toward a deal that could pump upwards of $600 million into public education and create new refundable tax credits for private school and homeschool families.

While the first week of May ended with Senate and House leaders grousing about their counterparts in dueling press conferences, negotiations made headway last week at the Governor’s Mansion. After discarding a quickly-conceived "grant program" idea that went over "like a turd in the punch bowl," conversations continued to progress — thanks in part to former Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Taylor's (unpaid) role as mediator. (Rumors are swirling that Taylor will likely be back at the Capitol this morning.) 

By the time most people left the Capitol on Thursday afternoon, the two chambers were functionally about $50 million apart on a potential deal. What was proposed in that compromise? How did it unfold?

It's a good thing you are a loyal reader ....

Click for more about the education negotiations.

2 minutes:
Will the Senate's hurt feelings heal?

When it comes to drama, the 2023 Oklahoma legislative session has seen more than its fair share. On at least two occasions, Gov. Kevin Stitt and the House of Representatives have insulted the State Senate. Now, entering the final days of regular session, questions linger about whether the Senate's bruised ego will result in further turmoil.

To understand the background, time travel Feb. 16 during the second week of session, when House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) unveiled two bills proposing school choice tax credits and public education funding. Three weeks later, McCall said if the Senate amended his proposals "they are voting to kill the legislation."

Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-OKC) called McCall's instruction "asinine" and emphasized the upper chamber's role in the legislative process. The Senate amended the bills, the House rejected those amendments, and Gov. Kevin Stitt proposed a "compromise." The House embraced Stitt's proposal and sent it to the Senate, which called the House's formula-busting "Oklahoma Student Fund" simply unpalatable.

Always impatient with government machinations, Stitt jumped in the proverbial puddle and soaked senators with 20 vetoes of "unrelated" Senate bills. He threatened to keep vetoing Senate measures until they acquiesced to the House's new education proposal. The Senate took great umbrage, rejecting two Stitt Cabinet nominees and firing another education proposal back at the House.

While Stitt's bum rush may have spurred further talks between the chambers, it soured senators on the governor's alliance with the House, and it somewhat united a Republican Senate Caucus that had been fractured for a year.

Now, with so many balls and bills left in the air, the senators have advanced a myriad of Stitt appointees through committees, but they are waiting to see if Stitt pulls other veto shenanigans before they confirm those nominees on the Senate floor. (Several Senate committees have scheduled meetings for additional nominees this week.)

Underscoring the tension, word spread Wednesday that some senators seek a Stitt apology for his vetoes and his disruption of the legislative process. During his Thursday media availability, Stitt renewed his call for tax cuts and said "shame on us" if the Senate refuses to lower the state's income tax rate.

Asked if he would consider apologizing to senators for his brash April 26 vetoes, Stitt responded quickly: "If it would get a tax cut, bring them in right now, I'll apologize. If it'll get us a tax cut, absolutely."

Alerted of Stitt's statement by NonDoc on Thursday, Treat paused. Perhaps momentarily forgetting his request to hash out education negotiations in public, he ultimately replied: "I'm not negotiating through you. But I appreciate it."

5 minutes:
More ARPA money moving

Beyond needing to pass a Fiscal Year 2024 budget this week, legislators are also set to appropriate more than $92 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for a bevy of workforce, water and capital projects. The Legislature's Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding met Thursday and — despite a mind-numbing discussion of OMES finances lasting for 45 minutes — recommended full approval of various projects.

Lawmakers are likely to take those up during either Monday's or Tuesday's JCAB meeting. The projects and funding recommended Thursday are:

• $1.3 million for expansion of a nursing program at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami;
• $1.25 million for expansion of a nursing program at Rogers State University in Claremore;
• $7 million for expansion of a nursing program at East Central University in Ada;
• $4 million to the Ronald McDonald House for a new facility at Mercy Hospital in OKC;
• $2 million to Bethany Children’s Health Center for their pediatric longterm care facility;
• $15 million to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for the tribal-match co-investment grant program on water-system needs in the state;
• $3.18 million to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for targeted water infrastructure investments in Deer Creek, Woodward and Lincoln County;
• $10 million to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for smaller infrastructure needs involving water, sewer and dam improvement grants;
• $12.8 million to the Department of Human Services for eligible nonprofits, intended to increase access to food;
• $600,000 to the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission to address negative impacts for the state’s two aerospace museums;
• $4.7 million to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
• $5 million to Southwestern Oklahoma State University for Hodge Center pharmacy program building;
• $1 million to Southeastern Oklahoma State University;
• $3 million for Northeastern Oklahoma State University for expansion of its optometry program;
• $18.4 million to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to support the Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health;
• $2.2 million to the Oklahoma National Guard for its first responder center;
• $1.19 million to the Oklahoma National Guard for its joint operations center.

7 minutes: How will health care fare?

A variety of health care-related appropriation proposals have been lost amid the education kerfuffle this year at the State Capitol. As a refresher, make sure you've read about health information exchange fees, the bond debt exacerbating OU Health problems and $760 million worth of FMAP money available for targeted investments.

But last week, as legislative leaders tried to piece together their other budget priorities, the interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs suddenly told lawmakers the agency needs $10 million to $12 million of additional appropriations just to meet financial obligations starting July 1. The news and its timing frustrated legislators who are crunched for time while facing several decisions.

“I do believe this could possibly impact the budget for this year,” Senate Appropriations and Budget Chairman Roger Thompson said Friday. He and others said conversations would continue today.

On May 9, Thompson shared his thoughts on other health-related appropriations during a press scrum.

“One of the main areas of concern I have (…) is our nursing home care. We’ve got some nursing homes, especially in rural Oklahoma, that are really struggling,” Thompson said. “So we’re looking at a number this year — of just keeping them open and operating — of an additional $45 million. Now, I personally believe that there is enough money within the Oklahoma Health Care Authority that we can simply just repurpose that $45 million and will not have to appropriate new money to them to do that.”

Thompson also mentioned potential appropriations to the "County Community Safety Investment Fund," which SB 844 has now directed toward mental health services across the state. He also expressed support for $2.9 million of appropriations for improving mental health transportation services.

The Senate budget chairman also said he is "comfortable with the direction" that OU Health's finances are going, and he said he is "not interested in any more bonding for them at this particular time."

Asked May 5 if OU Health would benefit from one-time debt service support if funding were available from the Legislature, OU President Joe Harroz said it "would be incredibly helpful" to address the debt accumulated when OU Health bought out a private hospital management company in 2018. But Harroz floated a different idea if money is available: reinstating state financial assistance to OU Health for "uncompensated care" of people who are uninsured or unable to pay major bills after accessing the state's health care safety net. Harroz said that when OU's system was operated by the private management company, such state assistance was not allowed.

"Part of our conversation is now that it's a not-for-profit again, now that it's serving just the state and not taking dollars out of state, should we reinstate that historic amount to cover indigent care?" Harroz said, noting it would equate to "tens of millions" of dollars to "cover the hard costs" of caring for uninsured and underinsured Oklahomans.

With hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans expected to lose Medicaid eligibility in the coming months, legislative leaders have many health care questions to answer in crafting the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

Read more about ODVA's financial situation.

10 minutes: Seasoning the veto chorizo

As noted above, Gov. Kevin Stitt loves his veto pen. He has used it liberally over his five years in office, most recently axing 20 "unrelated" Senate measures in an effort to cajole the Senate into tax cuts and the House's education package.

As a result, legislators already have 42 vetoed measures to consider for overrides in the next two weeks, and the vetoed status of at least two major bills — important to the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine and the OU Athletic Department — has created a game of political chicken.

Stitt, however, has always seemed to care less about the drama in the Capitol than he does about the politics of the public. On Thursday, he thawed out a different meat metaphor in reiterating that message to media.

"You guys in here know how the sausage has been made," Stitt said at his press availability. "But 3.99 million Oklahomans, they don't even know what's going on right now."

Even if Stitt is correct that most Oklahomans are enjoying the bliss of ignorance about their state government, leaders of the state's two largest universities are working the Capitol hallways to drum up override support. In particular, OSU wants HB 2863 to become law despite the governor's objection. The bill would create the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority in an effort to ameliorate the financial, operational and accreditation challenges facing the state's only veterinary medicine college.

Meanwhile, OU officials are pushing for an override of SB 840, which would provide more flexibility regarding "name, image and likeness" (NIL) rules for college athletes — specifically, who can represent them. While Stitt offered specific critique of the OSU Veterinary Medical Authority bill — questioning "oversight" of the proposal's $50 million bonding capacity — he vetoed the NIL bill with his message of frustration to the Senate.

The Legislature is also considering whether to override a variety of other bills, including measures important to tribal nations and HB 2820 to extend the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority's existence. That bill has drawn national attention, as OETA operates four PBS affiliates in the state. In the wake of his veto, Stitt has articulated frustration with episodes of children's shows that feature or reference LGBTQ characters, but his own proposed budget's preservation of funding for OETA has left many lawmakers viewing the veto as an effort to fry up red meat for voters who might otherwise recognize the political theatrics of his other vetoes.

To find a list of all 42 bills vetoed by Stitt this session (so far), click here, choose "Governor's Action" under the "Selected Step Reports" tab, and select "All Types" of measures and "Vetoed by Governor" under actions. Then, fire up the grill and prepare some burgers for the Stitt show that may be about to unfold.

BONUS: Have a terrific Tuesday!

Is there any way to make a long week tolerable at the Oklahoma State Capitol?

How about free steak sandwiches and ice cream? Would that do the trick?

For some fantastic reason, the annual Beef Day at the Capitol coincides with the annual Ken Nance Memorial Ice Cream Day on Tuesday this week. Could there be a more wonderful coincidence? No. Will the doors to JCAB meetings be dotted with sticky fingerprints? Likely. Will the legislators who get their boots shined by the (contracted) Sole Brothers Shine Parlor on the 2nd Floor have the courtesy to tip? TBD.

If you're lucky enough to enjoy a Terrific Tuesday, as they say at the south entrance of the Capitol, be sure to thank the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association for Beef Day and lobbyist Brian Nance for the ice cream!

Legislative resources