As the State Senate kicks off a busy week of the first session of the 55th Legislature, I wanted to give you a quick overview of the process we’ll see in the coming months.
Members of the State Senate convened on Monday for the first day of the legislative session, first in the Senate chamber, and then we reconvened in joint session later in the House chamber to hear the Governor’s State of the State address. Governor Fallin spoke of the budget constraints this year and reiterated the challenges we’ll face with less revenue to appropriate than last year.
February will continue to be hectic as committees work to hear bills that have been introduced this year. Only the bills approved at the committee level will move on to be heard by the full Senate, so with more than 800 Senate bills and 32 joint resolutions filed in the Senate and 1,219 bills and 26 joint resolutions filed on the House of Representatives side, our work is cut out for us as we focus on more than 2,000 bills that will be moving through various committees at the Capitol in the coming weeks.
Committee work is an integral part of the legislative process, and I’m honored to serve on four standing committees, including Education, Tourism & Wildlife, Public Safety and Appropriations. Additionally, I’ll be serving as the Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Select Agencies.
As we begin the 2015 legislative session, I encourage you to follow the bills and experience the legislative process by visiting the official State Senate website at www.oksenate.gov. There are many options available to keep up with what’s happening in the Senate. It’s simple to follow the link to track legislation at the top of the homepage. The Senate website also includes daily agendas, meeting notices, calendars, and other helpful information. Additionally, there is also a link for live audio and video streaming from the Senate Chamber, as well as from all committee rooms available on the website.
I am looking forward to the challenge of the new legislative session. There’s a lot to be done and I’m ready to get to work.
Throughout the legislative session I will be keeping you aware of Senate news and the business of the state. Please feel free to contact me at the state Capitol by calling (405) 521-5574 or by email at shaw@oksenate.gov.
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