House Completes Bill-Filing Process

OKLAHOMA CITY (January 18, 2011) – At the conclusion of the filing process on January 17 – the last day for state representatives to file legislation – there were 1,259 bills and 43 joint resolutions filed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 2013 legislative session.

Last year, the House Chief Clerk’s Office reported that 962 bills and 26 joint resolutions were filed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 2012 legislative session.

House Schedule for 2013 Legislative Session

Ready-or-not, Here We Come!

• Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 11 a.m. - Oath of Office Ceremony, House Chamber

• Friday, December 14, 2012 - Deadline for Representatives to request bill drafting for potential legislation

• Thursday, December 27, 2012 - Deadline for Representatives to submit substantive bill language to staff for bill to be drafted with language by bill filing deadline

• Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - Organization Day, Speaker of the House will be formally elected

• Thursday, January 17, 2013 - Deadline to introduce bills for consideration during 2013 Legislative Session

• Monday, February 4, 2013 - First day of the 2013 Legislative Session

• Thursday, February 28, 2013 - Deadline for House Bills to be heard in House Committee

• Thursday, March 14, 2013 - Deadline for House Bills to be heard in the House

• Thursday, April 11, 2013 - Deadline for Senate Bills to be heard in House Committee

• Thursday, April 25, 2013 - Deadline for Senate Bills to be heard in the House

• Friday, May 31, 2013 - Sine Die, last day of the 2013 Legislative Session. (Governor has 15 calendar days after Sine Die in which to sign or veto bills passed during the last week of the Legislative Session.)

Fewer Bills Introduced by Bill Filing Deadline This Year

OKLAHOMA CITY  –  At the conclusion of the filing process this Thursday representatives had introduced 962 bills and 26 joint resolutions while senators introduced 972 Bills and 45 joint resolutions.

The deadline for legislators to file bills for the upcoming 2012 session was 4 p.m., January 19. 

These numbers do not include carryover bills. Carryover bills are bills that are introduced during the first regular session of the Legislature, the 2011 session in this case, and are still available during the second regular session. 

In 2011, the House reported that 1,168 substantive bills and 41 joint resolutions were filed. The Senate introduced 976 substantive bills and 45 joint resolutions by the deadline last year.

The Senate has 753 bills and 41 joint resolutions carried over from the 2011 session while there are more than 500 bills and 60 joint resolutions carried over in the House.

Appropriations bills are not subject to the deadlines pertaining to substantive bills. 

The 2012 legislative session officially begins Monday, February 6. 

Rep. Nelson Requests Interim Study On Local Control of School Districts

The goal of the study is to determine the best way to give local school districts more flexibility and discretion so that they can better compete in an environment of expanding school choice. 

The study will consider the impact of reducing state mandates on local school districts and teachers, what mandates should be eliminated and under what circumstances. The study will also consider how deregulated districts are monitored and how to measure the effectiveness of more local control. 

Specifically, the study will consider language contained in Senate Bill 264 (2011). 

Tomorrow, June 14 is the deadline for submitting interim study requests. The list of approved studies will be issues no later than July 8. 

Click here to view the current list of interim study requests.

Legislature Adjourns For The Year

The Legislature adjourned today for the year following a historic session that saw successful passage of a sweeping, pro-growth, conservative agenda.

Speaker Kris Steele
R-Shawnee

“This was a very successful legislative session,” said House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee. “The Legislature laid an ambitious foundation for the state this year that will allow us to reach our full potential.”

The House recessed today and will not convene next week unless there is an emergency. The formal Sine Die will occur May 27 at 5 p.m. The Legislature will not have to convene for Sine Die to occur.

“The breadth of the accomplishments by the Legislature and our other statewide leaders this year is remarkable,” said House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee. “Oklahomans can take pride in knowing the state is set up to grow and thrive in the 21st century.”

Steele praised lawmakers for their work this year to advance major agenda items.

“We succeeded in creating an environment where businesses can succeed and families can prosper,” Steele said. “We made landmark reforms to our civil justice, workers’ compensation, pension and corrections systems. We also started to roll back the size of government while increasing the efficiency of important government services through modernization and consolidation. We advanced legislation defending family values and constitutional rights. And finally, we passed a balanced state budget that did not raise taxes and protected core services.

“To do all this and still be able to adjourn early is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all our legislators and staffers.”

The following were among the major agenda items passed out of the House this year:

A balanced $6.5 billion state budget;

• Lawsuit reform that reduces harmful, frivolous lawsuits by placing limits on damages awarded through civil actions;

• Workers’ compensation reform that provides increased savings to employers and puts injured workers back on the job faster;

• Education reforms that improve student reading skills and place more accountability on schools and teachers;

• Corrections reform that alleviates the fiscal and social strains caused by high incarceration rates;

• A well-received legislative redistricting plan that fairly redrew the boundaries of all 101 House districts;

• Government modernization that makes the state’s technology operations more efficient;

• Government consolidation that streamlines duplicated services, saves money and increases the efficiency of all government services;

• Pension reform that reduces unfunded liabilities by $5 billion;

• A closing fund that will help the state attract new businesses;

• Policies that protect the Second Amendment rights of citizens;

• Policies that protect the sanctity of life;

• Policies that uphold family values.

In addition to the legislation the House passed this year, several changes were made to legislative process that resulted in increased transparency and accountability.

For the first time, conference committees were required to meet publicly and bills to be heard in conference committees had to be posted publicly beforehand.

Also, new tools allowing the public to follow the legislative process online continued to be added to the House website.

“These changes brought a higher level of transparency to the Legislature so the public can be better-informed about the good work conducted on their behalf,” Steele said.

Senate Pro Tem happy about the direction of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma State Senate adjourned today capping off a year of legislative victories that will mark the most successful session for government reform and conservative goals in the history of the state. Leading an ambitious caucus that aggressively delivered on goals that have been on Republicans’ agenda for decades, President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said he was proud of the accomplishments.

Sen. Brian Bingman
R-Sapulpa

“I am very happy about this session and all that the Senate accomplished this year,” said Bingman. “As a state, Oklahoma is moving in the right direction.”


Mentioning the sweeping reforms passed into law this session, Bingman said that the Senate began its work with an aggressive agenda. “Our Republican caucus agenda was big and bold; it was easy to criticize because it went after so many reforms that conservatives have pushed for decades in Oklahoma but have been unable to accomplish until now because of our GOP majority and Republican governor.”


The current legislature is the most Republican in state history, which along with a Republican governor has given the GOP an opportunity that Senate Republicans did not pass up. “We live in a conservative state, the people have spoken and we are listening,” said Bingman. “Our priorities were to reform state government in a way that eliminates inefficiencies and duplication so that government size and costs are reduced. The federal government should follow our lead in cutting government, including the tax cuts that we enacted.”


“When is the last time the legislature saved as much as it spent,” asked Bingman referring to the massive cost savings that resulting in this years historic pension reform that erased more than $6 billion from the unfunded pension liability. “Oklahoma is an example to the rest of the country; the days of no fiscal accountability and liberal tax and spend policies that left our state with billions of debt are over. We cut taxes despite the $500 million budget shortfall. We then balanced a budget that is the same size as the amount of money we saved on pension reform.”


Bingman included praise to the Senate Democrats. “I firmly believe that this is a body of 48 valuable members that have all added greatly to the process this year. While we have a majority and a minority caucus, both have contributed by offering their life experiences and expertise as a unique perspective and conscious on every issue that we addressed. Our strong finish is a result of diligent work from Democrats and Republicans alike.”


“I cannot thank my colleagues enough; they all did such a great job this session working hard and diligently to the end.

1,153 bills filed in the Oklahoma House for the 2010 session

OKLAHOMA CITY (January 14, 2010) – At the conclusion of the filing process at 5 p.m. on Jan. 14 – the last day for state representatives to file legislation – there were 1,153 bills and 31 joint resolutions filed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 2010 legislative session.

This is the second year members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives were able to file bills electronically, increasing efficiency and moving the state one step closer to a "paperless" government.

Last year, the House Chief Clerk’s Office reported that 1,270 bills and 46 joint resolutions were filed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 2009 legislative session.

Of last year’s measures, 901 House bills carried over and remain alive this session, as do 48 joint resolutions.

House Finishes Work on Senate Bills

The House of Representatives finished the first round of work on Senate bills this last week. We will now focus on conference committee work as we seek to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate in the bills that remain. The budget will also move to the top of the heap as we get close to the end of session and get a better understanding of the impact of the Federal Stimulus.