OKLAHOMA STATE SENATE / From the desk of Sen. Jessica Garvin
Two weeks ago, the Legislature adjourned sine die, meaning this year’s four-month legislative session was over. This was my fourth regular legislative session and my most successful one yet.
In the final week of the session, my colleagues and I approved the state budget for fiscal year 2025. We also voted to confirm many of the people Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed to serve in his Cabinet and on state agency boards and commissions. Both legislative chambers also voted to override a handful of the governor’s vetoes, override votes that included two of my bills.
I’m pleased the Senate and House both successfully overturned the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 102. This legislation, that will take effect next summer, improves the retirement benefits offered to Oklahoma police officers who devote their lives to keeping others safe. To offset the benefits increase, the officers and the municipalities that employ them will be asked to increase their retirement contributions.
Meanwhile, the state’s Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System is currently funded at 106%. Members of the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police have told me time and again that cities are struggling to recruit qualified candidates and retain the officers already on staff. I’m optimistic this legislation will entice more Oklahomans into this critical public safety profession.
Two other retirement reforms I authored this year to benefit public safety personnel advanced to the governor’s desk in the final days of this session. I hope the governor will sign these bills to improve retirement benefits for volunteer firefighters and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers.
Both legislative chambers also overrode the governor’s veto of a House bill I coauthored that prohibits health insurance companies from refusing to cover durable health care equipment and supplies prescribed by a health care provider, regardless of whether the provider is in-network.
So far, the governor has signed into law nearly 20 bills I introduced or coauthored during the 59th Legislature. Included in those is the Women’s Bill of Rights, which the governor signed on Friday. I’ve been working for the past two years on this legislation that updates state law to define “sex” as a person’s biological sex at birth. This will protect women in restrooms, locker rooms, domestic violence shelters by keeping biological males from encroaching into women-only spaces.
This bill that will take effect in November also prohibits unfair sex discrimination while also allowing the government and other entities to differentiate between the sexes when it comes to biological, privacy or safety issues. This legislation prioritizes the safety and security of Oklahoma women, and I’m glad the governor acted quickly to sign it into law.
I’m proud of the work my Senate colleagues and I accomplished during this session. Although the Senate won’t reconvene until next year, I will keep working each and every day for the residents of Senate District 43. Although I am looking forward to having more time to spend in the district in the coming months, I will still be up at the Capitol off and on for meetings, events and interim studies.
If you have any questions or concerns on legislative matters, please contact me at the Capitol by emailing me at Jessica.Garvin@oksenate. gov, calling me at 405-521-5522 or writing to Senator Jessica Garvin, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.
