A State of the State luncheon was recently held by the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce with guest speakers State Senator Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, and Oklahoma Energy Resources Board Executive Director Mindy Stitt.
Garvin provided highlights of this year’s activity at the State Legislature, while Stitt provided information about OERB offerings and activities.
Senator Garvin is a member of the Senate Rules Committee, the Health and Human Services Committee, Retirement and Insurance, Tourism and Wildlife, General Government, and Rules. She discussed the highlights of this year’s legislative session.
Garvin said the legislature gave a record amount of funding for teacher raises as well as six-months maternity leave. They also provided six months of maternity leave for state employees. She said an investment in families is an investment in the workforce.
They signed legislation which funded a Health Information Exchange for $30 million, giving providers access to medical records. Individuals are able to opt in or opt out. Also for healthcare, they increased reimbursement funding to long-term health care facilities. She noted that the state has lost more than 100 health facilities to care for people in the last 10 years.
She said the legislature started a grant program for safety in school districts, providing additional campus officers and technologies. Garvin also said they created a medical authority at the Oklahoma State University Veterinary School, began work on a Civil Rights Trail, and had further reforms put into place for the Medical Marijuana industry.
In the question and answer session, Garvin discussed possible tax cuts but warned about the state’s gross production taxes seeing a decrease. She said the legislature does have a select committee working on tax reform, but she believes they need to look at tax reform for the every day Oklahoman, as well as the needs of cities.
In a related news item, the State Treasurer announced in his August report, that a slowing economy is reducing the gross receipts to the state treasury. He said the gross production tax collections from energy companies fell from $205.6 million in August 2022 to $82.3 million in August 2023, a decrease of $123.3 million or 60%.
There were also mentions by Garvin of potential legislation dealing with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, and the upcoming court rulings dealing with the Access Oklahoma program.
Stitt, executive director of the privatized state agency the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB), said the agency she heads focuses on well site cleanup in the state, programs for the school districts such as the one about driver training and safety held at Newcastle High School earlier this year, programs for teachers, educator awards, STEM grants, and scholarship programs.
Stitt showed those attending a short-form video of Mike Rowe touting Oklahoma’s energy industry while on one of his visits to the state. The OERB’s reason for existing, according to their website, is to follow a mission of helping the people of Oklahoma build a better, more secure future. They said they are making a difference.
The website further states that OERB contributes billions of dollars to education, fueling the economy, and driving scientific innovation and technology. They are also stewards of the land and the environment.
One of the OERB programs entails nominating your local educator as a Top 20 Teacher. Stitt asked those attending to nominate one of their teachers for the award. Nominations can be made at https://oerb.com/topteachers/ and are being taken through Monday, September 18. Winning educators get $5,000 for themselves and $2,000 for their schools.
In other Chamber of Commerce business, new Newcastle Schools Athletic Director Brent Hodges was introduced, as was Sleepy Hollow Dog Boarding owner Christy Roberts, True Sky Credit Union representatives Daniel Garcia and Miranda Wakefield, local home builder Jay London, and Crystal Welch.
