Last week was the thirdreading deadline for legislation to pass from its opposite chamber in order to stay active this legislative session.
By the deadline, the House had passed 254 Senate bills and joint resolutions, and the Senate had passed 227 House measures.
Once bills pass their opposite chamber, they can move to the governor if they are unamended. The governor already has signed about 100 pieces of legislation into law so far this year.
If bills are amended, they must return to their chamber of origin for further consideration.
The House last week voted on a bill that would grant teachers a pay raise of between $2,000 and $5,000 depending on their years of service. We also passed a bill that would add step raises on the minimum salary schedule for teachers with between 26 and 35 years of experience.
In addition, we amended House Bills 1935 and 2775 in conference committee.
House Bill 2775 would appropriate an additional $300 million to public schools through the State Aid School Funding Formula with a priority to fund the teacher pay raises. An additional $300 million would go to the Oklahoma Student Fund to be distributed to schools based on the weighted average daily membership counts from the previous school year. Each district could receive up to an additional $2 million per year to be spent on classroom and other educational materials or programs.
HB 1935 would create the Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, which would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 for students attending an accredited private school for the 2023 tax year and up to $6,500 for tax year 2025 and after. Parents of students educated by other means could receive a tax credit of up to $1,000.