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Last week, the legislature was in session Monday through Friday voting on a number of policy bills. The final two days culminated in marathon floor sessions that lasted over 12 hours. We’ll come back this Friday to officially adjourn sine die (a Latin phrase that means “without a day for future meeting”) and potentially vote to override vetoes from the Governor. Indeed, we ended up overriding four of the Governor’s vetoes on Wednesday evening. I’ve written a separate post about the significance of these veto overrides. Whether it’s this vote or any other conclusions I’ve reached on the myriad of bills we’ve voted on, you may disagree with my final decision, and that’s absolutely fine. Because we’re human beings, we’re not going to agree 100% of the time, but I’m more than happy to talk with you about my thought process and logic on policy issues. HB 3350 was one of the most significant piece of legislation that passed through the legislature last week. This bill will finally give a cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) to our state’s retirees. The compromise agreement consists of those who have been retired for less than two years not receiving a COLA, those who have been retired between two to five years receiving a 2% COLA, and those who have been retired more than five years receiving a 4% COLA. I hope the Governor signs this bill immediately. Overall, we spent the past two weeks legislating what would normally be two months’ of work. The COVID-19 pandemic made this year’s legislative session a highly unusual one. On the other hand, addressing the crisis led to cooperative relationships between the two political parties and two legislative chambers. I will now focus my time and energy on constituent services. There are quite a few emails, messages, and calls that I need to catch up on. Please continue to communicate with me if there’s anything I can do to help, particularly if you need assistance filing for unemployment insurance. #PerseveringForLawton has been my top priority, and I’ll continue to do my absolute best to help Lawtonians in #OKHD62. As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. 
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As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
PHASE 2 OF REOPENING UNDERWAY
DAILY STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT
 As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
STATE BUDGET ENACTED
CYBERSECURITY GUIDANCE UPDATED
DAILY STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT
As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
HOSPITALIZATIONS CONTINUE DECLINE
PROCESSING PLANT HELP AUTHORIZED
DAILY STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT
As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD INCREASING
ECONOMIC IMPACT PAYMENTS CONTINUE
WEEKLY EPIDEMIOLOGIST REPORT
It’s been a while since I’ve written a weekly recap of what’s happened at the Capitol. If this were a normal legislative session, we would’ve begun the conference committee process after passing policy bills through the opposite chamber of origin. After over a month of working in our districts, we’re back at the Capitol to finish the 2nd Session of the 57th Legislature. Even though restrictions have been loosened to allow public access to the Capitol, there are still strict sanitation protocols that have to be followed, and I’ve worn a mask while working in the building. We’re constitutionally obligated to pass a budget, and that’s exactly what we did this week. The budget for Fiscal Year 2021 is not perfect, but given the volatile economic situation with COVID-19, it’s a budget that minimizes adverse effects on core services. While projections called for double digit percentage cuts, this budget limits the cuts to low single digits. Additionally, we anticipate that federal funds will help alleviate these cuts, particularly for common education, so we’re still able to protect vital programs and resources. If economic conditions improve during the next several months, then the legislature can pass supplemental bills next session to further lessen the impact of budget cuts. I want to thank House and Senate budget leaders, fiscal staff members, and subcommittee chairs for working diligently during the past several weeks to draft a budget during these difficult times. Civic leaders of states and municipalities across the country are making tough decisions during this unprecedented crisis. It’s easy to blame and criticize. It’s more difficult to lead and govern. Right now, the reality is that there are no good policy options because of how much uncertainty there is with COVID-19 and what the next several months will look like. I’ll continue to do my absolute best serving Lawtonians in #OKHD62. I’m not perfect nor do I know everything, but I’ll keep working hard to serve you. Please continue to call, text, Facebook message, or email me if you have questions or concerns. And if you want to receive email updates, please let me know, as well. We’ll keep working at the Capitol during the next two weeks to pass as many policy bills as possible. Please pray for all of our civic leaders to make the right decisions and help our fellow Oklahomans. And finally, I want to congratulate the University of Oklahoma’s Class of 2020, who will be participating in a virtual commencement ceremony later this evening. May is traditionally when graduation ceremonies occur, and many schools have decided to celebrate graduates virtually this year. I want to encourage every graduating senior, whether you’re graduating from high school or college, to never give up and remember your possibilities. As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374.  As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY LEGAL PROTECTION BILL PASSED
WORKFORCE RECOVERY FUNDS AWARDED TO OKLAHOMA
DAILY STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT
As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
TRIBAL RELIEF FUNDS COMING SOON
COUNSELING SERVICES AUTHORIZED
DAILY STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT
As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374. HEALTH DEPARTMENT STATUS
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Daniel PaeDaniel is the Republican Representative from Oklahoma's 62nd House District Archives
May 2020
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