Week 4: Bills, Bills, and More Bills

This week’s update won’t be as long as last week’s, but that doesn’t mean our schedules haven’t been getting longer. We adjourned on Thursday at 6:29 PM after working for most of the day, and next week, we should be on the House Floor at least until 8 PM every night. There are many bills to consider before the deadline to pass all bills out of the House chamber on Thursday, March 14th.

I was excited that the House passed three agency accountability measures endorsed by the House, Senate, and Governor. These bills give the Governor the ability to hire and fire agency heads, along with providing the legislature with oversight through at-will appointments. I believe these bills will help modernize our state government and move us forward in the 21st century.

I passed HB 1071 (“The Paeway Bill”) off the House Floor. I’ve enjoyed collaborating with leaders from ODOT, OTA, and Highway Patrol on this piece of legislation. We have scheduled quite a few meetings in my office, exchanged numerous emails, and agreed on the proposed bill language regarding speed limits. Indeed, ODOT, OTA, and Highway Patrol support this bill. Initially, I proposed increasing the speed limit on turnpikes from 75 mph to 80 mph. Based on discussions with OTA, we also wanted to bring ODOT to the table - hence why there is a provision that was drafted by ODOT staff to give them discretion for increasing highway speed limits from 70 mph to 75 mph. HB 1071 now moves on to the Senate, and I look forward to working with Sen. Montgomery to pass this legislation through that chamber.

If you’re interested in receiving newsletters and updates from me throughout the legislative session, please send me your email address. I’ll also regularly update constituents through my website: http://www.danielpae.com/news

As always, I can be reached via email at daniel.pae@okhouse.gov and phone at 405-557-7374.