Bills passed accomplished many of the Republican Governor’s stated priorities, such as election reform, an ‘anti-riot’ bill, a vaccine passport ban, improvements in water quality and cracking down on social media and China.īut certain legislative traditions will never die, like scrambling to add a flurry of last-minute amendments. If priorities did slide by, they don’t appear to be Gov. It is too early to tell what the lasting impact, if any, the lack of people in the Capitol will have. Normally gregarious politicians often lamented the loss of human contact. Lobbyists had to lean on previously established connections. Stakeholders hoping to have sway were largely confined to generating impact over Zoom meetings or in remote testimony from the Donald L. Even mask-wearing Capitol employees made a weekly visit to tents set up outside the Knott building to undergo nose swabs for COVID-19 tests. The Capitol building, this year, was mostly closed to lobbyists and the public. The 60-day Session, instead, ushered in a lot of firsts for the state legislature. Marred by COVID, in a lot of ways, the 2021 Legislative Session was forced to eschew tradition. The final adjournment of the 2021 Session will mark one of the few traditions upheld during a Session unlike any other. Thanks, and may God bless you and this great state.The end of Legislative Session in Florida is called Sine Die. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. Work continues at the local level, and I know we’re all glad to be home for a bit. By ending formal session early, lawmakers are saving taxpayer dollars while spending much-needed time back in their districts. The short answer is this – the Legislature absorbed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexpected cost through both special legislative sessions and other major events that occurred this year. Some people have asked why lawmakers opted to adjourn three weeks early instead of sticking it out through the end of May to continue policy work. We are on the right track, but there is still much work to do. This is huge because line-item budgeting keeps bureaucrats accountable to the legislature and, ultimately, the people. Also, we saw the legislature return to line-item budgeting this year. As those experts relay their findings to the Legislature, we will consider our practices and adjust as necessary. The Agency Performance and Accountability Commission will be invaluable as lawmakers move toward forming each year’s budget. The Incentive Evaluation Commission is integral in ensuring the money we spend on tax credits and incentives reap a good return on investment.
Thankfully, we have developed important checks and balances that should constantly evaluate government spending. I am keenly aware the money the Legislature doles out belongs to you, the taxpayer. My goal is to properly fund core services without bloating government and do so without waste. These departments have undergone years of funding cuts, and providing them with budgetary increases was a welcome relief. When you combine those additional dollars with the revenue measures lawmakers passed this session, our state agencies should feel the difference. As our economy continues to rebound, more money flows into our state’s general revenue fund. Of course, the biggest achievement this session was balancing the state budget. I’ve heard concerns about these reforms not going far enough, but I know we can all agree these are important steps toward bettering the future of so many Oklahomans. By doing so, Oklahomans will have a better chance of staying out of prison and getting their lives back on track. The Legislature’s hope is to transfer those savings to intervention and diversion programs as well as mental health services. By investing money into the front end of people’s lives, instead of stacking felonies and increasing sentence lengths, Oklahoma should be able to reap millions of dollars in savings. My colleagues and I passed nine measures aimed at streamlining our sentencing structure, authorizing bonds to fund repairs at state penitentiaries and creating risk assessment tools. The reforms I have the most hope for concern our state’s criminal justice system. "Sine Die" is the end of session it is a latin term that means "without day" or adjournment. Despite the early Sine Die, legislators were able to accomplish some significant policy gains this session. Lawmakers adjourned the Second Regular Session of the 56th Legislature on May 3, wrapping up work three weeks earlier than is statutorily required.
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