Thursday, April 14th is the legislative deadline for bills to be heard by the opposite chamber’s committees. This legislation deep dive is going to cover some of the less newsworthy bills that are benefiting Oklahoma State Employees. Check the full legislative report for the most up-to-date information on market-based pay & across the board pay raise legislation.
House Bill 3709 by Rep. Carol Bush & Senator Dave Rader
This legislation allows veterans who have been honorably discharged to buy up to five years of state service. The veteran will have to buy the years of service, but that cost will be different depending on your job with the state. Currently, veterans of combat theatre have access to a similar perk, but this extends that privilege to everyone who served in the armed forces and was honorably discharged.
HB 4190 by Rep. Jon Echols & Senator Kim David
This bill adds an additional 8-hour holiday for every Oklahoma state employee. This extra day off is a floating holiday. This means that the employee gets to choose when they will take this holiday, but the agency limits the day selection to a few options. The days you can choose to take off are Good Friday, Juneteenth, Statehood Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, or the birthday of the employee. The day must be selected by the employee and approved by the agency. The agency will more than likely require employees to request the floating holiday selection yearly so that they can make sure the days off are staggered to guarantee that the state office can operate on the floating holidays!
SB 1136 by Senator Paul Rosino & Rep. Marcus McEntire
Some Department of Human Services Employees actively put themselves into dangerous situations to remove someone else from that dangerous situation. Currently, DHS employees do not have increased protections under state law, and they are not allowed to carry any form of self-defense with them into these dangerous places. SB 1136 seeks to add an additional deterrent to anyone who may harm an OKDHS employee by making it a felony to assault a DHS employee while they are at work. This law includes every OKDHS employee even those working roles such as administrators and facility maintenance.
