By Chancen Flick
This week at the State Capitol has seen the end of another deadline. Thursday, April 27, 2023 was the deadline for all House Bills to have passed a floor vote in the Senate and Senate Bills to pass a floor vote in the House. This is usually acknowledged as the last major deadline before the Sine Die adjournment at the end of the legislative session. The Legislature will now focus the last few weeks on conference committees and on finalizing the state budget. OPEA has worked to advance some bills on to the Governor’s desk for final approval and others will be sent to Conference Committee for final legislative review.
Conference Committees are used when the House and Senate pass amended versions of the same bill. These committees meet, agree on a finalized version of the bill’s language, and send that version on to the House and Senate floor for a final vote. As these committees are often made up of assigned legislators instead of sitting committees, the conference committee reports can look drastically different than the original version of the bill.
Below is a list of OPEA priority legislation that has passed the last deadline. More updates will be forthcoming on bills being sent to the Governor or to Conference Committee. As always, please keep an eye out for Calls to Action and social media updates for current information throughout the week. If you have specific questions, please contact Chancen Flick at chancenf@opea.org
| HB 1396 | Hasenbeck, Toni(R) Floyd, Kay(D) |
Provides for an increase in to court reporter compensation and maximum salary and permits the Director of the Courts to use available funds for the acquisition and maintenance of court reporter equipment; EMERGENCY. |
| Last Action: | 5- 1-23 H Set on the House Floor Agenda |
| HB 1794 | Osburn, Mike(R) Pugh, Adam(R) |
Specifies the responsibilities of the Human Capital Management Administrator within the Civil Service and Human Capital Modernization Act. |
| Last Action: | 4-25-23 G Sent to the Governor |
| HB 1798 | Osburn, Mike(R) Thompson, Roger(R) |
Establishes a system to gradually increase state employee pay to the level of 90 percent of comparable private sector positions by 2026 and maintain that threshold moving forward. |
| Last Action: | 4-26-23 H Set on the House Floor Agenda |
| HB 2026 | Wolfley, Max(R) Pemberton, Dewayne(R) |
Requires the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to provide an association representing state employees with a monthly reconciliation report with information related to opted in members. |
| Last Action: | 4-27-23 G Sent to the Governor |
| HB 2375 | Kannady, Chris(R) Thompson, Roger(R) |
Extends the duration of the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims’ single judge to July 1, 2027 and adjusts various provisions related to workers’ compensation; EMERGENCY. |
| Last Action: | 5- 1-23 H Set on the House Floor Agenda |
| SB 193 | Garvin, Jessica (F)(R) Archer, Nick (F)(R) |
Provides for 6 weeks of paid maternal leave for state employees upon the birth or adoption of a child. |
| Last Action: | 4-25-23 H Passed/Adopted (Vote: Y: 70/N: 21) |
