By Chancen Flick
This week at the State Capitol was very quiet on OPEA issues. Now that the major deadlines have passed, the Legislature is focused fully on finalizing the upcoming budget and working out the difference in bills through conference committees. OPEA still has some bills that are eligible for consideration, but we may not receive much notice on when these bills might be heard. As always, please keep an eye on our social media feeds and for Calls to Action via email.
Once a budget agreement has been reached between the House and Senate, things will begin to speed up dramatically. The Legislature has been using the Joint Committee on Appropriations & Budget (JCAB for short) to quickly pass budget-related legislation. JCAB allows both the House and Senate to hear budget-related bills simultaneously, thus cutting down the amount of time these bills would spend being transferred between chambers. JCAB is also a place where the policies in some bills could be revived after a deadline. So long as a policy had a fiscal impact, it could be brought up in JCAB hearings. OPEA staff are monitoring these proceedings closely and will be sending updates about any of our issues being included.
Below is a list of OPEA priority legislation that is still eligible for consideration through the end of the Legislative Session. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Chancen Flick at chancenf@opea.org
| HB 1396 | Hasenbeck, Toni(R) Floyd, Kay(D) |
Provides for an increase to court reporter compensation and maximum salary and creates an annual equipment allowance; EMERGENCY. |
| Last Action: | 5- 1-23 H Set on the House Floor Agenda |
| 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 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: | 5- 2-23 S Senate rejected House amendments |
