How the State Senate Works: Part 2

Capitol Considerations

A Weekly Column by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

How the State Senate Works: Part 2

On Monday morning I was in my office just after 7:30, reading over bills again and preparing for a presentation of one of my bills in a committee later in the morning. At 9:00 I was in the education committee where there were a number of bills I needed and wanted to vote on.

Three floors down from where I sat, the general government committee convened and began debating a dozen bills. One of those bills was mine. The problem was that I didn’t want to leave the education meeting until we had wrapped up our voting, but I needed to be in general government to present my bill.

My assistant contacted the general government committee chairman and let him know I would like my bill heard near the end, and he graciously agreed.

Thank God for cellular technology.

With my phone on silent, I was able to get regular updates from Holly, my executive assistant, on what the progress was in general government.

In education, the questioning and debate on bills was like the Energizer bunny, it kept going and going and going.

Frustrating?

A little.

But our system of government in the state of Oklahoma is a wonderful thing. We get to consider, discuss and debate all of our bills, from the simplest bill to clarify language to the extremely complex, and often we will debate a bill several times before it ultimately passes or fails.

Holly texted me that she thought the general government committee was down to the last bill before I had to present.

So, what was so important in the education committee?

I had my bill, a higher education transparency bill (SB 181), but I was able to present it and get it approved early on, but there were a few other bills I wanted to see stopped in their tracks. SB 514, which seemed to be laying the groundwork for the forced consolidation of rural schools, was one of those. SB 611 would force school districts to allow students in charter schools and virtual schools to participate in all extracurricular activities including sports, and would have created serious problems. SB 627 would have taken away a school district’s option to refuse a student transfer from outside the district. SB 824 would have taken away the guarantee of full payment for a teacher’s health insurance, which is probably the most important benefit for most of Oklahoma’s teachers. Take that away and see how many more teachers leave the state.

After my last vote in education, I hurried down the three flights of steps to general government. A couple minutes later I was presenting again.

My bill passed committee.

I hurried out of the committee room and over to my office, then to a caucus meeting lunch.

I love my job.

As always, I am interested in feedback from my constituents, so if you have any questions or comments, please email me at bergstrom@oksenate.gov. My office can also be reached by phone at 405-521-5561.

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