McCall announces State House committee, leadership appointments

House Committee, Leadership Appointments Made

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives committee leadership and Republican majority leadership appointments have been made for the 59th Oklahoma Legislature.

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, was formally elected Tuesday by the full House to his fourth two-year term as speaker, making him the longest-serving speaker in state history. Speaker Pro Tempore Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, was formally elected Tuesday by the full House to his first full term as speaker pro tempore, the chamber’s second ranking officer.

Community schools pilot program approved by State House

Community Schools Pilot Program Approved by House

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that would institute a pilot program for the community school concept advanced from the House on Monday. House Bill 3374 is authored by Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City.

Community Schools make use of up to $100,000 per school district of federal funds to allow schools to hire a resource coordinator who becomes familiar with individual student and family needs and pulls together resources available in the local community help meet those needs.

"Students in different schools have very different needs," West said. "These can range from needing extra reading support, to after- and before-school programs, mental health services and more. The community school concept allows us to use federal funds to put these resources into the hands of our students and families to improve their lives."

West, who is a parent of three children educated in public schools and who previously served on the Putnam City School Board, said the community schools concept prioritizes local control by connecting parents and students with local community partners. It encourages efficiency by combining existing school resources with community resources rather than duplicating services. All of this is done with no added costs to school districts. Instead, schools would use federal funds made available through grants.

HB3374 would authorize the State Board of Education to help local school boards create pilot projects to align such resources to ensure students' needs are met. The measure also directs the board to award federal grants so districts could employ a resource coordinator. Statute is necessary to draw down the federal funds for the program.

The legislation specifies that schools would complete a comprehensive student needs assessment involving stakeholders to see what students, families and the schools actually need. Schools also would involve site-based collaborative leadership and include an ongoing stakeholder engagement process.

An amendment to the bill directs that the resource coordinator will complete Hope Leadership training, which is part of First Lady Sarah Stitt’s Hope Rising Initiative proposed during Gov. Stitt's State of the State address this year. West said Sarah Stitt has shown support for this initiative and has tentatively offered resources from her Hope Foundation to help it succeed.

Community schools are based on six principals:

New PAC launches to support Oklahoma Republican women running for office

NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE LAUNCHES TO SUPPORT OKLAHOMA REPUBLICAN WOMEN RUNNING FOR ELECTED OFFICE

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 5, 2021)— A new Political Action Committee (PAC) launched today to help build the bench of Republican women running for elected office across Oklahoma.

The Promoting Oklahoma Women in Elections & Representation (POWhER) PAC is a network of grassroots individuals committed to helping inspire and support Republican women running for office at all levels of government and strengthening the network and unity of Republican women across the state.

Each year, the POWhER PAC will issue checks to eligible women running for election, hold member-only events with PAC endorsed candidates and host an annual networking event for members with former and current elected Republican women.

“We have seen an increasing number of Republican women from across the nation raise their hand to run for office, and we are committed to elevating that movement here at home,” said the POWhER PAC board members. “Our desire is to help inspire and support female candidates and give them the boost they need through financial support and our membership network. We welcome Republicans across Oklahoma - women and men - to join this grassroots effort to help talented, conservative women run for office, deliver change and lead our state at all levels of government.” 

State House Judiciary Committee holds interim study on Restorative Justice programs

Tammy West Studies Restorative Justice

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 20th) – State Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City, the chair of the Majority Caucus in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, today held an interim study examining the issue of restorative justice as an alternative to traditional criminal justice models for non-violent offenders.

The study was held before the House Judiciary Committee.

“I wanted to take a closer look at restorative justice programs and how they are working in other states and how they might be a viable alternative here in Oklahoma as part of our overall reform of the criminal justice system,” West said.

Jason Hicks, a prosecutor with Oklahoma’s Sixth Prosecutorial District, explained how he got interested in restorative justice as an alternative form of justice in Oklahoma.

Hicks said there are too many people inside our prisons on low-level, non-violent charges. Restorative justice keeps people safe but deals with these offenders in a different way. What caught his attention was the program was victim-centered. He said it is so important for victims to have a voice in anything that is done. Another plus was the low recidivism rates for offenders who went through the program. It also is community-driven, which is something missing from traditional criminal justice programs.

He said the program restores the victim and the community while educating the offender.

Jeff Reisig, the district attorney for Yolo County, CA, and Nicole Kirklady, director of Neighborhood Court in Yolo County, spoke about the success of their program.

Reisig said he’s a traditional DA serving a mix of rural and urban cities, much like most of Oklahoma. He said his mission is to seek justice and do justice, but he found that often in the traditional court system it worked too much like a turnstile, giving victims very little say in the punishment of their offender. This program is completely voluntary for both the offender and the victim, and it gives victims a say in a punishment they feel is appropriate. He said victims are compensated for their crimes and they work to make sure the victim is made whole. It also gives community volunteers an opportunity to have input into the process. It’s also important to note, Reisig said, that the offender by the end of the program is restored to the community where they can become an active participant again, which he said adds to the success of the program.

He said this has reduced incarceration and recidivism rates in his county. He said another important component is that this is DA-driven and not something forced upon the DAs. He also said his department has been able to make this work on a shoestring budget.

Reisig explained the program does not take sex offenders, DUI offenders or perpetrators of certain other crimes. He did say, however, that many of the people that formerly were on the other side of the picket line from prosecutors, the police and the courts have now become their best community partners.

Carrie Slaton-Hodges, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuses Services, said this type of program could help Oklahoma in several ways. It would give offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and to listen to the side of victims and the community about how their crime impacted them, which is incredibly important in changing behavior. She said this also could help stop offenders earlier in their trajectory before crimes move from misdemeanors to felonies. In addition, it gives communities the opportunity to see where changes might be needed to help stop some offenses. For instance, were crimes committed because of a lack of access to food, transportation or other services?  

Jari Askins, director of the Oklahoma Administrative Office of the Courts, and Phil Johnson with the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program, explained how the ADR program currently works in Oklahoma and how that program might be used to support a restorative justice model here in the state.

Kathryn Brewer with the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council spoke about potential legislation that could help create a restorative justice program in Oklahoma. She said there are easy statutory fixes that could make a pilot program available as soon as next Nov. 1 as long as funding can be identified. She said the program would be a win-win for everyone.

Tammy West serves District 84 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes part of Oklahoma County.

House committee passes bills protecting teacher and student contact info

Rep. Tammy West Passes Bills Addressing Breach  of Teachers’, Children’s Private Information

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Tammy West (R-Oklahoma City) passed two bills in committee recently addressing the breach of private information of public employees, including public school teachers, and children.

House Bill 3040 and House Bill 3460 will protect private and personal contact information for current and former public employees and Oklahoma public school students.

“This will keep third parties from being able to mine this sensitive information and capitalize on it,” West said. “This strengthens the language in statute to remove all doubt about how this information is to be protected and kept private.” 

House Bill 3040 shields certain private information, such as home addresses and phone numbers, social security numbers and private email addresses or private mobile phone numbers of current and former public employees from public inspection or disclosure.

House Bill 3460 allows all educational institutions to designate specific student information, such as a student’s name, address, and phone number, as classified directory information. Any educational institution that is not the primary custodian of the directory information, but that can access the directory for educational purposes, is prohibited from releasing or selling the information without written consent of the local school board. The State Board of Education and the State Department of Education are not permitted to designate student information as classified directory information, as stated above, but shall keep personally identifiable student information confidential unless authorized otherwise by federal law.

West said in the last month there have been two concerning breaches of private information. While such actions already are illegal, this legislation helps clarify the law and establishes expectations.

West said the language of the bills was a combined effort of the Oklahoma Public Employee Association, the Oklahoma Press Association and the State Department of Education.

Rep. Mike Osburn (R-Edmond) was a co-principal author of the bills and is chair of the House Government Efficiency Committee where the bills passed.

“Strengthening our privacy laws to protect our citizens’ private information should be one of the highest priorities,” Osburn said. “I was proud to work with Rep. West on this important legislation.”

Both bills are now eligible to be considered by the entire House.