Legislative Monitoring Committee Chair Shanda McKenney introduces OBA Legislative Liaison Clay Taylor during the Legislative Kickoff event in January

            As of this writing, it is two weeks into the First Regular Session of the 59th Legislature, and your Legislative Monitoring Committee is hard at work keeping an eye on legislation that may be of interest to Oklahoma’s attorneys. If you were unable to attend the 2023 Legislative Kickoff in person, you haven’t missed out completely! An online video replay of the program is available at https://bit.ly/3Esi4gr, and viewing it can earn you some CLE credit, too!

            During the event, Clay Taylor and Angela Ailles Bahm presented the basics of how legislation winds through the system and how the public can keep track of its process. After that, several substantive bills were presented by OBA members. One of the highlights of this program, “60 Bills in 60 Minutes,” was provided by the following speakers:

• Stacy Acord, McDaniel Acord (Family Law)
• Paul Cason, Goodwin/Lewis (Civil Procedure/Courts)
• Amber Peckio Garrett, Amber Law Group (Cannabis Law)
• Teena Gunter, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Government)
• Seth Paxton, Paycom Government Affairs (Native American Law)
• Taylor Venus, Venus Law Firm (Environment/Natural Resources)

            Following the presentation of highlighted bills by topic, Jari Askins moderated a legislative panel, which included OBA members Sen. Brent Howard, Sen. Kay Floyd, Rep. Chris Kannady and Rep. Jason Lowe.

            The next major event for this committee is OBA Day At the Capitol, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 21, beginning at the Oklahoma Bar Center in Oklahoma City. We will hear from several speakers regarding the progress of the session. Following a networking lunch, we will walk across the street to the Capitol building to meet with legislators and introduce ourselves as resources in specific subject matter areas.

            If you have an interest in the work this committee does, please visit http://bit.ly/3wwswQA. If you are particularly interested in any specific legislation, please keep the following remaining deadlines in mind:

• March 2 – deadline for bills to come out of committee
• March 23 – deadline for bills to be voted on the floor in the house of origin
• April 27 – deadline for bills to be voted on the floor in the opposite house
• May 26 – sine die adjournment of the Legislature

            As always, you can check the legislative calendars yourself, track specific bills, get contact information for legislators and so much more by visiting www.oklegislature.gov.