Start here to be ready for Oklahoma’s 2017 legislative session

Today is the first day of the 2017 legislative session. Governor Mary Fallin will kick things off with her State of the State address in the House chambers beginning at noon. You can follow her speech online here. Governor Fallin will also introduce her FY 2018 budget, which will include her proposals for filling the state’s $740 million budget hole.

Look for OK Policy’s response to the Governor’s budget later today, and later this week, we’ll share our 2017 legislative priorities and revenue options for balancing the budget. Here are even more resources that we think will be helpful for anyone who wants to be well-informed and effectively engaged over the four months of the legislative session:

• OK Policy’s 2017 Legislative Primer gives you all the key information on who’s who at the Capitol and the various steps of the legislative process, as well as some budget basics. Another great resource is the Oklahoma legislative app created by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, available for download through ITunes by searching OAEC 56th (the Android app for the current session is not yet available).
• Want to know who your legislators are and  how to contact them? Use our Find Your Legislators tool. You can also get a directory of all Senators here and all House members here.
• Our What’s That? glossary provides definitions of common legislative terms like GA Bill, sine die, or striking title. 
• For more in-depth discussion of the budget, including how revenues are raised and spent and how budget decisions are made, see our newly updated Online Budget Guide.
• OK Policy’s Bill Tracker lets you follow several dozen bills that we’ve identified as key priorities to support, oppose, or keep a close eye on, with links to the bill’s authors and related information. To look up any bill, you can use the Legislature’s Bill Search. You can get alerts on bills through the Legislative Electronic Notification System (LENS).
• The best way to keep track of what’s going  on at the Capitol and around the state is by subscribing to In the Know, OK Policy’s daily digest of news articles and stories.
• For a quick overview of Oklahoma’s budget situation, check out our most recent Budget Trends and Highlights. All our budget and tax resources are compiled here.
• If you are looking for ways to be more involved as an advocate for a better budget, start by connecting with Together Oklahoma, our statewide grassroots advocacy coalition.  The TOK website also offer a number of advocacy tipsheets on such subjects as writing to your legislators and setting up face-to-face meetings.
• The Oklahoma Legislature home page is the best starting place to find out about the legislative calendar, watch live video of floor proceedings and committee hearings, and much more.

You can easily access most of these resources anytime through the Resource Page of the OK Policy website.