OKPOLICY.ORG
Sometimes it appears that little worthwhile is happening at the state capitol because the attention seems to focus on hot button, culture war issues promoted to gain political leverage by one group against another. I talked, during the last legislative session, with a 20-something House staffer who told me that for her generation, the “my tribe against yours” gamesmanship is their idea of what politics is all about.
But if you have the time and interest to look for it, you’ll find good work being done by many of our legislators. Three recent interim studies requested by Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, caught my attention as examples of meaningful policy work that doesn’t have a big political payoff. The first was a study about “harm-reduction” programs held by the House Public Health Committee.
Pae was a co-author of a bill in 2021 authored by former Sen. John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton, and former Rep. Carol Bush, R-Tulsa, authorizing “harm reduction programs” in Oklahoma. Harm-reduction services are defined as programs established to reduce the spread of infectious diseases related to injection drug use, to reduce drug dependency, overdose deaths and associated complications, and to increase safe recovery and disposal of used syringes and sharp waste.
The 2021 law removed prohibitions against possession by harm reduction programs of some items associated with illicit drug use by removing them from the definition of drug paraphernalia. It also authorized methods of protecting drug users from accidental overdoses and death so they could stay safe and alive long enough to receive the help they need to successfully treat their addiction.
The law is set to expire on July 1, 2026, unless it is renewed by the legislature, and Rep. Pae wanted to learn the results so far and set the stage for renewal of the law next year. From August 2022 to April 2024, the four harm-reduction organizations in Oklahoma served almost 9,000 clients.
Another interim study requested by Rep. Pae and Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, also held in the Public Health Committee, was to look for potential solutions to rural Oklahoma’s lack of health care access. The committee heard rural communities face challenges such as lack of access to services, health care provider shortages, and high costs for services.
Potential solutions include providing financial incentives for hospitals to add beds to meet the demand of their areas and loan repayments to health care providers as a means of incentivizing them to move to rural communities and staff their facilities. Another solution includes finding a way to provide access to capital for both rural hospitals and clinics to build new facilities in their areas or to revitalize older facilities to be useful again.
Finally, the House Common Education Committee held an interim study requested by Rep. Pae and Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, to investigate what is needed to better prevent persistent bullying that occurs in schools and among students online. Pae and Rosecrants wanted to look at past efforts to legislate guidelines and requirements for schools on how to address bullying and what can be done in the future.
The committee heard as many as 80 percent of kids report they are bullied at some time in school. Five percent to 15 percent are constantly bullied, potentially leading to emotional and psychological damage that can result in failure, suicide, and violent episodes like school shootings. The committee heard from counselors and mental health professionals regarding ways to support better mental health for kids. They also heard from parents who are active in anti-bullying efforts after losing their child to suicide.
Representatives Pae, Alonzo-Sandoval, and Rosecrants are among many House and Senate members who are doing the work in the trenches that sometimes goes unnoticed. Progress can be slow and often unappreciated.
