The House of Representatives this week gave final passage to House Bill 1003. I was the primary sponsor of this legislation that will give the American Legion tax-exempt status. The American Legion has served our Oklahoma veterans for more than 100 years, making sure they have clothing, food, health care and other services. They also help educate our youth about the value of patriotism. They work to ensure we remain a free and secure nation, and it’s an honor to give them this benefit.

 Securing this tax exemption for the American Legion is something I’ve wanted to do since I got into office. The ups and downs of the state’s economy just never allowed it. A revenue surplus for many months running now made this the right time for this break to go through.

 HB 1003 passed the House unanimously on fourth reading after I accepted several minor Senate amendments. It now awaits the governor’s signature.

 The governor last week signed House Bill 2676, which allocates $30 million to the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) fund to replenish a portion of funds withdrawn over the past several years during a statewide economic downturn.

Keeping our county roads and bridges in good repair is of enormous importance to those of us who live in rural areas in Oklahoma. These roads and bridges are our lifelines to get to needed services. They also keep products moving and our businesses and economy humming. Republicans made transportation funding a priority since taking the majority in the state, and even though funds were borrowed in a down economy, we knew we must pay them back quickly. I’m glad this legislation got the governor’s signature. This keeps the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma’s CIRB plan on track and means local projects can progress as planned. I have fought my entire legislative career to protect transportation money on the county and state level. This is a great start to help get back some of that money used to balance the state books while keeping other agencies from taking bigger and deeper cuts.

I also want to discuss Senate Bill 441. This bill would give school districts three options starting in the 2021-22 school year for meeting minimum instructional time. If this measure passes, school districts will be able to choose whether to meet for 180 days or 1,080 hours with a minimum of 165 days. Or, they can choose an hourly only schedule with no set number of instructional days if they are granted a waiver from the State Board of Education. Waivers will require districts to show their students are meeting minimum performance standards set by the state board and they are saving money with an abbreviated calendar.

In previous years of recession, when education funding stayed flat, some of our school districts adopted a four-day a week calendar. They learned this was popular as a teacher recruitment tool, and they like the flexibility. We’re happy to accommodate this schedule as long as we can still show we are teaching our students all they need to know to be successful in the next grade and eventually in higher education or in their future careers.

The House amended this bill to include the $1,200 teacher pay raise that the Senate failed to pick up as a separate bill. The teacher pay raise is important to House leadership and to our governor. We also fully intend to put more money into the school funding formula to give our classrooms additional support. The Senate now has this bill. We’ll wait to see what they do with it.

In the meantime, budget negotiations continue as we move closer to the end of this successful legislative session. I will report to you ASAP when a budget agreement has been reached.

As always, I will keep you posted about our progress. If I can help you in any way, I can be reached at (405) 557-7407 or mike.sanders@okhouse.gov .