While not official, Darcy Jech hinted Thursday at running for a third and final term as a state senator.

“At this time I’m planning to re-run,” Jech told members of the Kingfisher Lions Club as guest speaker on Thursday.

“It’s definitely decision time for me.”

Jech just finished the third year of his second four-year term when the 2021 legislature adjourned the previous week.

State senators are limited to 12 years.

Should he choose to run again and win, Jech’s District 26 will have a bit of a different look in his last term.

He currently serves constituents in Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Custer, Roger Mills and Kingfisher counties.

In the latest census, the population in his district dropped about 4 percent, Jech said.

The proposed re-districting would see Jech pick up larger portions of Custer and Kingfisher counties while dropping Roger Mills and Beckham to get him to the 82,000 population threshold.

The final district maps will be finalized later this year during a special session, Jech said.

The most recent session differed greatly from that in 2020 for a multitude of reasons, he added.

First and foremost - legislators were able to meet in person for its entirety as COVID-19 put a halt to in-person meetings a year ago.

The legislature also was facing a major budget deficit a year ago that saw most agencies experience funding cuts of about 4 percent. Education saw a 2 percent decrease.

“As it turned out, we really didn’t need to do that,” Jech said.

Some of the declining oil and natural gas activity picked back up and people went back to work quicker than expected during the pandemic.

That equaled a budget surplus this year.

“That’s just the second time it’s happened since I’ve been there,” Jech said. “It was nice to have it.”

On top of replacing most of the decreased funding to agencies, the state set aside between $800-$900 million “in savings.”

“It’s good to have that cushion when we experience those lean years,” Jech said.

Last year’s budget was vetoed by Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislators eventually had to override that veto.

Jech said that while sometimes tenuous, “the relationship between the governor and the legislature is better this year.”

“I think a lot of Governor Stitt,” Jech continued. “I think he brings a lot to the table.”

Some of the 2021 legislation focused on “cleaning up” the medical marijuana bill passed by voters in 2018.

The original bill was just five pages long, which is much smaller than most legislation that comes across his desk.

While sales tax revenue has exceeded initial projections, the lack of legislative oversight in the original bill left some gaps, he said.

Some of this year’s legislation dealt with foreign ownership and law enforcement issues.

Future legislation could limit the number of grower licenses.

There are currently about 7,800 such licenses in the state, or an average of more than 100 per county.

“That tells me a lot of that is being shipped out of state, which is against the law,” Jech said.

Jech was introduced to the group by Randall Newton.

It was voted prior to his address that the club will not meet on June 10.

Its next meeting is June 17 at which officers for the 2021-22 term will be elected.