As regular session came to an end, one of the highlights of the year was the opportunity for Senator Coleman and I to have the Lincoln Elementary School 5th-grade chorus with Amy Muegge from Ponca City perform in the Capitol rotunda. I’m so proud of these outstanding young people and their talent. It’s always great to have folks from the district visit the Capitol.

We talked a lot this year about the education budget, but I also wanted to mention funding appropriated to Transportation, another very important service of government. The Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation received more than $801 million for Fiscal Year 2024 – an $18 million, increase over last year. The majority of this – $590 million – is directed to the Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety (ROADS) Fund, to be used for various state highway and bridge maintenance and repair projects.

We also appropriated $130 million to the County Improvement for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) Fund for FY24, a $5 million increase from FY23. We will increase this by $5 million each year until it reaches $150 million by FY28. This is in addition to federal funding that will go toward shoulder expansion on rural two-lane highways.

Getting people and products safely from one place to another on good roads is a priority that improves the lives of our citizens and our business owners. I’m glad to see us continue our commitment to improve our infrastructure. We’ve made significant progress in this area over the past decade. Last fall, it was reported that we are now No. 5 in the nation for good highway bridge conditions. Now, our focus must continue to bring our roadways into this top spot.

Now that our regular legislative session is over, it is good to be back in the district attending ribbon cuttings, Chamber events, motocross, Herb Fest, Draggin Grand, the 101 Rodeo and Ben Johnson Days, and more. I look forward to seeing you at future community events.

It is my honor to serve this great district, if I may assist you please contact my office 405-557-7355.