Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is talking with Oklahoma Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy Steve Thompson about the latest from the 2024 state legislative session.
Thompson said some of the agricultural highlights from the session pertained to the poultry industry and water in the state. Another important topic of discussion during the session Thompson talked about was how the early passage of the grocery sales tax repeal impacted the dynamics on both sides and changed the amount of money the legislature had available to spend in the appropriations process.
“When you drop 400 plus million dollars out of the budget picture in the third week of February, then that causes the dynamic to change a lot,” Thompson said.
There is more tension in the air for this time of the year than normal, Thompson said, because of some unusual movement at the Capitol. On the agriculture side, Thompson said they are down to two major water-related bills- one in the House and one in the Senate, both authored by Representative Carl Newton and Senator Brent Howard.
While these bills mostly focus on western Oklahoma, Thompson said it is also a statewide issue looking into monitoring and measuring water usage throughout the state.
Now, Thompson said the focus is on what types of measurement devices will be used, if they will be mandatory, and how they will be implemented.
“Right now, the discussion is more of a long-term plan, maybe an eight-year plan with no enforcement in the first three years, then we will start region by region and basin by basin to figure out what the needs are for that area, what types of irrigation and other water uses there are, and it is really going to have to reshape the way the water board operates,” Thompson said. “They are going to need to add some staff, so some of that is dependent upon the budget process.”
Thompson also talked about water usage as it relates to the poultry industry and working through penalties for those who do not follow the rules.
“If there is somebody doing something the wrong way, then they will be held accountable,” Thompson said. “Those of us in agriculture are proud of the way we do things, but if somebody doesn’t do it the right way, then we want to see those folks corrected, brought back into compliance, and sometimes, unfortunately, that has to do with fines and things of that nature.”
To listen to the full conversation covering more topics on state budget, tax cuts, OSU’s veterinary college, OSU extension and more, click the listen bar above the story!
