OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Legislature is calling a special session to allow for public comment on spending of ARPA funds.
The concurrent session starts Wednesday and allows the legislature to immediately return in the interim to enact an ARPA spending plan as agreed to by the Joint Committee on Pandemic Relief Funding. The state has $1.8 billion in funds to allocate.
"Ensuring the joint committee's public-driven process can run its full course is in Oklahoma's best interest. A concurrent session allows for a comprehensive, strategic plan to be enacted through appropriations after a full vetting of submissions and public discussion of how to best deploy these resources," said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.
"Oklahoma established a strong process, driven by the public, to place the legislative and executive branches in a partnership to listen to the public's wishes for ARPA dollars. This action simply keeps that train on track," said House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka.
The vast majority of states have used their traditional budgeting process to deploy ARPA funds, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures. Oklahoma's budgeting process involves both the legislative and executive branches.
The concurrent session will begin Wednesday and reconvene at the call of the chair sometime in the legislative interim when the ARPA spending plan is final or action is needed related to the LEAD Act or PREP Fund. The concurrent session can remain open after regular session adjourns, which must occur by 5 p.m. Friday, May 27.
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