2020 is already shaping up to become a very interesting year. With approximately 30 tornado warnings issued in the month of January for the eastern half of Oklahoma, winter weather occurring in the western parts of Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma temperatures resembling lottery numbers, there is never a down time in this profession.
This year will also be a very active legislative session. Bills were due this week and lots of legislation was submitted just before the deadline. We, OEMA, are monitoring several bills, but there are two that have our attention as they move through their committees. There are two bills we want to you to be aware of: Senate Bill 1602 by Bergstrom, “Oklahoma Public Safety Unification Act of 2020”, and House Bill 2776 by Sims, “ Oklahoma Hazard Mitigation Assessment District Act”. You can search these bills at the following web address: http://www.oklegislature.gov/#.
This year, “Legislative Day at the Capitol” will be held in the state emergency operations center at the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. OEM has been gracious enough to host us the last two years while the capitol is under construction and has agreed to do so again this year. We will distribute invitations to each legislator and invite them to the state EOC that morning. We will have opening remarks, discuss current legislation, lunch, have ice cream and provide time for you to spend with your local legislators.
The date for the “Legislative Day” is February 26, 2020. The timeframe for this event is from 9am – 3pm. We encourage all of you in the EM profession to attend, this is a great time to “meet and greet” but also a great time to network with one another. For our younger EMs, this is a great time to get involved, for our older and more experienced EMs, this is a great time to mentor.
The OEMA executive board hopes that each of you can attend.
We want to thank OEM for your hospitality and generosity.
Regards,
Rob Hill