OKLAHOMA CITY - A bill to help fund rural hospitals, House Bill 2754, authored by Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Faxon) passed from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The measure, co-sponsored by Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton), is also known as the Oklahoma Rural Hospitals Funding Assistance Grant Program Act of 2025. The intent of the proposal is to support healthcare access in rural areas, specifically targeting medical facilities in towns with populations under 5,000 people. The State Department of Health would be tasked to administer the program.
As proposed in the act, “adequate medical care facilities” is defined as facilities that would meet the eligibility of a federally qualified critical access hospital, serve towns or a municipality with fewer than 5,000 in population and is owned by a public trust organized under the laws of this state or by a town or municipality of this state.
In addition, a revolving fund for the State Department of Health will be created and designated the “Oklahoma Rural Hospitals Funding Assistance Grant Program Revolving Fund.” It will be designed as a continuing fund and not subject to fiscal year limitations. The fund will consist of all monies directed for deposit to the account by law.
Expenditures from this fund will be made upon warrants issued by the State Treasurer against claims filed as prescribed by law with the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for approval and payment.
The bill contains an emergency tag and upon approval by Gov. Kevin Stitt will go into effect on July 1.
Two other bills authored by Caldwell were also referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. They are:
• HB 2744, which is an act relating to appropriations and budget and seeks to reappropriate $20 million originally allocated by a previous legislative act to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce from the Progressing Rural Economic Prosperity Fund.
Specifically, the measure would redirect funds to implement an improvement project at a centrally located state fairground. The improvements would include projects related to electrical infrastructure and facilities associated with livestock events. An emergency tag is attached to the bill and would go into effect immediately after passage and approval from the governor.
• HB 2749 would create an Intergenerational Education Revolving Fund within the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to help improve nursing facilities and expand intergenerational education programs. The fund intends to support a new continuing competitive grant program and would not be limited by fiscal year revenue.
The goal is to facilitate cooperation between nursing facilities participating in Oklahoma’s Medicaid program and public school districts. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority would be responsible for outlining grant eligibility criteria, designing the application process and setting minimum standards for facility participation. An emergency tag is attached to the bill and upon the governor’s approval would go into effect July 1.
Rep. Daniel Pae (R-Lawton) authored HB 2019, which was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. The measure relates to revenue and taxation and seeks to modify state statutes regarding tax credit provisions for the aerospace industry. Specifically it would extend available tax credits from Jan. 1, 2026, to Jan. 1, 2032.
Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow) authored two bills that were referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. They are:
• HB 1370, which would extend and modify the Corporation Commission Plugging Fund by making several key changes to how gas and oil excise taxes are allocated. The bill would also extend the sunset date from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2031, to maintain the fund.
• HB 1375, also known as The Oklahoma Nuclear Energy Feasibility Act of 2025, proposes to provide a timeline for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to engage an outside consulting firm to provide the service of conducting a technical and legal feasibility study on promoting nuclear energy generation.
Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (R-Elgin) authored one bill that saw legislative action last week. HB 2798 was placed on general order and is now eligible to be heard by the full Senate.
The measure proposes that the Department of Human Services establish a statewide centralized hotline for the reporting of child abuse or neglect to the Department. It also proposes that DHS would provide hotline-specific training including, but not limited to, interviewing skills, customer service skills, narrative writing, necessary computer systems, making case determinations and identifying priority situations.
Rep. Gerrid Kendrix (R-Altus) signed on to co-sponsor two bills related to military infrastructure funding that were referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. The measures, HB 2516 and HB 2518, were authored by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow).
Both bills intend to create revolving funds in the state Treasury for use by the Oklahoma Military Department. The fund will be known as the Base Infrastructure Needs and Development (BIND) and will have two components, technology and schools.
The BIND-Schools Fund is intended to make infrastructure investments improving common education facilities located on military bases in the state. The BIND-Technology Fund will be used, on approval, to make infrastructure investments, which would include the purchase of license and software associated with military simulation training.
Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber) authored one bill that was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. HB 1087 would give teachers in the later portion of their careers the opportunity to earn more money.
This proposed measure would extend the teacher salary schedule through 35 years of service instead of the current 25-year cap. The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow).