This week at the Capitol was packed with dozens of committee meetings as legislators hurried to ensure their bills were passed ahead of Thursday’s committee deadline. In addition to attending meetings for the committees I sit on, I passed two of my own bills out of their committees this week.

On Wednesday, I passed House Bill 2535 through the House Judiciary – Criminal Committee. This is a cleanup bill that ensures the legal phrase “harmful to minors,” which occurs throughout Oklahoma’s statutes, is updated in another section of law. It ensures the definition as its used to determine obscenity and child pornography is the same definition used in laws surrounding display of materials.

On Thursday, I presented House Bill 1777 before the House Appropriations & Budget Committee, where it was approved unanimously. The bill removes several fines and fees that were implemented in the last 20-30 years. These fees were implemented because the state needed money, not because it was the right thing to do. I’ve been working to develop this legislation for several years and look forward to passing it on the House floor.

With the committee deadline behind us, we now anticipate spending hours on the floor each day hearing and voting on various bills. Our last day to pass House bills is Thursday, March 23. Once we pass that deadline, we’ll swap the approved legislation with the Senate and start hearing Senate bills in committees.

We’ve already begun hearing bills on the House floor, and we passed a major bill this week to protect children. House Bill 2177 prohibits healthcare professionals for offering or recommending gender transition services like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgeries to minors.

Teenagers and children shouldn’t be undergoing life-altering surgeries or subjected to questionable procedures. However, the bill allows exceptions for minors with a medically verifiable disorder.

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns. You may reach me at danny.williams@okhouse.gov or 405-5577372. Thank you for the honor of representing House District 28 at the State Capitol!

Rep. Danny Williams, a Republican, represents House District 28 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Seminole County and northern Pottawatomie County.