By Journalist Trever Friesen (OSU)
Representative Karlene Stelling (OSU) presenting her bill (OSU-545) in the House of Representatives.
The first day of full session is underway, and with that brings new hope, new debate, and most importantly new bills.
Thursday morning, March 30th, House Representative Karlene Stelling (OSU) presented a bill “OSU-545”, “an act relating to small business fitness facilities”.
The bill, proposed for the purpose of financially assisting small-business fitness facilities due to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, had one overarching goal in mind: restitution.
In Oklahoma alone “45 of the 47 CrossFit gyms were closed for a period of time, [many of which] has never reopened” said Representative Stelling. This period of “almost two years” was simply disastrous for all variations of fitness facilities. While efforts such as virtual workout sessions and online courses became options, financial setbacks were still far too substantial for many to recover.
This restitution was what the bill aimed at fixing. A reimbursement to those who struggled through this time period, written for the sole purpose of simple assistance and heartfelt connection to those in need.
When further interviewed about the proposed bill, Stelling expressed her intent of the bill to function as a metaphorical small-business safety net. Assistance such as “establishing payroll, paying their employees, providing programming, and [the ability] to stay afloat” during these unprecedented times of mass crises.
Unsurprisingly, the bill sparked debate. General feelings of positivity, looming fears for those in varying situations, and an unclear definition of which exact businesses will receive sed retribution given the bill’s passing led to a general feeling of uneasiness across many delegates.
Representative Maddy Cantrell (OU) expressed her admiration for both the author and bill, stating that the “mental and physical benefits outweigh the concerns of funding”. Similar to many representatives present, Cantrell’s concerns were met with tranquility and explanations by Stelling.
Caucus and debate both rater brief led to only a singular friendly amendment under the bill proposed by Representative Walker (SE): a striking in section 2 subsection E sub-section 2 in its entirety.
Following this, a vote of 34 in the affirmative and 9 in the negative led to the bills passing in the house, met with the traditional applause and song directly after.
Serving as the second bill on the docket, the bill was fruitful in content and continued on to serve as precedent in both speed and general bill acceptance for the many that followed after.