Legislation Tracker
The Oklahoma Counseling Institute uses Bill Track 50 to track bills in the Oklahoma legislature. Bill Track 50 allows the user to track a bill's progress through the state legislature, see which law makers are assigned to the committee(s) hearing the bill, who voted for or against a bill, and have easy access to lawmakers' contact information.
Bill Track 50 is one of the most robust bill trackers available and the Oklahoma Counseling Institute is happy to provide it free for the Oklahoma mental health community.
Legislation Tracker Glossary
Introduced- A legislator has officially filed the bill in the Oklahoma House (HB) or Senate (SB). The bill receives a number.
In Committee- The bill has been assigned to one or more committees. The bill may or may not be put on the agenda to be discussed. Most bills die at this stage. If the bill is voted and approved by the committee then it is scheduled to be debated on the chamber floor (the House or Senate) and put to a vote. Not all bills that have passed their committee(s) are scheduled to be debated on the chamber floor. Once the bill has passed it's originating chamber then it moves to "Crossed Over" in Bill Track 50.
Crossed Over- The bill has been introduced in the other chamber. It may or may not be assigned to a committee. If it is assigned to a committee there is no guarantee that it will be scheduled to be heard in that committee. Once it is debated and voted on in committee then it moves to be scheduled in that chamber. Again, it may or may not be scheduled to be heard on the chamber floor. Bill Track 50 tracks all of these actions under the heading of "Crossed Over". Greater detail as to what actions have been taken can be found in the "Actions" section of the bill's page.
Passed- In Bill Track 50, the term "Passed" indicates that the bill has passed both chambers- the House and Senate. The Governor may or may not sign the bill into law and may instead choose to Veto the bill.
Dead- The term "Dead" indicates that a bill failed to meet a deadline or was voted down at some point during the process.
Read more about Bill Track 50 Progress Categories
The best time to contact a legislator is when a bill is in committee, the next best time is when it has passed committee and is scheduled to be voted on in the chamber (look under the "Action" tab on the bill page to see if the bill has been assigned to a committee, is scheduled to be heard in the committee, or has been voted out of committee and is scheduled to be voted on the chamber floor).
If you do not wish to speak to someone, email or call and leave a voice mail before their office opens.