OKLAHOMA CITY – A new year has begun, and a new Legislature will soon convene! On January 7, the First Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature will officially hold an organizational day to prepare for the work that begins Monday, Feb. 3 at the State Capitol.

Lawmakers have been working diligently to file ideas as bill concepts, and we will see those all become public by 4 p.m., January 16. You can read the bills at oksenate.gov or okhouse.gov.

Many of those ideas which will be considered have been requested by organizations, and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) is no different. We have been working with senators and representatives, Republicans and Democrats, senior members and freshmen (those serving in their first term), to propose changes in the law which will benefit our state and its children.

As the weeks move along in 2025, I will do my best to highlight as many of these ideas as possible so you, advocates in your own right, can reach out to lawmakers to share your thoughts.

OICA presents a weekly newsletter for advocates to receive by email to learn about different issues, along with also receiving a digital copy of this column which can be shared on social media with friends. We also use this as a rapid response so as to encourage Oklahomans to reach out to lawmakers to share their thoughts prior to a vote on a bill or resolution.

As a former lawmaker, it was surprising to me how few people reach out about the different things being voted on, so when one or two people make contact, it truly does have an impact. It is even more important when the lawmaker actually knows the person (and if they are a voter in the lawmaker’s district), so I would encourage you to attend a town hall or some other event and introduce yourself and offer up your input.

One of the OICA board members, former Senator AJ Griffin, says, “It is great when you have a lawmaker’s number, but it is more important when they have yours and use it to ask for advice.” If you are looking to make a policy-related New Year’s Eve resolution, consider this as she is exactly right.

If you want to further resolve yourself to engaging with policy more this year, I will offer up some suggestions. First, the OICA Legislative Learning Lab will be held on January 2930 in Oklahoma City, with a final virtual day on February 3 to watch Governor Stitt’s “State of the State” address. This conference exposes attendees to different panelists and presenters who share their expertise in the state governmental process and help provide the knowledge with how to be much more effective in citizen lobbying.

Another opportunity to engage with senators, representatives and members of the court will be on March 11 when OICA will hold our advocacy day and chili cook-off at the State Capitol. We use this as a networking opportunity for child-serving organizations and other advocates to have that time to visit policymakers while competing with their best chili recipe.

This day-long event is held in the parking lot of the Capitol building and we encourage advocates to take time to go inside and watch the session and have some one-onone time to visit.

OICA will also soon select the 2025 class of our Advocacy Boot Camp. This is our leadership program open to advocates to apply and spend a year learning about advocacy efforts throughout the state. The new class will kick off in September, so please consider applying.

You can read more about each program on our website at https:// www.oica.org and consider signing up for the newsletter or one or more of our events. Happy New Year!