Representative Peh, the bill sponsor, asked the committee to extend the statutory sunset on the state's harm-reduction syringe-exchange framework enacted in 2021 and moved to adopt an amendment that would push the sunset to 07/01/2031.

Why it matters: The program supports syringe exchange and outreach intended to reduce disease spread and link people who use drugs to treatment. Sponsors said the framework has produced outreach and reported overdose reversals; some legislators said missing outcome measures make it hard to fully evaluate the policy.

Representative Peh outlined results the sponsor said the program has produced since enactment in 2021: "We've had 8,896 individuals who've been contacted. We've had specifically 1,528 referrals for testing, for substance use order counseling, and treatment. And I think most importantly, we've had about 1,212 overdose reversals," Peh said. Peh told the committee the amendment would provide "certainty to our partners and collaborators across the state" and argued the extension would help programs pursue federal funding opportunities.

Lawmakers pressed for additional measurements. Representative Stark asked whether the contacts recorded by the program would have happened without the statutory framework; Representative West and others said key outcome data remain missing and argued the committee could delay action for a year while those data are gathered. Representative Maynard cited Oklahoma Department of Health figures noting a 129% increase in overdose deaths from 2019 to 2023 and asked whether the program has reduced overdose deaths; Peh replied that three years of program data are insufficient to measure longer-term trends in illegal drug use and overdose-death rates but pointed to the reported overdose reversals as a positive indicator.

Other committee members debated the policy's tradeoffs. Representative McCain and Representative Waldron described harms-reduction measures as uncomfortable but said the research supports public-health benefits; Waldron urged members to "not grow weary of doing good." Representative Chapman asked whether a shorter extension would suffice; Peh said the original law was structured as a five-year pilot and that he was open to future modification if warranted.

Actions recorded in the transcript included adoption of an amendment to extend the sunset to 07/01/2031 (mover: Representative Peh). The transcript later records a roll call with an ambiguous tally when the committee first voted on the item: the chair called the vote and the audio record states, "A vote. 5, 5 nay," (transcript wording ambiguous). Later in the session a related amendment described in the record as extending a sunset to "02/1931" was adopted and a separate roll call is recorded as "15 ayes, 0 nay," with the clerk declaring the bill passed. The transcript does not make explicit whether the later 15-0 tally corresponds to the same bill number discussed earlier or to a separate measure; the record does not provide a clear, single final roll-call tally for the original House Bill 20 12 item.

The committee and sponsor identified sources of background information used in deliberations: an interim study from the previous fall that included testimony from Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health and testimony from the Oklahoma City Fire Department. Representative Peh also referred to data about needle quantities discovered in the community (references to "588,000" to "600,000" syringes were cited during discussion) and to first-responder exposure risks.

The committee did not adopt a request to delay final action until additional outcome data were collected; members were divided between those emphasizing additional data collection and those urging certainty for program partners and use of available federal funding. The sponsor argued that delaying risks losing federal funding opportunities and said more certainty would help state, tribal and nonprofit partners expand services.

Ending note: The transcript records debate and two distinct roll-call notations (one ambiguous, one recorded as 15-0). The record does not attach a clear final chamber-level disposition for House Bill 20 12 in the provided excerpt; the transcript explicitly identifies some vote counts but leaves ambiguity about which recorded tally applies to which bill or amendment.